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Home / Equine Research Bank / Open Vet J / Effect of inbreeding on the “Club Foot” disorder...
Open veterinary journal2019; 9(3); 273-280; doi: 10.4314/ovj.v9i3.14

Effect of inbreeding on the “Club Foot” disorder in Arabian Pureblood horses reared in Italy.

Abstract: "The Club Foot" (or "Mismatched Foot") is an acquired or congenital flexural deformity of the distal interphalangeal joint, caused by a shortening of the musculotendinous unit of the deep digital flexor tendon. The aim of this research was to detect the incidence of the disorder in Arabian Pureblood horses, attempting to understand its causes and to analyze a possible role of inbreeding in its expression. In this breed, in fact, the pathology is widespread because in the environment of origin, the rocky desert, a hard and almost goat's hoof is not disabling so the selection against this disorder has never been done. Pedigrees were taken from 141 (reference population = RP) adult Arabian Pureblood horses (51 males and 90 females) belonging to eight Italian different farms during the period 1982-2017. For each horse, the presence or not of the disorder was observed and inbreeding coefficients () was performed. Four grades of deformity were considered. Moreover, the environmental condition of each farm was considered: boxes, paddocks, nutrition, orientation, and hoof care and shoeing. The chi-square test was applied. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the differences in the average inbreeding coefficient () between affected and healthy animals, between sexes and between shod and unshod animals. Two grades of deformity were observed (I and II) which give less severe manifestations, with 28 females and 25 males (37.59% of the examined horses) showing the disorder. No differences between males and females or between shod (38.29%) and unshod (61.70%) were observed. Environmental conditions do not influence the rate of pathology in the different farms, with a prevalence of the disorder ranging from 7.69% up to 100% on farm. The whole population (WP = RP and its genealogy) included 3,355 records subdivided in seven traced generations. One hundred and eighteen out of 141 horses (RP) were inbred (83.69%). The average inbreeding coefficient () in the RP was 0.095. Inbreeding coefficient in RP was 0.25 in 28 horses (23.73% of inbred). High inbreeding coefficients were observed in all farms and in particularly in affected animals suggesting that high inbreeding coefficients increases the probability that the disorder occurs. Future works may include the study of the hereditability of the character, and the attempt to identify loci associated with the disorder.
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Publication Date: 2019-09-29 PubMed ID: 31998623PubMed Central: PMC6794396DOI: 10.4314/ovj.v9i3.14Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

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This research analyzes the presence of the “Club Foot” disorder in Arabian Pureblood horses in Italy, with a focus on understanding if inbreeding contributes to the condition’s incidence.

What is “Club Foot” disorder?

The “Club Foot” disorder, also referred to as “Mismatched Foot”, is an acquired or congenital deformity of the distal interphalangeal joint. It’s caused by a shortening of the musculotendinous unit of the deep digital flexor tendon. This deformity is commonly seen in Arabian Pureblood horses, particularly because in their original habitat, the rocky desert, a harder, goat-like hoof is not considered a disability. Therefore, active selection against this disorder never occurred.

Research Methodology

  • To carry out the research, data was collected from 141 adult Arabian Pureblood horses (51 males and 90 females) across eight different farms in Italy during the period of 1982-2017.
  • The team recorded the presence or absence of the disorder and calculated inbreeding coefficients for each horse.
  • Four levels of deformity were considered, however, only two less severe levels (I and II) were observed in the studied population.
  • The researchers also took into account the environmental conditions on each farm including stabling, nutrition, orientation, and hoof care and shoeing.
  • To analyze the data collected, the team employed a chi-square test and conducted an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to test for differences in the average inbreeding coefficient between affected and healthy animals, between sexes, and between shod and unshod animals.

Key Findings

It was observed that 37.59% of the evaluated horses showed the disorder, with no significant differences between males and females, or between shod (38.29%) and unshod (61.70%) horses. The findings also indicated that environmental conditions did not significantly influence the pathology rate on different farms where the incidence of the disorder ranged from 7.69% to 100%.

Researchers found that 83.69% of the horses (118 out of 141) were inbred. The average inbreeding coefficient (f) in the population was 0.095. Of the inbred horses, 12.71% had an inbreeding coefficient of less than 0.05, and 23.73% had a coefficient greater than 0.25. It was noted that farms with a high proportion of affected animals typically had higher inbreeding coefficients.

Conclusions and Future Research

The study concluded that inbreeding might contribute to a higher probability of “Club Foot” disorder in Arabian Pureblood horses. However, additional research is recommended, which could include studying the heritability of the character, as well as identifying any genetic loci associated with the disorder.

Cite This Article

APA
Comparini L, Podestà A, Russo C, Cecchi F. (2019). Effect of inbreeding on the “Club Foot” disorder in Arabian Pureblood horses reared in Italy. Open Vet J, 9(3), 273-280. https://doi.org/10.4314/ovj.v9i3.14

Publication

Open veterinary journal
ISSN: 2218-6050
NlmUniqueID: 101653182
Country: Libya
Language: English
Volume: 9
Issue: 3
Pages: 273-280

Researcher Affiliations

Comparini, Lisa
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Podestà, Adriano
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Russo, Claudia
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Cecchi, Francesca
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Clubfoot / epidemiology
  • Clubfoot / genetics
  • Clubfoot / veterinary
  • Female
  • Hoof and Claw / pathology
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
  • Horse Diseases / genetics
  • Horses
  • Inbreeding
  • Incidence
  • Italy / epidemiology
  • Male
  • Prevalence

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 7 times.
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