Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T09:23:40.149Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Genetic variation in competition traits at different ages and time periods and correlations with traits at field tests of 4-year-old Swedish Warmblood horses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2010

Å. Viklund ,
Å. Braam ,
A. Näsholm ,
E. Strandberg  and
J. Philipsson
Å. Viklund*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
Å. Braam
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
A. Näsholm
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
E. Strandberg
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
J. Philipsson
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

For many years, the breeding value estimation for Swedish riding horses has been based on results from Riding Horse Quality Tests (RHQTs) of 4-year-olds only. Traits tested are conformation, gaits and jumping ability. An integrated index including competition results is under development to both get as reliable proofs as possible and increases the credibility of the indexes among breeders, trainers and riders. The objectives of this study were to investigate the suitability of competition data for use in genetic evaluations of horses and to examine how well young horse performance agrees with performance later in life. Competition results in dressage and show jumping for almost 40 000 horses from the beginning of the 1960s until 2006 were available. For RHQT data of 14 000 horses judged between 1988 and 2007 were used. Genetic parameters were estimated for accumulated competition results defined for different age groups (4 to 6 years of age, 4 to 9 years of age and lifetime), and for different birth year groups. Genetic correlations were estimated between results at RHQT and competitions with a multi-trait animal model. Heritabilities were higher for show jumping than dressage and increased with increasing age of the horse and amount of information. For dressage, heritabilities increased from 0.11 for the youngest group to 0.16 for lifetime results. For show jumping corresponding values increased from 0.24 to 0.28. Genetic correlations between competition results for the different age groups were highly positive (0.84 to 1.00), as were those between jumping traits at RHQT and competition results in show jumping (0.87 to 0.89). For dressage-related traits as 4-year-old and dressage competition results the estimated genetic correlations were between 0.47 and 0.77. We suggest that lifetime results from competitions should be integrated into the genetic evaluation system. However, genetic parameters showed that traits had changed during the over 35-year period covered due to the development of the sport, which needs to be considered in future genetic evaluations.

