Analysis of Breed Effects on Semen Traits in Light Horse, Warmblood, and Draught Horse Breeds

Home , Australian Stock Horse, Bavarian Warmblood, French Trotter, German Riding Pony, Percheron, Rhenish Warmblood

Theriogenology 85 (2016) 1375–1381

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Theriogenology

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Analysis of breed effects on semen traits in light horse, warmblood, and draught horse breeds

Maren Gottschalk a, Harald Sieme b, Gunilla Martinsson c, Ottmar Distl a,* a Institute for Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany b Unit of Reproductive Medicine–Clinic for Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany c Lower Saxon National Stud Celle, Celle, Germany article info abstract

Article history: In the present study, systematic effects on semen quality traits were investigated in 381 Received 4 May 2015 stallions representing 22 breeds. All stallions were used for AI either at the Lower Saxon Received in revised form 4 September 2015 National Stud Celle or the North Rhine-Westphalian National Stud Warendorf. A total of Accepted 28 November 2015 71,078 fresh semen reports of the years 2001 to 2014 were edited for analysis of gel-free volume, sperm concentration, total number of sperm, progressive motility, and total Keywords: number of progressively motile sperm. Breed differences were studied for warmblood and Stallion light horse breeds of both national studs (model I) and for warmblood breeds and the Semen quality Breed draught horse breed Rhenish German Coldblood from the North Rhine-Westphalian fi Mixed model National stud (model II) using mixed model procedures. The xed effects of age class, Variance year, and month of semen collection had significant influences on all semen traits in both analyses. A significant influence of the horse breed was found for all semen traits but gel- free volume in both statistical models. Comparing warmblood and light horse stallions of both national studs, we observed highest sperm concentrations, total numbers of sperm, and total numbers of progressively motile sperm in Anglo-Arabian stallions. The draught horse breed Rhenish German Coldblood had the highest least squares means for gel-free volume, whereas all other investigated semen traits were significantly lower in this breed compared to the warmblood stallions under study. The variance components among stallions within breeds were significant for all semen traits and accounted for 40% to 59% of the total variance. The between-breed-variance among stallions was not significant underlining the similar size of the random stallion effect in each of the horse breeds analyzed here. In conclusion, breed and stallion are accounting for a significant proportion of the variation in semen quality. Ó 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction environmental conditions (Table 1). Breed or breed type differences in semen quality may be significant [2–5].A Examination of stallion semen is a prerequisite for study on semen quality of nine different breeds demon- breeding soundness examination and the use of semen inAI strated significant breed effects [3]. Arabian stallions in horse breeding. Age of the stallion, month, and frequency showed significantly higher values for sperm concentration of semen collection as well as stallion-related effects and total number of sperm, whereas Appaloosa and Stan- cause significant variation in semen quality [1]. Only a few dardbred stallions exhibited significantly lower values for studies compared different horse breeds under similar these parameters. Pony and Shetland pony stallions showed lowest total numbers of sperm, similar to in- * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ49 511 953 8875; fax: þ49 511 953 8582. vestigations on Miniature stallions having lower total E-mail address: [email protected] (O. Distl). numbers of sperm compared to full-sized horses [7].

Table 1 Studies comparing different horse breeds under similar environmental conditions.

Number of Stallions Number of Age of stallions Time period Country Results Reference breeds (n) ejaculates (years) 7a 45 n.d. 2–26 1974–1978 AUS Highest reproductive performance by Dowsett and pregnancies per service in Quarter Pattie [6] Horse stallions; poorest reproductive performance by pregnancies per service in Pony and Shetland pony stallions 4b 80 n.d 2–11 1980–1984 FR Significant influence of breed and Rousset et al. [2] stallion within breed on semen traits; significant variance in semen traits among stallions within breeds (repeatability of 37%–69%) 1c 398 796 2.6–3 Feb–March NL Significant differences in semen traits Parlevliet et al. 1987–1992 between riding type and carriage type [5] 9d 168 536 2–26 4 seasons AUS Significant influence of breed and Dowsett and stallion within breed on semen traits; Knott [3] highest sperm concentration and total number of sperm in Arabian stallions; lowest sperm concentration in Appaloosa and Standardbred stallions; lowest total numbers of sperm in Pony and Shetland pony stallions 2e 165 636 4–21 1993–2007 PT Poorer semen quality in Sorraia Gamboa et al. stallions compared to Lusitano stallions [4]

