Morphological and genetic characterization of an emerging Azorean horse breed: the Terceira Pony.

The Terceira Pony is a horse indigenous to Terceira Island in the Azores. These horses were very important during the colonization of the island. Due to their very balanced proportions and correct gaits, and with an average withers height of 1.28 m, the Terceira Pony is often confused with a miniature pure-bred Lusitano. This population was officially recognized as the fourth Portuguese equine breed by the national authorities in January, 2014. The aim of this study was to analyze the morphology and the genetic diversity by means of microsatellite markers of this emerging horse breed. The biometric data consisted of 28 body measurements and nine angles from 30 animals (11 sires, 19 dams). The Terceira Pony is now a recognized horse breed and is gaining in popularity amongst breeders and the younger riding classes. The information obtained from this study will be very useful for conservation and management purposes, including maximizing the breed's genetic diversity, and solidifying the desirable phenotypic traits.

Diagnosis of Theileria equi infections in horses in the Azores using cELISA and nested PCR.

Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne disease of equids that is often caused by the parasite Theileria equi. We applied competitive ELISA (cELISA) and nested PCR diagnostic methods to detect this parasite in horses by screening 162 samples from mainland Portugal where the parasite is endemic, and 143 from the Azores representing both native and imported horse populations. We found that 2.8% of the Azorean samples tested positive exclusively by cELISA, 1.4% tested positive only by nested PCR, and 9.1% tested positive using both tests. Samples from the native Terceira Pony population were negative for both tests. The parasite was more prevalent in samples from mainland Portugal when both test methods were considered (9.3% positive exclusively by cELISA, 1.9% positive exclusively by nested PCR, and 16.7% positive for both tests). To our knowledge, this is the first time that molecular techniques have been used to detect T. equi in the Azores and the first report of this parasite in the archipelago. Based on this study, it is clear that the import of horses into the Azores and the movement of horses between the islands must be controlled to reduce the risk of new infections, contributing to the protection of native horse populations such as the Terceira Pony population.