I wanted to bring up the subject of PAIRBONDS in the equine world as I have some questions that need answers or at least theories.
Over the years I have had a huge interest in equine ethology and I take great pride in my “herd” of semi and full feral moorland ponies, they are a group of 17 mothers siblings brothers, sisters aunties and uncles with a few not related to the group and added as they have needed a feral group home like mine.
What I don’t see very much of is pairbonding..And I kind of came to the conclusion that it’s because they are so settled in there groups. But that can’t really be true because we no that horses do pairbond..i have 4 ponies that stick out for pair bonding, two gelded males a year apart in age and two mares 3 years apart in age, JD was born in to the herd and PJ was present PJ I have to add seems to be the Alfa I the group, and toffee who was born in the group and holly who came a few months ago.
Now everyone else seems happy to groom with anyone and sometimes one of the older mares will take it upon her self to befriend another and they spend months being joined at the hip then they move on to someone else….why? and why dont they form life long friendships? i have to add that these mares came from the same group off the moors and are in there 20s so have been togeather for a long time.
Another thing I find is two mares that are happy in there own company, they wonder off to another field and graze on there own…this may be because they feel very safe in there environment to do this, but will not be handled at all!
So pair bonding…does anyone no what the latest is on pair bonding? Findings or research?
I’m glad you asked this question, as this is one of my pet subjects! You won’t find any specific research on pair-bonding in horses because – unless someone has sneaked something in when I wasn’t looking (always possible)- there isn’t any.
You say that ‘we know that horses do pairbond’. But who says they do? Current received wisdom in certain circles seems to be that horses will pair-bond (some sources say for life) with another horse of the same sex and similar age, although the phenomenon is sometimes reported as occurring between members of the opposite sex, i.e. mares and geldings. But to an ethologist the term ‘pair-bond’ strictly speaking refers to an exclusive relationship formed between a male and a female, especially in some species of animals and birds, during courtship and breeding. According to this definition, it would only occasionally apply to horses. However, it all seems to depend on who is using the term and in what context!
I’ve searched the scientific literature and have found no specific references to ‘pair-bonding’ as such although of course references are made to bonding with friends (or ‘preferred associates’ in science-speak). Long-term studies make no mention of it. The one scientific writer I’ve found who does use the term is Paul McGreevy in Chapter 5 (Social Behavior) of his book ‘Equine Behavior’, but he has nothing new to say on the subject and in fact when you read what he does say he’s not really describing proper pair-bonds at all but rather the strong bonds of friendship and affection that often do form between horses. They certainly can become very attached to other individuals, and spend much of their time grazing and grooming, and doing all the other things horses do when at liberty, with that other individual (or individuals). But to call this ‘pair-bonding’ would be to use the term in a very loose and misleading manner. If it is used to mean that horses associate exclusively with one other individual, then that certainly occurs sometimes, but seems to be a response to local conditions or traumatic events rather than something that occurs normally in feral horses or even stable domestic groups.
Telané Greyling has spent more than 10 years observing the feral horses of the Namib-Naukluft Park; when I brought up the question of pair-bonding with her she had this to say (in a private communication):
‘I have seen strong bonds occasionally between a specific mare and stallion, two bachelor stallions, some youngsters, etc. These bonds or rather friendships are strong but not inseparable (like in humans) and mostly formed due to specific circumstances. Some last for long periods (10 years in my study this far) with ‘break-ups’ from time to time, others last for shorter periods of 2-4 years, especially young bachelors… horses form friendships which differ from horse to horse regarding the intensity, in other words some horses like to have a close friend and others are “loners”.’
My observations of our own horses bear out Telané’s conclusions; several of them have very strong ties of affection with one or more of the others, but in no way could one describe these relationships as ‘exclusive’. For example, our mare Imzadi has a very strong bond with her dam Kiri, but she likes to socialise with her grandmother Roxzella and (until he was separated from the main group prior to having his nuts clipped – poor lad!) her half-brother Tariel, and often grooms with Roxzella and sometimes with her other half-brother Toska. My Arab gelding Zareeba and the Arab mare Roxzella also have a strong bond of friendship but since Tariel was separated from the main group he and Zareeba have also formed a strong bond, since Zareeba was appointed to ‘look after’ Tariel while the latter was separated from the rest of the horses. It was quite amusing to watch what happened when they were reunited with the others – to begin with Zareeba chased the other horses away from Tariel, but then when Tariel got too close to Roxzella Zareeba chased him away from her! This only lasted few minutes and eventually Zareeba, Roxzella and Tariel settled down to graze within a few feet of each other and Zar seems to divide his attentions between his girlfriend and his adopted ‘son’; all three have cordial, if not close, relationships with the remaining horses.
