Science Shorts

Beware of the bottle raised male orphan!

Most people have an appreciation and understanding that mature male animals (bulls, rams, stags, etc.) are potentially dangerous, but most people fail to appreciate that the most dangerous males are those that have been bottle raised. Such males become dangerous because of the fact that they have imprinted onto people; it has neither to do with how they were treated nor is it due to their genetics. Bottle raised males are simply "programmed" due to their hand rearing to one day threaten their human rivals.

Considering Coprophagy in the Foal

Coprophagy, or the ingestion of fecal material commonly raises great concerns in horse owners and handlers. To the uninformed, the behavior appears disgusting and maladaptive. In the foal, however, this is an integral component of growth and development and is therefore not considered abnormal, rather essential.

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