Do mares recognise their offspring after time apart ?

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lori ann

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As title have a rising 4yr old gelding .At weaning spent 18months with foals similar age ten miles away then came back but was in a different field. Have just moved him into a stable and field adjacent to his mum and surprisingly she is tolerating him normally will not have anything to do with geldings ! Interested to hear other peoples views and experiences.
 
We have loads of Shetlands where I am- a friend bought one of the foals 3 years ago, and last week the Dam was put in the stable behind the youngster- closest they've been to each other since she was weaned- they were screaming at each other!! Was quite cute.
Couldn't say whether it was because they are mumma and baby or because the dam isn't used to being in a stable (she'd started to loose weight so needs fattening up). But none of the others in the barn were joining in!!
 
Horses have a smell-memory of around 10 years so yes they normally do recognise their offspring even if they have been away for a while. When my mares get to see their youngsters again after weaning it is usually when the youngsters are 2 or 3 years old and there's no doubt they know who they are.
 
My mare and foal have only been weaned about 2 months but she definately knows who he is and he remembers her even tho they have very little contact.
 
My mare is the boss of the herd, and will not share her hay / feed with anyone. Except her offspring, so yes they definitely remember.
 
I sold a mature mare and met the buyer some months later. She said the mare had been put in with others where she immediately buddied up with another mare. The two were always together. Later, she met a previous owner who had owned them both several years previously, before I got the mare. So, not mother and foal but two field companions who recognised each other from years before.

Do animals generally recognise each other? Yes, I think they often do but they don't always make a fuss about it like us humans!
 
My youngster was an embryo transfer so a surrogate mare did the foaling and weaning bit. Daughter has been in field with genetic mother since weaning and although part of a herd she has always latched on to her real mother. Even now daughter is 4 and mother 17 they are best friends even though they haven't got a clue they are related. I wonder if the genetic similarities draw them together. I would think that real mother and offspring would definitely know each other and remember.
 
lori ann said:
As title have a rising 4yr old gelding .At weaning spent 18months with foals similar age ten miles away then came back but was in a different field. Have just moved him into a stable and field adjacent to his mum and surprisingly she is tolerating him normally will not have anything to do with geldings ! Interested to hear other peoples views and experiences.
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Yes they do definitely
 
vanrim said:
My youngster was an embryo transfer so a surrogate mare did the foaling and weaning bit. Daughter has been in field with genetic mother since weaning and although part of a herd she has always latched on to her real mother. Even now daughter is 4 and mother 17 they are best friends even though they haven't got a clue they are related. I wonder if the genetic similarities draw them together. I would think that real mother and offspring would definitely know each other and remember.
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That is really interesting!

We all know about family resemblances, even inherited behavioural traits, so why not family smells? Scent means so little to us humans I think we under estimate it's importance to animals.

We took a bucket of soaked sugar beet pulp down to the ponies yesterday in case bribery was needed when worming and left it outside the gate. The stallion definitely smelled the bucket from 100 yards away in a light breeze and was off in a hurry to check. (But then he's a Highland and food is important!).
 
I believe so, yes. We have a mare who has bred three colts that we have kept. Once weaned, each has spent a few months a couple of miles away from the mares, then came in for breaking and gelding before either racing or being turned away to mature.

The eldest two, Wild Bill (aged 5) and Stevie (aged 3), moved back to the mares field this summer and their mother (who is alpha female) immediately accepted them back into the 'family' despite having very low tolerance for every other horse in the field bar her second in command (another broodmare).
 
Definately they know, my old mare is 30, she had her first and only foal at 8 years old, he was weaned and therefore apart from her until he was nearly three, i still owned him but geldings and mares were always in different fields. I then moved to a yard where he could go back with my mare, she's always been the boss of every group she's been with and always put new horses in their place, she immediatly took oli under her wing again, he even did (and still does) the foal mouthing thing really odd to see a 17h horse do this, especially as he's now 22! Theyve had a wonderful life living as mom and son, always stand and dose together and he's the only one she allows to eat with her too. Dreading the day she leaves us, going to be v hard for us both i think :( Have another mare and her 2 year old, not quite the same relationship but deffinately knows its her foal
 
Last summer I had 4 ponies together in one field. They were a mother/son pair, and a mother/daughter pair.

They would definatly pair off into their respective families, although the two younger ones would play together.

At that point, the son had come back to me post gelding, after being away for 7 months.

I also have a picture from the previous Christmas of all four in a line, and the mother of the only boy will not tolerate others near her at all, yet he was allowed to stand right in close to her.
 
Nice to hear they remember eachother. It's a long way off but when my mare has her foal it will need to go back in with her at some point! How long after they've been weaned can they be put back together?
 
See I don't think they do, our TB mares certainly don't, however they recognise their mare friends, who go home to other studs each year and return in spring. My first horse recognised his old field companion 3 years after we moved away, they had been best buddies which was really sweet. But mares and foals, not with our lot.
 
We bought a 6 year old many years ago. Took the pony to pony club and pony went nuts neighing and trying to get over to another pony who was calling back. Turned out the other pony was our ponies mother, they had been separated at weaning and not seen each other since.
 
I would say yes they do. I sold a Tobiano filly as weanling and when the guy got into money troubles, he sold her back to me as a three year old. I did put her in the herd and there were not even 10 minutes and she and her mother were scratching each other and never went apart again. So I am sure there is something that reminds them.
 
Yes i think so. MIL bred her mare in 2010... had the foal in August and then due to a bad start (mare kicked him over 5 bar gate at 2 minutes old and then refused to feed him for 24 hours) they left him on her until he was nearly a year old.. weaned them - took her away and put him in with another foal.
Now over a year later, we've put them all on one yard and she recognizes him - she hates him still!! If he goes over to say hi to her she squeals and ears are flat back - not nice!!

Poor boy, he's generally dis liked by most of the horses actually and Hugo my youngster just bullies him!!
 
Yes they do. Current comp pony was out on loan for 2 yrs as 6yr old. Came home and immediately latched back onto his mum, they were practically draped around each others necks!
They continued to be totally attached to each other, until I lost her last year at the age of 30. He mourned her, and neighed constantly for her for weeks.
 
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