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Study of Factors Affecting the Body Conformation Traits of Iranian Turkoman Horses

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Study of Factors Affecting the Body Conformation Traits of Iranian Turkoman Horses —Full Paper— Study of factors affecting the body conformation traits of Iranian Turkoman horses Hadi GHEZELSOFLOU1, Peiman HAMIDI1 and Shahabodin GHARAHVEYSI1* 1Department of Animal Science, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr 4849167119, Iran The Iranian Turkoman horse is considered one of the major categories of Iranian native horses. The aim of this research was to study the genetic and nongenetic factors affecting body conformation traits in Iranian Turkoman horses. For this, measurements were performed on body conformation traits of 121 horses. To study the effect of nongenetic J. Equine Sci. factors, the Lsmeans procedure was used. Variance components and heritability were Vol. 29, No. 4 estimated by restricted maximum likelihood method (REML) and AI-REML convergence pp. 91–96, 2018 algorithm. The standard deviation was estimated to be 7.04 cm for croup depth and 2.08 cm for chest width, and the coefficient of variation was estimated to be 11.27% for croup length and 2.58% for withers height. Sex had a significant effect on head-neck circumference (P<0.05), withers height (P<0.05), chest width (P<0.05), and croup height (P<0.05). Province had a significant effect on withers height (P<0.05) and croup depth (P<0.05). The lowest and highest heritability estimates were for head-neck circumference (0.12 ± 0.06) and neck-body circumference (0.33 ± 0.09), respectively. The lowest and highest additive genetic variance estimates were for head length (0.64) and pelvis width (18.34), respectively. Generally, the medium to high estimated heritability for the traits in this study indicate that genetic improvement would be possible in these traits. Key words: animal model, circumference, croup, heritability, thorax One of the main approaches in genetic improvement represents the physical appearance of an animal according strategies is to select animals having favorable traits for to the arrangement of muscles, bones, and other body humans [2]. The main objective of a horse selection program tissues. Thus, body conformation traits are included in the is improvement of traits that are related to body confor- body measures. It has been demonstrated that a reliable and mation and gait [22]. Horse body conformation has tradi- accurate method for evaluation of body conformation could tionally been an important part of the breeding goal [10]. be obtained through measurement of traits [25]. Horse selection using body conformation is a longstanding Regarding the relation between body conformation traits tradition in the equine industry [23]. Traditional approaches and horse performance traits (such as racing traits), genetic are based on visual evaluation. Since visual evaluations are analysis of body conformation traits in a horse breeding subjective and differ between evaluators, it is difficult to program is very useful [17]. Before a horse reaches the obtain a reliable judgment. So today, this method is not age of competition, the breeder can do an indirect selec- effective. If traits are measured and selection of horses is tion for racing performance traits [4, 6]. This reduces the performed using scientific principles, a new method would generation interval and increases the genetic gain for racing result in an accuracy of judgment that would certainly be performance traits. Body conformation is determined by more reliable than the traditional method. Body composition genetic and nongenetic factors. Genetic factors such as additive genetic effect and nongenetic factors such as sex and age of the horse affect the phenotypic expression of Received: November 17, 2017 Accepted: October 9, 2018 body conformation [8, 26]. *Corresponding author. e-mail: [email protected] There are three horse breeds (Turkoman, Kurdish, and ©2018 Japanese Society of Equine Science Asil) and one pony breed (Caspian) that are native to Iran This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative [1, 7, 8]. Iranian Turkoman horses are one of oldest breeds Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) License. (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ in the world [7]. This breed is considered one of the major by-nc-nd/4.0/) categories of Iranian native horses and has a history of more 92 H. GHEZELSOFLOU, P. HAMIDI AND S. GHARAHVEYSI than 2,500 years. In the beginning, they lived in the northern The numbers of horse belonging to the Golestan and North part of the ancient Persian Empire (including present Turk- Khorasan provinces were 63 and 58, respectively. The menistan). The horse breeds mentioned above are warm studied horses were of the Akhal-teke strain. The pedigree blooded. Three famous strains of Iranian Turkoman horse file included 761 horses and 7 generations. In this study, we are the Akhal-teke, Tchenaran and Yamud (Iomud) [7]. They selected three factors (sex, age, and