This really only highlights what I’ve been saying for years: that equine social structure is typically dynamic and far too complex to shoe-horn into tidy concepts such as ‘pair-bonds’. Furthermore, horses are individuals who persist in behaving in ways which contradict our tidy assumptions. So what you are seeing, Debbie, is not at all unusual but, I’d suggest, pretty typical. When trainers – and writers – teach that horses ‘pair-bond’, they should really define what they mean more clearly –and use the term correctly! Andy Beck of the White Horse Ethology Project has suggested that ‘social bond’ might be substituted for ‘pair bond’; I think this would be a far better, and more accurate, term to use.
I hope this helps!
Best regards
Lesley
This message has been edited by zareeba on Oct 19, 2006 9:44 PM This message has been edited by zareeba on Oct 19, 2006 9:43 PM
I never saw anything like a pair bond when I was studying semi-feral ponies here in Wales. Their owners told me that occassionally two mares would be really close to the point of being practically joined at the hip. But it would never last for ever, circumstances would change e.g. one had foal and theother didn't, or a new stallion would be put out and then they'd split up and new relationships would form.
When I was taught about pair bonds by a lady who wrote quite a bit inthe popular equine press I wasn't entirely convinced as I'd not seen it before (unsurprisingly now). What i did see quite often working where I used to in rescue was horses that become over attached and then had problems with separation. Looking at it more analytically these horses weren't pair bonded in an ethological sense (because they're horses not parrots to put it loosely). They were however, so strongly attached to the other that they had become dependent on the other for felt security. They had a strong need for this kind of relationship because they'd recently undergone massive upheavel in their lives. They'd moved home and herd and were unable to cope with the changes that brought. And of course in rescue, horses come and go fromthe centre more often than horses would change herd in a feral situation.
I wonder if artificial situations like these cloud the issue of pair bonding or not as a natural horse behaviour?
Jenni I would second this too!
Particularly the point that you are making that this is something that we create artificially. In my experience so far in practise, horses that suffer from 'seperation anxiety'- another popular term that has been stretched to cover horses- are most likely to come from two horse herds. The owners love to talk about pair bonds and separation anxiety because this is something that has been talked about lots in the equine press. However it seems to me that this is not so much a 'pair bond' as an over dependence on one other horse because it is that or nothing. It seems particularly obvious with husband and wife teams that have a horse each and do everything together, the horses are not used to being seperated and do not cope well at all when a seperation (even for just minutes) does occur. It also often seems to be linked to a loss of a companion or sudden change in circumstances that leads to an over attachment that is particularly insecure. I think the bottom line of it all is that although the horse has not necessarily changed a lot with domestication, we have put considerable demands on them in recent times, they are far more likely to be kept in social isolation or with a limited herd size, we wean abruptly, and it seems to me that there are more and more people keeping horses that are lacking in knowledge about the true nature of horses! But don't get me started on that as it is a different rant altogether!!
Helen
Jenni, Helen, I think you've both hit the nail on the head with regard to the 'pair bond' phenomenon, artificial situations, and insecurity. I think the concept of the 'pair-bond' has led owners to ignore what is really going on, i.e. the over-attachment that may result from insecurity and lack of alternative equine company. I must admit to being a little concerned about Tariel becoming over-attached to Zareeba while the 2 were turned out together duting T's spell of separation from the main group, especially as he and Zareeba share a stable when they come in for a couple of hours during the day. However this doesn't seem to be the case; both still interact with the others OK and although T. was not keen on being stuck in a stable on his own (as he had to be the day he was gelded), he didn't exactly go nuts about it and soon settled down.
2 of the other geldings, Toska and Kruger, are very attached to each other and when Toska sees Kruger go out for a hack he yells out a bit until K. is out of sight. But I wouldn't describe his behaviour as overly anxious and their very real bond of friendship is certainly not exclusive. And of course relationships change over time - just as they do with humans.