Keywords

riding horsesdressageshow jumpingperformance testgenetic parameters
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 4 , Issue 5 , May 2010 , pp. 682 - 691
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aldridge, LI, Kelleher, DL, Reilly, M, Brophy, PO 2000. Estimation of the genetic correlation between performances at different levels of show jumping competitions in Ireland. Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 117, 65–72.Google Scholar
Árnason, Th 1987. Contribution of various factors to genetic evaluation of stallions. Livestock Production Science 16, 407–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brockmann, A, Bruns, E 2000. Schätzung genetischer Parameter für Merkmale aus Leistungsprüfungen für pferde. Züchtungskunde 72, 4–16.Google Scholar
Ducro, BJ, Koenen, EPC, van Tartwijk, JMFM, Bovenhuis, H 2007. Genetic relations of movement and free-jumping traits with dressage and show-jumping performance in competition of Dutch Warmblood horses. Livestock Science 107, 227–234.Google Scholar
Gelinder, Å 1999. Analys av tävlingsstatistik för ridhästar (Analysis of competition data of Swedish riding horses). MSc thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Nr 197, Uppsala, 49pp.Google Scholar
Hassenstein, C 1998. Genetisch statistische Analyse von neuentwickelten Merkmalen aus Turniersportprüfungen für Reitpferde. PhD thesis, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel.Google Scholar
Huizinga, HA, Boukamp, M, Smolders, G 1990. Estimated parameters of field performance testing of mares from the Dutch Warmblood riding horse population. Livestock Production Science 26, 291–299.Google Scholar
Huizinga, HA, van der Meij, GJW 1989. Estimated parameters of performance in jumping and dressage competition of the Dutch Warmblood Horse. Livestock Production Science 21, 333–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janssens, S, Geysen, D, Vandepitte, W 1997. Genetic parameters for show jumping in Belgian sporthorses. Conference at the 48th Annual Meeting of the European Association for Animal Production, 25–28 August 1997, Vienna, Austria, 5pp.Google Scholar
Jensen, J, Madsen, P 1994. DMU: A package for the analysis of multitrait mixed models. In: Proceedings 5th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, Guelph, Canada. Computing strategies and software 22, 45–46.Google Scholar
Jensen, J, Mäntysaari, EA, Madsen, P, Thompson, R 1997. Residual maximum likelihood estimation of (co)variance components in multitrait mixed linear models using average information. Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics 49, 215–236.Google Scholar
Kearsley, CGS, Woolliams, JA, Coffey, MP, Brotherstone, S 2008. Use of competition data for genetic evaluations of eventing horses in Britain: Analysis of dressage, showjumping and cross country phases of eventing competition. Livestock Science 118, 72–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koenen, EPC, Aldridge, LI 2002. Testing and genetic evaluation of sport horses in an international perspective. Conference at the 7th World Congress Genetic Applied to Livestock Production, 19–23 August 2002, Montpellier, France, 5pp.Google Scholar
Lührs-Behnke, H, Röhe, R, Kalm, E 2006a. Genetische Analysen von Reitsportprüfungen und deren Beziehungen zu Merkmalen der Hengstleistungs- und Zuchtstutenprüfung. Züchtungskunde 78, 119–128.Google Scholar
Lührs-Behnke, H, Röhe, R, Kalm, E 2006b. Schätzung genetischer Parameter für Turniersportleistungen innerhalb Prüfungklassen und der Beziehungen zu den Merkmalen der Zuchtstuten- und Hengstleistungprüfung. Züchtungskunde 78, 173–183.Google Scholar
MacCluer, J, Boyce, AJ, Dyke, B, Weitkamp, LR, Pfennig, DW, Parson, CJ 1983. Inbreeding and pedigree structure in Standardbred horses. The Journal of Heredity 74, 394–399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madsen, D, Jensen, J 2000. A User’s guide to DMU – A Package for Analyzing Multivariate Mixed Models. Danish Institute of Agricultural Science, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Research Centre Foulum, 8pp.Google Scholar
Reilly, M, Foran, MK, Kelleher, DL, Flanagan, MJ, Brophy, PO 1998. Estimation of genetic value of showjumping horses from the ranking of all performances in all competitions. Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 115, 17–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ricard, A, Bruns, E, Cunningham, EP 2000. Genetics of performance traits. In The Genetics of the horse (ed. AT Bowling and A Ruvinsky), pp. 411–438. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ricard, A, Chanu, I 2001. Genetic parameters of eventing horse competition in France. Genetics Selection Evolution 33, 175–190.Google Scholar
SAS Institute Inc. 2008. SAS OnlineDoc® 9.1.3. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc. Retrieved August 28, 2008, from http://support.sas.com/onlinedoc/913/Google Scholar
Schade, W 1996. Entwicklung eines Besamungszuchtprogramms für die Hannoversche Warmblutzucht. PhD, Göttingen University, Germany.Google Scholar
Swedish Warmblood Association (SWA) 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2008, from www.warmblood.se.Google Scholar
Tavernier, A 1992. Is the performance at 4 years in jumping informative for later results? Conference at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Association for Animal Production, 13–17 September 1992, Madrid, Spain, 4pp.Google Scholar
Thorén Hellsten, E, Viklund, Å, Koenen, EPC, Ricard, A, Bruns, E, Philipsson, J 2006. Review of genetic parameters estimated at stallion and young horse test and their correlations with later results in dressage and show-jumping competition. Livestock Science 103, 1–12.Google Scholar
Van Veldhuizen, AE 1997. Breeding value estimation for riding horses in the Netherlands. Conference at the 48th Annual Meeting of the European Association for Animal Production, 25–28 August 1997, Vienna, Austria, 8pp.Google Scholar
Viklund, Å, Thorén Hellsten, E, Näsholm, A, Strandberg, E, Philipsson, J 2008. Genetic parameters for traits evaluated at field tests of 3- and 4-year-old Swedish Warmblood horses. Animal 12, 1832–1841.Google Scholar
Wallin, L, Strandberg, E, Philipsson, J 2003. Genetic correlations between field test results of Swedish Warmblood riding horses as 4-year-olds and lifetime performance results in dressage and show jumping. Livestock Production Science 82, 61–71.Google Scholar