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Learning Ability of Orphan Foals, of Normal Foals and of Their Mothers

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853

Abstract

The maze learning ability of six pony foals that had been weaned at birth was compared to that of six foals reared normally. The foals' learning ability was also compared to their mothers' learning ability at the same task; the correct turn in a single choice point maze. The maze learning test was conducted when the foals were 6 to 8 mo old and after the mothered foals had been weaned. There was no significant difference between the ability of orphaned (weaned at birth) and mothered foals in their ability to learn to turn left (6 ± .7 and 5.1 ± . 1 trials, respectively) or to learn the reversal, to turn right (6.7 ± .6 and 6.2 ± .6 trials, respectively). The orphan foals spent significantly more time in the maze in their first exposure to it than the mothered foals (184 ± 42 vs 55 ± 15 s, Mann Whitney U = 7, P<.05). The mothers of the foals (n =11) learned to turn left as rapidly as the foals (5.9 ± .7 trials), but they were slower to learn to turn right (9.8 ± 1.4 vs 6.4 ± .4 trials, Mann Whitney U = 33, P±.05), indicating that the younger horses learned more rapidly. There was no correlation between the trials to criteria of the mare and those of her foal, but there was a significant negative correlation between rank in trials to criteria and age (r = –.65, P<.05) when data from the mare and foal trials were combined. The dominance hierarchy of the mares was determined using a paired feeding test in which two horses competed for one bucket of feed. Although there was no correlation between rank in the hierarchy and maze learning ability, there was a correlation between body weight and rank in the hierarchy (r = .7, P<.05). This may indicate either that heavier horses are likely to be dominant or that horses high in dominance gain more weight. Maternal deprivation did not appear to seriously retard learning of a simple maze by foals, although the orphans moved more slowly initially. The lack of maternal influence on learning is also reflected in the lack of correlation between the mare's learning ability and that of her foal. Young horses appear to learn more rapidly than older horses.

¹ Dept. of Physiol., New York State College of Vet. Med.