Of course we need to recognise that horses do form strong social bonds, but I also believe it's time the 'pair-bond' concept was properly explained and people stopped using incorrect and misleading terminology. 'Pair-bond' is up there as one of my pet 'hates' along with 'alpha horse' (a term also, disappointingly, used by McGreevy without any real evidence toi support his use of the term) - but let's not go there in this thread!
As one scientist - I forget who - said, 'Sloppy terminology begets sloppy thinking'.
Thanks Lesley.
My feeling is that the key factor is the stability of the group (along with group size of course, i.e. preferably not two horse herds unless they are very well managed). If the group is relatively stable and seperations have been introduced with care gradually then there shouldn't be a problem. And I think you hit the nail on the head yourself when you say that there is a little shouting from T when K goes out but that he settles very quickly. That is the difference- I remember when my big mare was having severe seperation issues, if the other horse she was out with was removed she would panic and the panic would escalate rapidly, there was no chance of it settling. The same mare now with her stable herd is quite content to see the shetland heading off to her stable for the night (this has to be done as otherwise we have fights over hay in the winter and the shetland gets tormented.. her own fault of course because she doesn't back down). The first time it happened she called a little then settled, then after that there was no calling at all. At the time she was having problems her companions changed probably 4 or 5 times in just two years, which was when I bought the shetland. I did a considerable amount of work with her on building up seperations and then she began to settle. I still wouldn't leave her in a field on her own and take out the other horses, I think that would be a step too far, but she will happily travel and hack out on her own, something she would never have done in the past. However the work on its own was not what did it, it was the introduction of the unflappable companion who was always there. Three years down the line and she is a different horse.
I agree with you about sloppy science and the use of terms, I think we should be very weary of transferring over theories from human or other animal research to horses without having a little evidence that this transfer is appropriate! Also if terms are going to be used they should be used correctly.
Helen
Hi all I have been interested in the pair bonding debate ever since Heather simpson brought it up in horse and rider and the equi ads. Because of this interest I am currently engaged in a research project on pairbond behaviours in horses (the literature review is bloody hard work, as there's nothing out there).In my own herd I have an old mare and her teenage son as well as a middle aged mare I brought 6 years ago. The old mare has always been very protective of her personal space and untill recently only let her son into it on a regualar baises, however he eyesight has deteriotated in the past 18 months or so and she now relies on the other mare alot. When I did an initial pilot study on the nearest neighbour relationships in this group I was most surprised to find that the two mares were actually each other most prefered neighbours while the gelding was more of a hanger on than anything else. Even a few years ago I believe I would have got a different result (e;g gelding and old mare best mates and middleaged mare hanger on). However the resuts were less than conclusive and the only conclusions I could draw was that the two mares marginaly prefered each other over the gelding.
An interesting question did arise from this study as to why the old mare choose the other mare and not her son to look after her. The middle age mare is big and grey so maybe she's just easier to see but I can't help thinking that there's more to it than that. Perhasps the mares accosiation with mothering the gelding was so strong she didn't/couldn't change the dynamic of the relationship. Alternatively the gelding isn't excatley leadership material, If there's something new in the enviroment he's the last to check it out and generaly lets his mummy do it for him. He's also far too good at being directed (He's trusting enough to be ridden into a bog for example) so maybe she diddn't trust him to look after her or he declined the offer. Interestingly when its just him and the old mare she still leads alot (she can still see close up). She's been retired for 7 years and untill last year always lived in the same field. However when we moved last year and they were checking out the new place the middle aged mare led them alot but the old mare indecated the direction by lookinging in different directions and by her body position. The gelding just followed the girls.
I also did a study on 6 in foal (presumably) dartmoor pony mares. The inconclusive results were almost excatly the same with some evidence of preferences but not much. I intend to do a much more in depth study this time including a proper family group (more dartmoor ponies) and my group again if I add another horse to it. I'd idealy like to add a gelding for the purposes of the study but will probably end up with another mare as I prefer mares.
Outside of my study I've not really seen much evidence of pair bonding but have seen plenty of separation anxiety. Like you guys I think its usually more the result of insecurity than the relationships formed. Regarding horse numbers I'm used to people keeping more than two horse in a situation (around here people tend to team up to rent grazing ect) or just one on its own (massive welfare problems). However there is a guy just up the road from me who buys and sells on a very small scale. He has a couple of stables and a 1/2 acre of paddock and also rents/borrows land for grazing. He usually has 2 adult horses together (often has groups of auction brought babies around) but doesn't seem to have problems with separation anxiety, mainlt because of the way he handles them. He generaly very calm and relaxed and he tends to take horses out for short rides or walks when he first gets them and leaves the other behind with haylage (his fields got no grass so he can manipulate the horses hunger levels to make them eager to eat noy worry about their mate) initialy he just takes the horse across the road onto a bridle path and lets it graze in hand then he takes them further away. He also seems to wean foals in a similare way.
