Belgian Horses Research Articles

A survey of anthelmintic resistance on belgian horse farms

A survey of anthelmintic resistance on belgian horse farms

Dental wear in horses in relation to the microhardness of enamel and dentine

The microhardness of enamel, primary dentine and secondary dentine was determined in the incisor teeth of 39 horses of three different breeds, trotter horses, Belgian draft horses and Arab horses....

Ageing Arab horses by their dentition

The dentition of 170 Arab horses of known ages was examined and compared with the dental characteristics of trotter horses and Belgian draft horses of the same ages. The results...

Ageing draft and trotter horses by their dentition

The accuracy of ageing horses by their dentition was assessed by comparing the dental features with the known dates of birth of 212 trotter horses and 189 Belgian draft horses....

Maternal behavior of Belgian ( Equus caballus) mares

The relationship between ten Belgian mares and their offspring was studied from the first day of foal life to 17 weeks of age. Mares and foals spent more time at greater distances from each other as foals matured. Mares exhibited the recumbency response, being in closer proximity to their foals when foals were recumbent than when they were upright. Foals initiated the majority of nursing bouts. Frequency and duration of nursing bouts and percentage of time resting recumbently declined as foals matured. Foals also terminated the their foals, and they were most likely to do so in the first month of foal life. Maternal initiation of nursing. There was usually no discernible foal response to maternal aggression. Little difference between maternal behavior directed towards colts and fillies was found for all aspects of the study. Maternal behavior in the Belgian draft horse was similar to that reported for other equid breeds.

The draft versus an all‐volunteer force: Issues of efficiency and equity in the Belgian draft

This paper considers the choice of labour inputs in the production of Belgian defence. The social costs and the distributive aspects of the selective conscription of males and an all‐volunteer force are analyzed. First, theoretical arguments on the efficiency and equity of both manpower systems are spelled out. Next, estimates for the social costs of the conscription and an all‐volunteer force are presented. Finally, casual evidence concerning the equity of the draft is presented.

A field study to estimate the energy requirements of modern Belgian and Percheron horses

Summary Digestible energy requirements for maintenance and fattening of 14 mature, purebred Belgian and Percheron horses were estimated in a 98-day feeding trial. Horses were fed Bermuda grass hay and varying amounts of oats to achieve variation in weight change. The horses were weighed at weekly intervals, and the regression of weight on day of the trail was calculated to determine daily weight change. Digestible energy requirements for maintenance and fattening were estimated by regression analyses of digestible energy consumption vs. weight change. The estimated digestible energy required for maintenance was 27 kcal/kg body weight (144 kcal/kg75). The estimated digestible energy requirement for fattening was 16.02 Mcal/kg of gain.

Prekallikrein deficiency in a family of Belgian horses

Summary A 7-year-old Belgian stallion hemorrhaged excessively after castration; the hemostatic mechanism was investigated. The horse had normal one-stage prothrombin time and markedly prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (aptt). Results of intrinsic coagulation factor assays were all normal with the exception of prekallikrein activity, which was markedly reduced (< 1% activity; value for control population, 63 to 150%). Two of this horse's full siblings, a brother and sister, had markedly prolonged aptt and low prekallikrein values (2.5% and < 1%, respectively). The addition of plasma from a normal equine plasma pool corrected the prolonged aptt in the 3 Belgian siblings with low prekallikrein activity. Prekallikrein activity in 10 other closely related Belgian horses ranged between 12.5 and 64% (mean, 29.3%), compared with 63 to 150% (mean, 91%) in 10 mixed-breed horses. In the 3 Belgian siblings with low prekallikrein activity, the aptt approached normal after prolonged incubation (15 minutes) with the contact activator and in response to addition of an ellagic acid activator. The 3 Belgian siblings with low prekallikrein activity may be homozygous for prekallikrein deficiency, whereas the other close relatives may be heterozygous for the genetic defect.

Direct evidence for linkage of roan and extension loci in Belgian horses.

A bay roan Brabant Belgian stallion (ERn/ ern) was bred to eight chestnut American Belgian mares (ern/ ern), producing 57 foals. Thirty foals were bay roan, 25 were chestnut, one was bay, and one was chestnut roan. The recombination rate was 0.035 +/- 0.024, indicating fairly close linkage between the roan (Rn) and extension (E) loci.