We gathered evidence on the occurrence of equines in the island of Crete from the Neolithic until 1895. We relied on published archaeological and osteological records plus on historical written ...documents. Our dataset includes a description of the type of evidence, where this was located, and the associated absolute and relative chronologies. The collected data can be used to investigate the past spread of equids in Crete (Equus asinus and Equus caballus), their socioeconomic status, and the development of the local Cretan breed. The dataset is made available via the Abraxas data community within the Pandora data platform. This community is devoted to the historical study of horses. The dataset presented here is a component of a project tracing the history of the Cretan horse until present day.
Abstract The purpose of the study was to determine the milk productivity and chemical composition of the milk of mares of the Kazakh breed of the jabe type (KJ) and the Novoaltay-Kazakh crossbreeds ...of the 1st generation (NA x KJ) in the conditions of herd keeping. To determine the milk productivity of mares, 2 experimental groups were formed with a total of 30 mares, 15 individuals were selected in each group. The studied animals were formed according to the principle of pairs of analogues in the context of full-age groups from 5 to 11 years. Kazakh horses of the jabe type in the group of experimental mares in milk have an average live weight of 433.5 kg, and are significantly inferior to the Novoaltay-Kazakh crosses (515.3 kg). The body measurements were 142.0-149.0-174.9-18.2 cm in Kazakh horses of the jabe type, and 150.1-157.1-186.7-20.02 cm, respectively, in Novoaltay-Kazakh crossbreeds. According to the results of studies, the milkiness of mares of the Novoaltay-Kazakh crosses for 105 days of lactation averaged 1932 liters or higher by 25.2% (487.2 liters) than the milkiness of mares of the Kazakh breed of the jabe type. As a result of studies on the composition of milk of mares of different genotypes, it was found that in mares of Kazakh jabe, on average, protein and fat indicators compared to Novoaltay-Kazakh crossbreeds were higher by 0.07% and 0.05%. In the course of determining the live weight of mares among the experimental groups, it was found that the Novoaltay-Kazakh crossbreeds, on average, had a higher live weight of 515.3 kg or higher compared to the Kazakh jabe by 81.8 kg (15.8%). Thus, the studies have proved the prospects of using stallions of the Novoaltay breed to increase the milkiness of local Kazakh horses of the jabe type in herd and pasture conditions.
Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a produtividade do leite e a composição química do leite de éguas da raça Cazaque do tipo Jabe (KJ) e dos cruzamentos Novoaltay-Cazaque de 1ª geração (NA x KJ) nas condições de rebanho guardando. Para determinar a produtividade leiteira das éguas foram formados 2 grupos experimentais com um total de 30 éguas e 15 indivíduos foram selecionados em cada grupo. Os animais estudados foram formados segundo o princípio de pares de análogos no contexto de grupos de idade completa de 5 a 11 anos. Os cavalos cazaques do tipo jabe no grupo de éguas experimentais em leite apresentaram peso vivo médio de 433,5 kg e são significativamente inferiores aos cruzamentos Novoaltay-Cazaque (515,3 kg). As medidas corporais foram 142,0-149,0-174,9-18,2 cm em cavalos cazaques do tipo jabe e 150,1-157,1-186,7-20,02 cm, respectivamente, em mestiços Novoaltay-Cazaque. De acordo com os resultados dos estudos, a leiteira das éguas dos cruzamentos Novoaltay-Cazaque durante 105 dias de lactação foi em média 1.932 litros ou superior em 25,2% (487,2 litros) do que a leiteira das éguas da raça cazaque do tipo jabe. Como resultado de estudos sobre a composição do leite de éguas de diferentes genótipos, constatou-se que nas éguas do jabe cazaque, em média, os indicadores de proteína e gordura em comparação com os cruzamentos Novoaltay-Cazaque foram superiores em 0,07% e 0,05%. No decorrer da determinação do peso vivo das éguas entre os grupos experimentais, constatou-se que os mestiços Novoaltay-Cazaque, em média, apresentavam peso vivo superior em 515,3 kg ou superior em comparação com o jabe cazaque em 81,8 kg (15,8%). Assim, os estudos comprovaram as perspectivas de utilização de garanhões da raça Novoaltay para aumentar a capacidade leiteira de cavalos cazaques locais do tipo jabe em condições de rebanho e pasto.