By the way I will post the pair bonding research on here if anyone wants it when its done.
Debs, I deliberately didn't reply to this thread to start with as I was hoping Lesley would jump in!! It was Lesley who first drew my attention to the subject as I had no idea before then that the term "pair bond" was already formally defined. Blissfully ignorant, I'd always used the term "pair bond" ever since Heather Simpson's articles in Your Horse many years ago drew my attention to it. For the sake of argument I'll use the term friendship/bond now as I'm not talking about male/female pairings for life etc
But what I find puzzling is that I have completely the opposite experience to the rest of you. I've commonly noticed horses in herds of approx 4-15 show a strong preference for the company of one particular horse and it has definitely not been along the lines of "separation anxiety" or over-dependence. The bonds have been sensible, it's never been a problem to remove one of the pair and go for a hack. The remaining horse typically doesn't show any signs of stress and on returning the hacked horse back to the field they do not make a bee-line for each other. It's just what appears to be a sensible friendship with most (but not all) play, mutual-grooming and close grazing taking place together. And if something scary/exciting happens (eg the weekly pheasant shoot through their field!) then there's a good chance they will take up refuge together.
Jak's first "best friend" was Tsar, who I mentioned on here a few months ago when Tsar's owner and I reintroduced them after 5 years apart. They immediately behaved uncharacteristically, like a couple of lovers who couldn't keep their mouths off each other! Neither of them behaves like that with any other horse. Only once has Jak changed his friend through any reason other than me moving him to a new home - after about 18 months being friends with Oliver a new horse, Ferdie, arrived and Jak very quickly transferred his affections. More usually the bonds have developed slowly, as though it took time to decide who could be trusted. Admittedly maybe Jak hasn't been in any home long enough for me to see the bonds become fickle but we're nearly up to 4 years in our current place (a record!) and he's showing no signs of getting fed up with Frankie. I think it would take the introduction of a new horse rather than him transferring his affections to a present member of the herd.
So what's different about the herds I've observed?
I get the feeling the main difference is that generally it's herds of geldings that I've had access to. The rest of you have talked about mares or mixed groups, often family groups. When Jak's been in a big mixed group one of the geldings has taken over the "harem" of mares and the remaining geldings have formed a smaller satellite "bachelor group" so from his perspective it's still been a herd of geldings.
So could this be more of a geldings/male thing? I guess in the wild it is to the advantage of lower-ranking males to form allegiances. Jak has always been a low-ranking herd member and he has generally had a "best friend". The one time he was higher-ranking he (briefly!) had a beautiful girlfriend instead (although it turned out she was blind and the owner had her shot..... I hated that yard!)
Alternatively I was wondering if it could be less ethological than practical in a domestic situation. In a wild setting the horses will typically be similar breed/size/colour etc within a relatively narrow range of parameters. Horses in a domestic herd will be a much wider range - we currently have 4 cobs, 2 shires, 1 TB/arab/cob, 1 QH. Jak is friends with the TB/arab/cob and something I've always noticed is that he tends to bond with the one who is most like him in temperament and breed (to my mind at least but I can normally predict who he will become friends with). Tsar was a wimpy little arab. Oliver was a big black American TB who could play a little rough for wimpy Jak. But they were rather forced together as Oliver's owner and I were about the only 2 on the yard who went for winter turnout (sigh..) and we eventually moved to a new yard together. They stayed together for a long time after this but Ferdie was much more the sort of horse (wimpy little chestnut) I would expect Jak to go for and sure enough, once Ferdie arrived, Oliver was history.
I don't think it's only the wimpy ones who bond like this in a herd of geldings but it certainly strikes me as a sensible strategy, whether or not it has its roots in ethology. On the rare occasion Jak engages in mutual grooming with one of the more thuggish cobs it never lasts long and commonly ends with a little whimper from Jak as he walks away (yes, he really does whimper!), likewise playing.
