Influence of preweaning handling methods on post-weaning learning ability and manageability of foals

Abstract

Twenty-three foals were used to determine if different amounts of handling between birth and weaning affected their later learning ability and manageability. Foals were assigned to one of three treatments: non-handled (NH) foals were not handled except for necessary maintenance procedures: intermediately handled (IH) foals were handled daily in two 10-min sessions for 7 days after birth and then not handled except for necessary maintenance procedures; extensively handled (EH) foals were handled daily for 7 days as were IH foals and then handled for 10 min once weekly until weaning. Foals were weaned at 120 ± 10 days of age. On Days 1, 3, and 15 after weaning, foals were subjected to a one-trial learning test. The learning test consisted of placing the foal in a familiar pen with an apparatus of 1.5 m × 0.6 m containing 40 compartments of 15 cm × 15 cm. Number of visits to the apparatus and compartment visited were recorded for 5 min. A small amount of concentrate feed then was placed in a target compartment, and visits were recorded for an additional 5 min. On Day 16 after weaning, foals were subjected to a manageability test in which flight distance from an unfamiliar handler and reaction to a novel stimulus were recorded. Split-plot analysis of variance revealed no treatment differences in performance on the learning test ( P > 0.05). Foal performance on the test was improved on Day 15 compared with Day 1 or Day 3 ( P < 0.01). Analysis of variance indicated handling treatment had no effect ( P > 0.05) on foal performance during the manageability test. Results indicate that this preweaning handling regimen has no effect on foal learning ability or manageability as measured by these procedures.