Intraspecific differentiation by exterior in horses of different breeds

Vladimir Demin,Timur Tarchokov,Inna Tsyganok,Natalia Kulmakova,Elena Ryabova,R.Z Abdulkhalikov

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202126202018

Abstract

The analysis of the exterior features of horses of the roadster and heavy draft horse breeds by basic and supplementary measurements of body articles and conformation indexes was carried out in order to study the intraspecific differentiation. The results showed significant differences between the racing roadster breeds and heavy draft breeds. The racing roadster breeds were similar in most respects, but the Russian Saddle Horse had more differences compared to other roadster breeds. Soviet Heavy Draft mares were reliably superior to riding mares in most measurements and conformation indices, but inferior to them in terms of neck length. Our research has shown that the selection of highly specialized types of horses leads to a distinct differentiation between breeds of horses in the exterior structure. The resulting digital data should be used for the development of standards and regulations in the breeding of horses for different uses.

Highlights

The large number of horse breeds is due to the great variety of uses for them
The attempt to generalize the characteristics of different breeds and to describe ideal forms in connection with the specialization of breeds instead of finding just the ideal conformation was made in the 19th century, but the effort to reduce the variety of breeds to a few ideal types has been criticized and found to be untenable [13]
Horses used in classical equestrian sports tend to be higher at withers, because larger horses can jump over high obstacles more in show jumping and triathlon, and a larger horse looks better in dressage, which can give the judges some advantage when judging; with heavy draft breeds, a larger height is associated with greater live weight and greater pulling power

Summary

Introduction

The large number of horse breeds is due to the great variety of uses for them. As the horse breeding and hippology developed, the science of exterior design, which became a separate discipline in the 18th century, underwent various formative stages, but at the same time included completely opposite views and currents that could be completely opposite: the search for the "ideal exterior" based on golden proportions or the proportions of famous horses. The 19th century saw the intensification of agriculture and the emergence of highly specialized breeds of animals, including horses. The attempt to generalize the characteristics of different breeds and to describe ideal forms in connection with the specialization of breeds instead of finding just the ideal conformation was made in the 19th century, but the effort to reduce the variety of breeds to a few ideal types has been criticized and found to be untenable [13]

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