An integration of external information for foreign stallions into the Belgian genetic evaluation for jumping horses.

This research investigates how incorporating foreign estimated breeding values and their corresponding reliabilities into the Belgian evaluation of jumping horses can improve accuracy and correlations with foreign rankings.

Objective of the Research

• This study aims to understand the importance and feasibility of integrating foreign estimated breeding values (EBV) and associated reliabilities (REL) into the Belgian evaluation of jumping horses.
• This exploration was prompted by the common practice among Belgian breeders who often import horses from neighboring countries and thus, require external information to achieve more precise breeding value assessments.

Methodology

• The researchers deployed a bivariate repeatability Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) animal model for evaluation; this model uniquely takes into consideration only the Belgian performances.
• The study data consists of pedigree and performance information of over 101,382 horses and 712,212 performances, including external evaluations of 98 French and 67 Dutch stallions. After conversion to the Belgian trait, these were then integrated into the Belgian evaluation.

Findings

• The integration of foreign stallion information led to the Belgian rankings of these foreign stallions aligning more closely with their foreign rankings. There was an increase of at least 12% rank correlations due to this integration.
• The reliability of their estimated breeding values also improved by at least 2% on average.
• The researchers also concluded that the effect of this external data could be partially or entirely comparable to considering 4 years of contemporary horses’ performances or to taking into account all the stallions’ own performances.

Impact and Importance of the Research

• These findings highlight the significance of integrating foreign information into the Belgian evaluation system. With this, it’s possible to achieve more accurate estimated breeding value evaluations that’s reflected in the improved alignment with foreign rankings.
• In particular, this is useful for Belgian breeders who import horses from other countries, as it allows a more accurate and comprehensive evaluation process.