province) as nongenetic are bred in two provinces, Golestan and North Khorasan factors. The aim in considering the province’s effect was to (north of Iran), and are used for riding, competitions, and find out the probable differences in factors such as manage- carrying loads. There are currently no reliable data obtained ment and feeding. by scientific principles for the Iranian Turkoman horse. We Traits that effected horse movement and racing perfor- performed this study to obtain reliable data for the Iranian mance were chosen [8, 11, 12, 20, 27]. According to standard Turkoman horse using scientific approaches and then convention, all measurements were taken on a flat, solid compared the obtained data with those of other breeds. surface and from the left side of the horse while the horse The aim of this research was to study the effect of genetic was standing in a correct position [16, 25]. Circumference and nongenetic factors on body composition traits in Iranian measures were taken by tape, while the other measures were Turkoman horses by performing objective measurements of taken by caliper (Fig. 1). All measurements were done by body conformation traits. the same person. Materials and Methods Body conformation traits of horses The following body conformation traits of horses were According to the geographic distribution of the Iranian examined: 1) head length, defined as the distance between Turkoman horse, the statistical population in the present muzzle and poll; 2) neck length, defined as the distance study was from two northern provinces of Iran (Golestan between atlas vertebra and thoracic vertebra of the horse and North Khorasan). The studied horses included 33 males (distance between poll to withers); 3) head-neck circumfer- and 88 females that ranged in age from 39 to 300 months. ence, defined as the circumference of the neck at connection Body conformation traits of the 121 horses were measured. point to head; 4) neck-body circumference, defined as the Fig. 1. Measurements on the horse body. BODY CONFORMATION IN IRANIAN HORSES 93 circumference of the neck at the connection point to the Cary, NC, U.S.A.) was used. Differences at a significance body; 5) body length, defined as the distance between the level of P<0.05 were considered statistically significant. most anterior point of humerus (greater tubercle) and most Variance components and heritability were estimated posterior point of ischium (ischiatic tuber); 6) withers by restricted maximum likelihood method (REML) and height, defined as the distance between the highest point of AI-REML convergence algorithm. All estimates obtained withers to the ground vertically; 7) thorax girth, defined as using the MATVEC software (version 1.03, Gordon Smyth, the circumference of the thorax along the point of withers Lincoln, NE, USA). The following single-trait animal model and olecranon tuber; 8) chest width, defined as the distance (in matrix notation) was used: between two outer points of the humeral bones from front y=Xb + Zaa + e, (2) view; 9) thorax width, defined as the distance between two hypothetical, vertical, parallel lines drawn at the two Where y=vector of observations for body conformation sides of the thorax and along the withers height line; 10) traits, X=corresponding design matrices associating the thorax depth, defined as the distance between the point of fixed effects,a Z =corresponding design matrices associ- withers and sternum along a vertical line; 11) croup height, ating the additive genetic effect, b=vector of fixed effects, defined as the distance between the highest point of the a=vector of additive genetic effect, and e=vector of residual croup, i.e., sacral tuber, and ground, vertically; 12) Croup effects. Fixed effects included sex, province, and age. The depth, defined as the distance between the coxal tuber of additive genetic effect was investigated as a random effect ilium and patella (most dorsal point of the coxal tuber of in the animal model. the ilium and most distal point of the patella); 13) croup length, defined as the distance between the sacral tuber (the Results highest point of croup) and ischiatic tuber (most posterior point of ischium or point of buttock or seat bone); and 14) Nongenetic factors pelvis width, defined as the distance between the right and Descriptive statistics of body conformation traits are left coxal tuber of ilium (Fig. 1). shown in Table 1. According to Table 1, the standard devia- The statistical model used in this study was as follows: tion was estimated to be 2.08 cm for chest width and 7.04 cm − − 2 for croup depth. The minimum and maximum coefficients yijk=µ+Si+Rj+b1(xijk−x )+b2(xijk−x ) +eijk, (1) of variation were calculated for withers height (2.58%) and Where yijk=value of each observation, µ=mean effect, croup length (11.27%), respectively. Si=sex effect, jR =province effect, 1b =coefficient of the linear The study results for fixed effects on body conformation term, b2=coefficient of the quadratic term, xijk=age (month), traits are presented in Table 2.
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