Phenotypic diversity of horse breeds used in sports activities, employing multivariate analysis

Marcos P G Rezende,Carlos H M Malhado,Johnny I M Araujo,Julio C Souza,Leonardo Sitorski,Riccardo Bozzi,Paulo L S Carneiro,Riccardo Moretti

doi:10.5424/sjar/2021191-16576

Marcos P G Rezende, Carlos H M Malhado + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5424/sjar/2021191-16576

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Abstract

Aim of study: Sports involving horses have notable financial importance. Breeds are evaluated to find the best-suited ones for a specific sport category. Phenotypic diversity using biometric markers was evaluated for Quarter Horse (QH), Arabic (AR), English Thoroughbred (ET), and Brazilian Equestrian (BE) horse breeds.Area of study: Mato Grosso do Sul-Brazil.Material and methods: Lengths, widths, and circumference measures of 268 horses were collected. These measures were used to estimate conformation indexes. The size-free canonical discriminant analysis was used to remove the size effect on the animal's shape. The similarity among breeds (by sex) was evaluated employing multivariate analysis (canonical analysis, MANOVA, principal components, Euclidean distances, and grouping through complete linkage), considering all linear measures and conformation indexes (included in the analysis of principal components).Main results: Four canonical variables (CANs), each one representing an equation to interpret the morpho-functionality of breeds “sustentation”, “structure”, “frame”, and “equilibrium”, were retained. The breeds presented differences when the CANs were simultaneously considered. Differences mainly were the size and the thickness of the body as well as the ability of the animal to move. ET, QH, and BE demonstrate a well-defined biometric profile. These three breeds clustered separately from AR breed.Research highlights: Canonical variables allow to verify the functional aptitudes since the responses were close to conformation indices commonly used as horse skill estimators. The implementation of these variables as selection criteria in horse breeding programs require further studies in larger populations of horses for a confirmation of the present results.

Highlights

The morpho-functionality of horses is the result of the adaptation to the environment through natural selection, which gradually leads to the development of specific locomotor properties (Cano et al, 2001)
The analysis of the inflection point on the eigenvalue curve of the canonical analysis allows to reduce the original number of traits to four canonical variables (CAN), which were able to explain 95% of the variation among the breeds (Table 2)
The canonical variables were able to verify the functional aptitudes of the horses since they were positioned were close to conformation indices commonly used as horse skill estimators

Summary

Introduction

The morpho-functionality of horses is the result of the adaptation to the environment through natural selection, which gradually leads to the development of specific locomotor properties (Cano et al, 2001). The horse performance during physical activity is largely related to the animal's shape (Rezende et al, 2018). In this sense, the use of linear measurements taken from the equine body could play a relevant role and has been widely used for this purpose, as well as for selection, genetic improvement and breed differentiation (Parés-Casanova, 2010). Biometric markers are useful in the identification of the degree of divergence in specific aptitudes between genetic groups (Rezende et al, 2016) and as indicators of adaptive or selective differences between populations (Biagiotti et al, 2013). Biometrics serves as a diagnosis of the qualities, problems, and orientation of mating, to improve certain characteristics in the progenies (Mello & Schmidt, 2008), and to assist in genetic improvement programs (Brooks et al, 2010)

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