Horses are gaining importance in European nature conservation management, for which usually so-called primitive breeds are favored due to their claimed robustness. An increasingly popular breed, the ...Konik horse, is often said to be the direct descendent of the alleged European wild horse, the Tarpan. However, both the direct descent of the Konik from European wild horses and the existence of the Tarpan as a wild species are highly debated. In this review, we scrutinized both contemporary research and historical sources and suggest that the Tarpan and the Konik as its direct descendent are manmade myths that hinder effective conservation management. We did not find evidence that the Tarpan was a wild horse rather than a feral horse. We did not find any evidence either for a closer connection between the Konik and any extinct wild horse than between other domestic breeds and wild horses. We discuss three perspectives on why the myth has become widely accepted and survived to this day: a historical-political, a biological-ecological, and an emotional perspective. It seems that the origin story of the Konik and its connection to the Tarpan was shaped by personal and political interests, including nationalistic ideas. These as well as general human emotions towards horses have influenced researchers and laypeople to keep the myth alive, which has been possibly negatively impacting contemporary nature conservation. Indeed, today’s Koniks originated from a small founder population of only six male lines that were selected according to their phenotypic traits, with the aim to rebreed the ‘wild Tarpan’. Strict breeding practices have led to high inbreeding levels in recent Konik populations, which may undermine nature conservation purposes. Therefore, we suggest that mythologized origin stories should not be an argument for selecting breeds of grazers for nature conservation.
The Mangalarga Marchador (MM) horse breed has expressive importance in the Brazilian economy. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate diversity in the MM breed. A database with a total of ...3,193 genotyped horses was used (MM, n = 2,829; Andalusian – AND, n = 67; Pure Blood Lusitano – LUS, n = 43; English Thoroughbred – THO, n = 54; Arabian – ARA, n = 99; Campolina – CAM, n = 61; and Mangalarga – MAN, n = 40) for 13 microsatellite. Diversity parameters were estimates, such as mean number of alleles (Nma) and the number of rare alleles (AR), expected heterozygosity (He), F statistics, genetic distances, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium test (HWE), population structure, and others. The Nma was 10.85, the AR was prevalent in the MM, and the He was 0.7402. In MM, the values of Fis (−0.0195), Fit (0.0566), Fst (0.0748), and deviations of HWE were observed. The genetic distances of the ARA and THO breeds with the other breeds were greater than the distances between the Brazilian breeds and between these and the breeds in the Iberian Peninsula. The population structure indicated that MM was substructured, yet there were some more genetically defined breeding farms. The genetic diversity is satisfactory for MM conservation, but the population is substructure, and parameters indicate moderate gene flow and the existence, though few, of crosses with other horse breeds. Immediate implementation of a genetic breeding program is required, especially seeking to conserve the structure of the MM breed as a well-defined genetic entity.
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•There is a small amount of genetic differentiation among the Mangalarga Marchador subpopulations.•There is a small genetic homogenization at the population level.•The genetic diversity index é satisfactory for conservation and survival as a species, and a guarantee of selection.•Is necessary for the implementation of a genetic breeding program seeking to maximize genetic variability, conserve useful alleles, and especially conserve the structure of the Mangalarga Marchador breed as a well-defined genetic entity differentiated from other horse breeds.
The Y chromosome is a valuable genetic marker for studying the origin and influence of paternal lineages in populations. In this study, we conducted Y-chromosomal lineage-tracing in Arabian horses. ...First, we resolved a Y haplotype phylogeny based on the next generation sequencing data of 157 males from several breeds. Y-chromosomal haplotypes specific for Arabian horses were inferred by genotyping a collection of 145 males representing most Arabian sire lines that are active around the globe. These lines formed three discrete haplogroups, and the same haplogroups were detected in Arabian populations native to the Middle East. The Arabian haplotypes were clearly distinct from the ones detected in Akhal Tekes, Turkoman horses, and the progeny of two Thoroughbred foundation sires. However, a haplotype introduced into the English Thoroughbred by the stallion Byerley Turk (1680), was shared among Arabians, Turkomans, and Akhal Tekes, which opens a discussion about the historic connections between Oriental horse types. Furthermore, we genetically traced Arabian sire line breeding in the Western World over the past 200 years. This confirmed a strong selection for relatively few male lineages and uncovered incongruences to written pedigree records. Overall, we demonstrate how fine-scaled Y-analysis contributes to a better understanding of the historical development of horse breeds.
