Androstenone Effects on Horses

Abstract

How can androstenone, a pheromone from boars, influence the behavior of horses? Horses communicate through olfactory chemical signals, generally called pheromones. Pheromones that can elicit variable effects on other species are called interomones. Androstenone is a sex pheromone secreted in boar saliva that binds to OR7D4 receptors of the vomeronasal organ and nasal epithelium of horses (Choi and Yoon, 2022). Pheromones are chemical substances produced by an animal that serves as a stimulus to other individuals of that species to elicit one or more behavioral responses (Choi and Yoon, 2022).