Comparison of American Quarter Horses Competing in Western Pleasure, Hunter under Saddle, and Reining Using Linear Traits.

To investigate differences in American Quarter Horses conformation suggesting specialization and subpopulations within the breed, a total of 45 horses were studied. These horses were classified according to their specific sport discipline: Western Pleasure (WPL, n = 15), Hunter under Saddle (HUS, n = 15), and Reining (RN, n = 15). Fifteen linear traits (comprising lengths, angles, and circumferences) were measured analogically and photometrically. Afterwards, 9 ratios and differences were calculated, so that a total of 24 traits were examined. The results showed significant differences between horses depending on their sport discipline. HUS horses were significant taller and were characterized by higher values in (nearly) all length traits; they were followed by WPL and RN horses. RN horses displayed the lowest values in length traits but the largest difference between height at withers and height at croup. Nine parameters were analyzed through correlations to the height at withers; all differences were significant, with high to moderate correlation coefficients. The detected differences between the groups support recent studies on the conformation and genotype of subpopulations within a breed and reveal new findings in relation to the selected disciplines. Image analysis worked well and provided reliable data; therefore, this method can be used to examine horses in a time-efficient manner, reducing the stress caused to the animal. Further studies are required to gain more information and to associate the features of AQH anatomic structures with successful performance.

Influence of coat color on genetic parameter estimates in horses.

The aim of this study was to verify the effect of the inclusion of coat color on the genetic parameter estimation for linear measurements in Campolina horses. Two models (1 and 2) were applied. For model 1, coat color effect was not included as variable of the contemporary group formation; in model 2, it was included. Model 2 presented the best fitting with a Deviance Information Criterion (DIC) of -979,459.020 compared with -1,818,458.572 DIC from model 1. The average of heritability estimates ranged from low to high magnitude (0.15 to 0.53) for model 1 and from moderate to high magnitude for model 2 (0.21 to 0.47). The estimated values varied according to the analyses (models 1 and 2). The highest heritability was found for withers height (0.52), croup height (0.53), and back height (0.51). The genetic correlations ranged from values of moderate to high magnitude for models 1 (0.23 to 0.98) and 2 (0.29 to 0.99), respectively. The finding that genetic variance differed among models 1 and 2 may indicate that genotypes react differently to different coat colors, a fact implying the existence of interaction between these traits and the effect under study. The coat color influence might be explained as a pleiotropic effect of the genes that cause this phenotypic variation and also influence morphometric measures. The inclusion of the coat color effect better estimated the additive genetic variance of morphometric traits in horses. As a consequence, the genetic parameters were also more accurately estimated when it is included in the evaluation model.

Prediction of Carcass Traits of Hair Sheep Lambs Using Body Measurements.

The present study was designed to evaluate the relationship between the body measurements (BMs) and carcass characteristics of hair sheep lambs. Twenty hours before slaughter, the shrunk body weight (SBW) and BMs were recorded. The BMs involved were height at withers (HW), rib depth (RD), body diagonal length (BDL), body length (BL), pelvic girdle length (PGL), rump depth (RuD), rump height (RH), pin-bone width (PBW), hook-bone width (HBW), abdomen width (AW), girth (GC), and abdomen circumference (AC). After slaughter, the carcasses were weighed and chilled for 24 h at 1 °C, and then were split by the dorsal midline. The left-half was dissected into total soft tissues (muscle + fat; TST) and bone (BON), which were weighed separately. The weights of viscera and organs (VIS), internal fat (IF), and offals (OFF-skin, head, feet, tail, and blood) were also recorded. The equations obtained for predicting SBW, HCW, and CCW had an r2 ranging from 0.89 to 0.99, and those for predicting the TST and BON had an r2 ranging from 0.74 to 0.91, demonstrating satisfactory accuracy. Our results indicated that use of BMs could accurately and precisely be used as a useful tool for predicting carcass characteristics of hair sheep lambs.

Genetic parameters estimation in an Italian horse native breed to support the conversion from agricultural uses to riding purposes.