Having said all that, I also agree with what's been said about over-dependence, husband+wife teams, etc and have seen that happen too. But I don't think it's the only factor and think that you also get strong but healthy friendships.
Catherine
[Edited to change "...horses in a mixed herd..." to the intended "...horses in a domestic herd...." in 3rd paragraph from end!]
This message has been edited by Brocksopp on Oct 25, 2006 4:43 PM
Please could someone post a formal definition of "pair bond". Am I right in think it is a male/female bond for life between parrots or is there more to it than that?
And Adam, yes please do post the results of your research. Would love to see it. Who is the research for? Sounds a great project...
The scientific way of saying 'pair-bond' is 'social monogamy' but I haven't really thought about it since undergraduate days so very rusty. I think it's very common in birds.
Just found this in Wikipedia when I looked up social monogamy:
'Biologists agree that social monogamy is rare in the animal kingdom. The percentage of monogamous species is greater in some taxa than in others. Biologists estimate up to 90 percent of avian species are socially monogamous. [19][20] In contrast, biologists estimate only 3 percent of mammalian species are socially monogamous, although up to 15 percent of primate species are monogamous.[12] Of course, sexual monogamy and genetic monogamy are even more rare than social monogamy, since so many socially monogamous species are not sexually monogamous. Gowaty has estimated that, out of 180 different species of socially monogamous songbirds, only 10 percent are sexually monogamous.[21]"
This message has been edited by illeroc on Nov 8, 2006 7:53 PM
Perhaps Gowaty et al would care to read an etymolgical dictionary before committing themselves to talking about "social" as opposed to "sexual" monogamy!
Hi Catherine - sorry I dropped out of this thread but I've been spending most of my spare time (?what spare time?) trying to fix my friend's PC (success!)
Anyway, the definition of 'pair bond' given in Immelmann & Beer's 'Dictionary of Ethology' is "The tie between opposite-sex partners, manifested in their living together continuously for some length of time, in contrast to transitory liaisons, which last only until copulation is completed." The authors go on to describe the possible advantages of pair bonding; they do not specifically state that it occurs mainly in birds but they do make it clear that it refers to heterosexual relationships between mating pairs. Bonding may take place between two animals or, in the case of so-called harem groups, it may involve a larger number of individuals.
We can certainly see this kind of bonding in stable family groups of horses, where stallions may form very strong bonds with their mares; but to apply the term 'pair-bond' to non-mating pairs is to misuse and devalue the term.
There's been such an awful lot of twaddle written about "pair bonds" in the equestrian press, and as I said earlier in this thread I was surprised and disappointed to see Paul McGreevy use the term in his book "Equine Behabvior", where having done so he then went on to describe nothing more than the kind of close relationships horses commonly seen in horses, which although often strong can in no way be described as "pair bonds"! When animal behaviour scientists can't get their terminology right, what hope is there for the rest of us?
Some people might think I'm making much ado about nothing here, but my point is that misuse of terms like "pair bond" often appears to be an attempt to add a spurious air of scientific respectability to whatever tosh the writer is trying to peddle (sorry if that sounds harsh!). Together with distorted and/or exaggerated descriptions of how horses supposedly behave, such misuse only serves to cause confusion and misunderstanding. Hence Debbie's puzzlement (which led to this thread) about why her horses weren't behaving as she had been led to believe they should behave!
Many thanks for that. And Lesley, no I definitely don't think this is much ado about nothing. I think it's utterly stupid when formal terms get pulled around and distorted in the popular press because ultimately it just leads to confusion (not least my own when I first started to hear people like Telane Grayling say that equine pair bonds didn't exist, and based on my then understanding of the term, I was sure they did!). And then you get the multitude of incorrect definitions for eg negative reinforcement which in some cases can lead to abuse, simply through ignorance.
Just to add to what I said above though - how wrong could I be?! Have got to the field a couple of times recently to find Jak playing with the big thuggy new Shire-like thing, the last horse in the world I would expect Jak to become friends with! And not just playing, the most vicious playing I've ever seen him participate in. Not just his usual squeak, whimper and walk away when it got too much! Proper bucks, rears and lunges with flat-back ears and bared teeth. Not sure he's "broken up" with Frankie yet but this is certainly a new playmate he seems to have a bit of a love-hate relationship with. I love the way after knowing him for 11 years and owning him for most of that he can still surprise me
- but let's not go there in this thread!