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Avoidance, Maze Learning and Social Dominance in Ponies

New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853

Abstract

Maze learning and avoidance learning were investigated in 10 grade ponies and related to social dominance in a three-phase study. A dominance hierarchy was found by observing contests over a bucket of feed between all combinations of two ponies. Experimental animals were ranked according to their performance in a single choice-point maze based on the number of errors (incorrect side choices) and time spent in maze. A shock-avoidance experiment provided an additional measure of learning and the ponies were ranked on the basis of five criteria for learning: 1) total number of errors before a session of 10 avoidances, 2) total number of errors before three consecutive sessions of 10 avoidances or total received in the experiment, 3) total number of errors before three consecutive avoidances, 4) total number of trials before three consecutive avoidances, and 5) total number of avoidances over 5 days. The pony's rank in the social hierarchy was not correlated with ranks obtained in the maze and shock-avoidance tests. Ponies were also ranked according to weight, height and age. Correlations among the weight, height, age, maze learning, dominance and shock-avoidance rankings revealed that maze rank was correlated with ranks based on shock-avoidance learning criteria 1, 2 and 5. These results suggest that long-term learning and learning permanence are related and that better learners in an avoidance conditioning situation employing an aversive stimulus also tend to learn more quickly in a maze learning situation with positive reinforcement.