Horses are nowadays mainly used for sport and leisure purposes, and several local breeds, traditionally used in agriculture, are exposed to the risk of extinction. The long-term survival of local horse breeds depends on strategies to both monitor their genetic diversity and to find their sustainable role in the equine market. Thus, several local horse breeds need to adapt their breeding objective to allow a modernization process. The Bardigiano is an example of such horse breeds; we, therefore, studied the existing evaluation protocol from a genetic standpoint to assess the protocol's suitability to convert the Bardigiano from an agricultural to a riding horse. To this end, we estimated genetic parameters for four conformation measurements, ten grading traits and 23 linear traits. For conformation measurements, the heritabilities ranged from 0.31 for cannon bone circumference to 0.63 for height at withers. For conformation and attitude grading traits, the highest heritability (0.34) was estimated for development and the lowest (0.09) for gaits. The heritabilities for linear traits ranged from 0.05 for the leg straightness to 0.32 for the coat colour. Genetic correlations between linear traits and corresponding grading traits varied considerably, ranging from -0.42 to 0.98. This study showed that the current evaluation protocol in the Bardigiano horse is appropriate for genetic evaluation. Genetic parameters estimation can, in turn, be used to develop novel breeding values to help this conversion. Our study paves the way to optimize the Bardigiano horse breeding programme, and it may help several other local horse breeds experiencing similar issues.

Associação entre medidas lineares e angulares de equinos da raça Mangalarga Marchador / Phenotypic association between linear and joint angle traits of Mangalarga Marchador horses

Foram analisadas 12 medidas de comprimento dos ossos, duas medidas de altura, duas medidas de perímetro e 11 medidas de ângulos articulares) de 169 equinos da raça Mangalarga Marchador, de ambos os sexos (82 por cento de fêmeas), com idades entre 35 e 269 meses, de 11 criatórios do Estado de Minas Gerais e cinco de São Paulo. Os efeitos de estado e criatório de origem, tipo de criação (baia ou pasto), idade e sexo sobre essas características foram avaliados pelo método dos quadrados mínimos, e as associações entre as características foram quantificadas por meio da correlação de resíduos. Os modelos justificaram pouco da variação observada, com coeficientes de determinação variando de 0,09 a 0,48 para as medidas lineares e de 0,11 a 0,44 para as medidas angulares. Estado e criatório de origem, sexo, idade e tipo de criação foram importantes fontes de variação, respectivamente para 13 (48,1 por cento), 12 (44,4 por cento), seis (22,2 por cento), quatro (14,8 por cento) e três (11,1 por cento) das 27 características avaliadas. As correlações de resíduo entre as características indicaram que a escolha de animais com úmero de maior comprimento está associada a animais com membros torácicos e pélvicos mais longos e que a escolha de animais a partir do tamanho dos membros acarretará concomitante incremento na altura da cernelha e na garupa e do perímetro da canela e torácico. Ainda, a escolha dos animais considerando as medidas dos ângulos metacarpofalangeano e dedo torácico com a horizontal refletirá positivamente na altura da cernelha e da garupa.

The effects of State and stud of origin, management (on pasture or in stable), gender, and age on morphometrics traits (measurements of 12 bone segments, 11 joint angles, two perimeters, and two heights) of 169 Mangalarga Marchador horses (82 percent females) raised in 11 herds of Minas Gerais and five from São Paulo State, were evaluated using the least squares methodology. In addition, residual phenotypic associations among these traits were measured. Statistical models did not fit well the observed variation, with coefficients of determination varying from 0.09 to 0.48 for linear and from 0.11 to 0.44 for angular traits. State and stud of origin, gender, age, and management were important sources of variation, respectively on 13 (48.1 percent), 12 (44.4 percent), six (22.2 percent), four (11.1 percent), and three (11.1 percent) of the 27 evaluated traits. Residual correlations between traits indicated that selection of animals with longer humerus was associated to animals with longer front and rear leg bone segments and higher wither and croup heights and larger crop and cannon perimeters. Also, selection of animals with larger fetlock and coronet-horizontal line angles will positively reflect on the wither and croup heights of the animals.