Biometric evaluation of Criollo horses participating in the Freio de Ouro competition, Brazil

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to quantify linear and angular morphological measurements of male and female horses participating in the Freio de Ouro competition. This study represents the first scientific evaluation of the biometrics of the Criollo breed, providing essential information for the evaluation of the development of the breed and supporting objective selection. We examined linear and angular measurements of 634 Criollo horses participating in the Freio de Ouro competition in 2011 and 2012, including height, chest circumference, cannon bone circumference, body length, metatarsus length, croup length, chest width, head length, dorsal neck length, throat circumference, and angles of the croup, scapula, and hock. Statistical analysis showed that males had a greater average cannon bone circumference (19.76 cm) than females (18.95 cm) and a greater throat circumference (77.66 cm for males and 73.30 cm for females). None of the other traits evaluated differed between genders. The average height (141.73 cm for males and 141.41 cm for females) was close to the minimum requirement for the breed standard. Subjective observations suggesting that animals of this breed are decreasing in size were not confirmed in this study, as the height and other evaluated measures did not differ between competing horses less or more than seven years of age. Although these measurements in isolation do not indicate the qualities of individual animals, they serve as valuable auxiliary elements for selection work, showing breed tendencies and providing objective data to support technical decisions of judges regarding conformation

Gender on the growth of Criollo foals from birth to three years of age

ABSTRACT: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of gender on the growth of Criollo foals, in order to use this information as a reference for breeding as well as in future research. Body height, thoracic perimeter, and cannon bone perimeter of 75 foals were measured from two farms in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (Lat. 32°, 33′, 58″, Long. 53°, 22′, 33″) and from three generations over three years. In both farms, animals were kept under the same range and feeding conditions. Nonlinear regression models were applied to describe the growth curves for the three traits over the experimental period. Cannon bone perimeter was greater in males than in females (P<0.001) but the predicted curves for body height and thoracic perimeter did not differ between genders. For all traits, the highest rate of increase was achieved in the first year of life (body height = 74%, thoracic perimeter = 76%, and cannon bone perimeter = 63% for males and 83% for females). Results of this study indicated that changes in body height and thoracic perimeter can be predicted using nonlinear models in both male and female foals, until they reach three years of age; whereas, changes in cannon bone perimeter should be modeled separately for each gender

Association of morphometric measurements with morphologic scores of Criollo horses at Freio de Ouro: a path analysis

ABSTRACT This study used path analysis to establish the direct, indirect, and total effects of body linear and angular measurements on subjective morphological scores of the 247 Criollo horses that participated in their most important performance event, Freio de Ouro, in 2012. Freio de Ouro is the only event of the Criollo breed that considers morphology. Measurements of wither height, thoracic girth, cannon bone girth, body length, metatarsus length, croup length, shoulder width, head length, neck length, and upper neck girth, and the angles of rump, shoulder, and hock were taken. These morphometric measurements collectively explained 83% of the variation in morphological score. The measurements with the greatest total effects on score were neck length (correlation coefficient = 0.2300), upper neck girth (0.2100), angle of rump (–0.1600), thoracic girth (0.1400), shoulder width (0.1400), body length (0.1100), croup length (0.1100), shoulder angle (–0.1100), and metatarsus length (0.1000). These results mean that these variables have the highest association with morphological evaluation by referees. This is the first scientific study of the correlation of morphological measurements with judge evaluation in Criollo horses