The study was conducted to find out the most reliable parameter of the hoof size in relation to the horse body size, exemplified in mares. The mares of four breeds belonging to different origin types were examined: Purebred Arabian, halfbred Anglo-Arabian, primitive Polish Konik and Polish Cold-Blood, 77 mares in total. The mares were four to 13 years old, classified into three age groups. Three body measurements were taken: height at withers, chest circumference and canzon circumference. The boniness index (cannon circumference to height at withers ratio) was also defined. After trimming, three left fore hoof measurements were taken: toe length, solar length and hoof width. Total length and width were calculated as a hoof solar size measure. On the basis of the parameters obtained, nine fore hoof to body dimension ratios were defined. To evaluate the results, least squares means analysis was used and correlation coefficients between body parameters (1), between hoof parameters (2), as well as between body and hoof parameters (3) were identified. The results show the hoof to body dimension ratios grow according to the increasing canzon circumference to height at withers ratio. The hoof width to chest circumference ratio was found to be a useful parameter of the hoof size. The means (%) obtained (5.93±0.10, 6.41±0.08, 6.56±0.11 and 7.26±0.09 in Purebred Arabian, Anglo-Arabian, Polish Konik and Polish Cold-Blood horses,respectively) are suggested as standards to which individual ratios in mares of similar breeds May be compared judging the horse’s conformation. The age hardly affected the hoof solar size to height at withers ratio in mares four to nine years old.
In this study a wide range of genetic markers (12 microsatellites, 7 blood-group loci, 10 blood-protein loci) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were used to assess genetic diversity in Polish Heavy horses. Three random samples were sequenced for 421 bp of the mitochondrial D-loop region, but no clear phylogenetic patterns were seen in mtDNA variation. Both heterozygosity and diversity levels are fairly high in Polish Heavy horses. In phylogenetic analysis the draught horses form a distinct cluster that pairs with the true pony breeds. Within this ‘cold-blooded’ group, the Polish Heavy Horse clusters most closely with the Posavina breed from Croatia and the Breton breed from France. From the standpoint of genetic conservation, the Polish Heavy Horse does not appear to be in jeopardy.
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