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Acta veterinaria Scandinavica2017; 59(1); 70; doi: 10.1186/s13028-017-0338-4

Effects of inbreeding and other systematic effects on fertility of Black Forest Draught horses in Germany.

Abstract: The Black Forest Draught horse (BFDH) is an endangered German coldblood breed with its origin in the area of the Black Forest in South Germany. In this retrospective study, the influence of the inbreeding coefficient on foaling rates was investigated using records from ten breeding seasons. Due to the small population size of BFDH, the level of inbreeding is increasing and may have an effect on foaling rates.The data of the present study included all coverings reported for 1024 BFDH mares in the years 2001-2009. These mares were covered by 32 BFDH stallions from the State Stud Marbach. Data from 4534 estrus cycles was used to calculate per cycle foaling rate (CFR). Pedigree data contained all studbook data up to the foundation of the breed as early as 1836. The level of inbreeding of the mare, stallion and expected foal along with other systematic effects on CFR were analysed using a generalized linear mixed model approach. Stallion was employed as a random effect. Systematic fixed effects were month of mating, mating type, age of the mare and stallion, reproductive status of the mare and stallion line of the mare. Inbreeding coefficients of the stallion, mare and expected foal were modelled as linear covariates. Results: The average CFR was 40.9%. The mean inbreeding coefficients of the mares, stallions and expected foals were 7.46, 7.70 and 9.66%. Mating type, age of the mare, reproductive status of the mare and stallion line of the mare had a significant effect. Conclusions: The results showed that the mating type, stallion line of the mare, sire, age and reproductive status of the mare exerted the largest influences on CFR in BFDH. Inbreeding coefficients of the stallion, mare and expected foal were not significantly related with CFR.
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Publication Date: 2017-10-18 PubMed ID: 29047357PubMed Central: PMC5648486DOI: 10.1186/s13028-017-0338-4Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article studies how inbreeding and certain other factors impact the foaling rates (number of horses born) of an endangered German horse breed, the Black Forest Draught horse (BFDH). Despite the growing level of inbreathing in this small population breed, the study found no significant impact of inbreeding on the foaling rates.

Research Overview

  • The research was a retrospective study which utilized data from ten breeding seasons and took into account factors like inbreeding level, age, reproductive status and lineage of the horses.
  • The study considered all coverings reported for 1024 BFDH mares from the years 2001 to 2009. These mares were covered by 32 BFDH stallions from the State Stud Marbach.
  • The researchers made use of data from 4534 estrus cycles to calculate the per cycle foaling rate (CFR).
  • The inbreeding coefficient of the mare, stallion, and expected foal was calculated and analysed using a generalized linear mixed model approach.

Results

  • The results showed that the average CFR was 40.9%. The mean inbreeding coefficients of the mares, stallions and expected foals were found to be 7.46, 7.70 and 9.66% respectively.
  • The study also analysed other systematic effects like the month of mating, type of mating, age of horses, reproductive status, and lineage of the mares. It was found that these factors had a significant effect on the CFR.

Conclusion

  • The study concluded that although the level of inbreeding is increasing among the BFDH breed, it did not significantly affect the CFR.
  • It was other factors such as the type of mating, lineage of the mare, age, and reproductive status of the mare that had the largest influence on the CFR.

Cite This Article

APA
Müller-Unterberg M, Wallmann S, Distl O. (2017). Effects of inbreeding and other systematic effects on fertility of Black Forest Draught horses in Germany. Acta Vet Scand, 59(1), 70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-017-0338-4

Publication

Acta veterinaria Scandinavica
ISSN: 1751-0147
NlmUniqueID: 0370400
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 59
Issue: 1
Pages: 70

Researcher Affiliations

Müller-Unterberg, Maarit
  • Institute for Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (Foundation), Bünteweg 17p, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
Wallmann, Sandra
  • Institute for Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (Foundation), Bünteweg 17p, 30559, Hannover, Germany.
Distl, Ottmar
  • Institute for Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (Foundation), Bünteweg 17p, 30559, Hannover, Germany. Ottmar.Distl@tiho-hannover.de.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Breeding
  • Female
  • Fertility / genetics
  • Germany
  • Horses / genetics
  • Inbreeding
  • Male
  • Pregnancy
  • Reproduction / genetics
  • Retrospective Studies

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Citations

This article has been cited 8 times.
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