Abbreviation: n.d., not determined. a Standardbred (n ¼ 20), Thoroughbred (n ¼ 16), Australian Stock Horse (n ¼ 15), Appaloosa (n ¼ 5), Quarter Horse (n ¼ 3), Pony (n ¼ 3), and Shetland pony (n ¼ 4). b Thoroughbred (n ¼ 23), French Trotter (n ¼ 8), Selle Francais (n ¼ 9), and Breton draught horse (n ¼ 40). c Dutch Warmblood of different types: riding type (n ¼ 318); carriage type (n ¼ 80). d Thoroughbred (141 ejaculates), Standardbred (111 ejaculates), Arabian (73 ejaculates), Australian Stock Horse (73 ejaculates), Quarter Horse (30 ejaculates), Palomino (44 ejaculates), Pony (38 ejaculates), Shetland pony (8 ejaculates), and Appaloosa (18 ejaculates). e Lusitano (n ¼ 161), Sorraia (n ¼ 4).

Investigations on semen quality in draught horse breeds two national studs, and therefore, interactions among are relatively rare although draught horse stallions are breed and stud could be tested. increasingly used for AI. Previous studies showed higher gel-free volumes in draught horse breeds compared to Warmblood and light horse breeds [8,9]. In 189 Austrian 2. Materials and methods Noriker stallions, Aurich et al. [8] observed higher total numbers of sperm but lower sperm motilities compared to 2.1. Animals and semen evaluation data of warmblood and light horse breeds investigated by Dowsett and Knott [3]. In the study of Torres-Boggino et al. Data on semen traits were collected during 2001 to 2014 [9], Percheron and Breton stallions showed percentages of for 381 stallions, routinely used in AI on the Lower Saxon motile sperm well above those reported for Quarter Horse, National Stud Celle (n ¼ 212) and the North Rhine- Arabian, Appaloosa, and Paint Horse stallions [10] as well as Westphalian National Stud Warendorf (n ¼ 169). The pre- Thoroughbred and Standardbred stallions [11]. The sperm sent study only includes stallions approved for AI and with concentration of these draught horse stallions was within a conception rate of at least 70% in more than ﬁve mares the range of other breeds. Stout and Colenbrander [12] bred from a stallion (Klug, 2002). Therefore, all stallions compared semen traits among young Dutch Warmblood, under study were considered as fertile. All stallions were Friesian, and Dutch draught horse stallions examined in housed in boxes on straw and fed hay three times daily at course of breeding soundness examination and observed a both national studs. Water was freely available. Warmblood generally lower motility in ejaculates obtained from Dutch and light horse stallions were fed oats, whereas draught draught horse stallions. Investigations on 15 Franches- horse stallions were fed beet slices instead of oat. Stallions Montagnes stallions, a Swiss light Coldblood breed, have were exclusively housed with other stallions and without shown that semen traits of this breed are less different from contact to mares. Stallions ranged from 3 to 30 years of age semen traits of warmblood breeds [13]. and belonged to 22 different breeds including Anglo- The objectives of the present study were to analyze Arabian, Bavarian Warmblood, Belgian Warmblood, Dutch breed effects on semen quality traits in warmblood, light Warmblood, Friesian Horse, German Riding pony, Haﬂinger horse, and draught horse stallions under the same envi- Horse, Hanoverian, Hessian Warmblood, Holsteiner, Italian ronmental conditions and to identify potential differences Warmblood, Oldenburg Warmblood, Quarter Horse, in semen quality among breeds. Stallions were housed in Rhenish German Coldblood, Rhinelander, Selle Francais, Download English Version: https://daneshyari.com/en/article/2094783

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