Linear description (LD) of conformation traits was introduced in horse breeding to minimise subjectivity in scoring. However, recent studies have shown that LD traits show essentially the same ...problems as traditionally scored traits, such as data converging around the mean value with very small standard deviations. To improve the assessment of conformation traits of horses, we investigated the application of the recently described horse shape space model based upon 403 digitised photographs of 243 Franches-Montagnes (FM) stallions and extracted joint angles based on specific landmark triplets. Repeatability, reproducibility and consistency of the resulting shape data and joint angles were assessed with Procrustes ANOVA (Rep) and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Furthermore, we developed a subjective score to classify the posture of the horses on each photograph. We derived relative warp scores (PCs) based upon the digitised photos conducting a principal component analysis (PCA). The PCs of the shapes and joint angles were compared to the posture scores and to the linear description data using linear mixed effect models including significant posture scores as random factors. The digitisation process was highly repeatable and reproducible for the shape (Rep = 0.72-0.99, ICC = 0.99). The consistency of the shape was limited by the age and posture (p < 0.05). The angle measurements were highly repeatable within one digitiser. Between digitisers, we found a higher variability of ICC values (ICC = 0.054-0.92), indicating digitising error in specific landmarks (e.g. shoulder point). The posture scores were highly repeatable (Fleiss' kappa = 0.713-0.857). We identified significant associations (p(X2) < 0.05) with traits describing the withers height, shoulder length and incline, overall leg conformation, walk and trot step length. The horse shape data and angles provide additional information to explore the morphology of horses and therefore can be applied to improve the knowledge of the genetic architecture of LD traits.
In horses, parentage control is currently performed based on an internationally standardized panel of 17 microsatellite (MS) markers comprising 12 mandatory and five optional markers. Unlike MS, ...single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles support a wider portfolio of genomic applications, including parentage control. A transition to SNP-based parentage control is favorable, but requires additional efforts for ensuring generation-overlapping availability of marker genotypes of the same type. To avoid double genotyping of either parents or offspring for changing to SNP technology and enable efficient transition, we tested whether MS genotypes used for parentage control could be reliably imputed from a medium-density SNP panel in German warmblood horses. Imputation accuracy was tested in a tenfold cross-validation with two approaches: within breed (option A) and across breeds (option B). Average imputation accuracies of 97.98% (A) and 96.17% (B) were achieved, respectively. Due to interbreed differences in genotyping rates, five MS markers of low genotyping rate (GTR; < 90%) could be imputed with higher accuracy within breed (98.18%) than across breeds (90.73%). MS markers with high GTR performed homogeneously well in option B (98.44%) and showed slightly lower accuracy in option A (97.90%). Among these markers, AHT5 proved to be problematic for imputation regardless of the approach, revealing accuracies of 86.40% (A) and 88.70% (B). Better results for MS markers with high GTR and savings in computational processing justified the choice of option B for routine implementation. To date, more than 9500 horses have undergone the new parentage control based on imputed MS genotypes.
The transformations taking place in Russia since the 90s have changed both the political and economic and social systems of the country. Privatization led to a loss of manageability of all ...agriculture, but significantly negatively affected the traditional agricultural sectors of Yakutia. The transformation of organizational and legal forms and the transition to small-scale production negatively affected animal husbandry as the main occupation of the republic's indigenous population. Despite government support for traditional industries, there has been no positive change. Of particular concern is the implementation of large indus-trial projects in the Arctic. The subject of the study is factors and trends affecting the socio-economic situation and the development of traditional industries. The goal is to determine the features and patterns of the development of traditional industries and assess the impact of ongoing transformations in the Arctic on their condition. The research hypothesis is the assumption of insufficient state regulation measures and mutually beneficial economic relations with business in the industrial development of the Arctic. The results of the studies showed the need to increase the attention of all levels of government in deciding on the development of a particular territory of the Arctic and identifying such rules and mechanisms for companies that should not only ensure the preservation of agricultural industries, but also improve the quality and standard of living of the population. The research methodology is based on system analysis using economic and statistical methods, analytical and computational algorithms for processing information on the development of agro-industrial complex and changing dynamics, including content analysis.
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