Correlation Between Mare And Neonatal Foal Hair Cortisol Concentrations

This study evaluated hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in six healthy Quarter Horse mare and foal pairs to understand fetal health and stress exposure during the last 60-90 days of gestation. Hair samples were collected from the poll region of mares and foals within two hours of birth, and HCC was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A strong positive correlation was found between mare and foal HCC (R² = 0.701, p = 0.0001), with foal HCC significantly higher than mare HCC. The study found no significant influence of the month of parturition or gestation length on HCC. These results suggest a relationship between maternal and fetal cortisol exposure during gestation, highlighting the potential of HCC as a non-invasive indicator of in-utero fetal health and stress.