During breeding (covering) on some Thoroughbred farms the mare id taken from the box stall in which it is kept with its foal to be serviced by the stallion. The foal is left behind in the stall and often behaves in a manner that would indicate stress and that could result in injury. In this study involving 57 foals, approximately half were accompanied by a handler in their box stall while the mare was absent. The handler stood in the stall and only interacted with the foal if it approached and initiated contact. The non-accompanied foals were left alone in their stalls and observed from outside. Accompanied foals vocalized less and spent less time pawing than did the nonaccompanied foals. Approximately half of the nonaccompanied foals also hurled themselves against the stall wall while non of the accompanied foals did so. The presence of a human in the pen during the mare’s absence reduced the stressfulness of the situation and potentially harmful behaviour.