Genetic Characterization of Cleveland Bay Horse Breed

Anas M Khanshour,Rytis Juras,Eleanore K Hempsey,E Gus Cothran

doi:10.3390/d11100174

Anas M Khanshour, Rytis Juras + Show 2 more

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Journal: Diversity	Publication Date: Sep 20, 2019
Citations: 10	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Texas A&M University, Northland Pioneer College

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The Cleveland Bay (CB) is the United Kingdom’s oldest established horse breed. In this study we analyzed the genetic variability in CB horses and investigated its genetic relationships with other horse breeds. We examined the genetic variability among 90 CB horses sampled in the USA compared to a total of 3447 horses from 59 other breeds. Analysis of the genetic diversity and population structure was carried out using 15 microsatellite loci. We found that genetic diversity in CB horses was less than that for the majority of other tested breeds. The genetic similarity measures showed no direct relationship between the CB and Thoroughbred but suggested the Turkman horses (likely in the lineage of ancestors of the Thoroughbred) as a possible ancestor. Our findings reveal the genetic uniqueness of the CB breed and indicate its need to be preserved as a genetic resource.

Highlights

The Cleveland Bay (CB) is the only native warmblood horse in the United Kingdom [1] and is said to be the UK’s oldest established horse breed with a history of more than 600 years
Genetic diversity indices for the CB and 59 other horse breeds are shown in Supplementary Table S1
Because purebred horses generally have lower genetic diversity than non-breed horses [28,29], the low variation seen in the CB is a red flag but, given the breed’s recent history, it is not surprising

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The Cleveland Bay (CB) is the only native warmblood horse in the United Kingdom [1] and is said to be the UK’s oldest established horse breed with a history of more than 600 years. A handful of purebreds are in continental Europe, Australasia, Pakistan, and Japan (The Cleveland Bay Horse Society of North America CBHSNA, personal communication). The CB breed may have a mixed ancestry due to potential crosses with Barb, Arabian and Thoroughbred stallions [2] despite claims of the lack of Thoroughbred blood made in the introduction to the 1884 stud book [3]. It has a shared history with other horses of the British Isles, including the Shire and Hackney Horse [4]. The CB has contributed to other modern horse breeds such as the Oldenburg, Holstein, and Hanoverian [5]

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