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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Simulation Study on the Integration of Health Traits in Hors...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2020; 10(7); doi: 10.3390/ani10071153

Simulation Study on the Integration of Health Traits in Horse Breeding Programs.

Abstract: Osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) is a degenerative disease of the cartilage leading to osseous fragments in the joints. It is important in horse breeding both from an animal welfare and an economic perspective. To study adequate breeding strategies to reduce OCD prevalence, a lifelike simulation of the breeding program of German Warmblood horses was performed with the R package MoBPS. We simulated complex breeding schemes of riding horses with different selection steps and realistic age structure, mimicking the German situation. As an example, osseous fragments in fetlock and hock joints were considered. Different scenarios, either using threshold selection, index selection or genomic index selection, respectively, were compared regarding their impact on health and performance traits. A rigorous threshold selection as well as the integration of OCD in a selection index at the stage of stallion licensing and chosen frequency of use in breeding cases on a selection index that includes breeding values for OCD traits performed best on a comparable level. Simply integrating OCD in this breeding value was less effective in terms of OCD reduction. Scenarios with a higher reduction of OCD also showed a slightly reduced improvement in the riding horse performance traits.
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Publication Date: 2020-07-07 PubMed ID: 32645982PubMed Central: PMC7401664DOI: 10.3390/ani10071153Google 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 used a simulation study to explore the best possible horse breeding strategies for reducing the prevalence of a joint disease, osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD), using the German Warmblood horses breeding program as a model.

Understanding the Research

  • The study focused on osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD), a degenerative joint disease that can significantly affect horse breeding, both from an animal welfare standpoint as well as an economic perspective. The disease leads to bone fragments in the joints, causing pain and disability in horses.
  • In seeking to establish the most suitable strategies to reduce the prevalence of OCD, the researchers implemented a lifelike simulation of the breeding program for German Warmblood horses, using the R package MoBPS to run their simulations.
  • The simulation replicated the complexity of real-world riding horse breeding schemes, complete with their multiple selection steps, intricate age structure, and prevalent conditions in Germany.
  • For this experiment, bone fragments in fetlock and hock joints were specifically investigated. The researchers compared different scenarios using either threshold selection, index selection or genomic index selection to measure their impact on the health and performance traits of the horses.

Findings of the Research

  • The findings of the study showed that rigorous threshold selection and the integration of OCD in a selection index at the stage of stallion licensing yielded the best results. The chosen frequency of using breeding cases that incorporate a selection index including breeding values for OCD traits matched this high performance level.
  • Ironically, incorporating OCD directly into the breeding value was found to be less effective in reducing OCD symptoms.
  • It was also observed that scenarios which led to a higher reduction in OCD equally witnessed a minor reduction in the improvement of riding horse performance traits. This implies a trade-off where efforts to reduce OCD can slightly impact other performance traits of the horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Büttgen L, Geibel J, Simianer H, Pook T. (2020). Simulation Study on the Integration of Health Traits in Horse Breeding Programs. Animals (Basel), 10(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10071153

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 7

Researcher Affiliations

Büttgen, Lisa
  • Department of Animal Sciences, Center for Integrated Breeding Research, University of Goettingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075 Goettingen, Germany.
Geibel, Johannes
  • Department of Animal Sciences, Center for Integrated Breeding Research, University of Goettingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075 Goettingen, Germany.
Simianer, Henner
  • Department of Animal Sciences, Center for Integrated Breeding Research, University of Goettingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075 Goettingen, Germany.
Pook, Torsten
  • Department of Animal Sciences, Center for Integrated Breeding Research, University of Goettingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075 Goettingen, Germany.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 9 times.
  1. Pook T, Hassanpour A, Niehoff TAM, Calus MPL. Strategies to improve on selection based on estimated breeding values. Genet Sel Evol 2026 Feb 14;58(1):13.
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  2. Pook T, Tost ML, Simianer H. Optimization of recurrent rapid cycle breeding in maize for sustained long-term genetic improvement via stochastic simulations. G3 (Bethesda) 2025 Jul 9;15(7).
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  3. Büttgen L, Simianer H, Pook T. Analysis of different genotyping and selection strategies in laying hen breeding programs. Genet Sel Evol 2025 Apr 7;57(1):18.
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  4. Hassanpour A, Geibel J, Simianer H, Rohde A, Pook T. Optimization of breeding program design through stochastic simulation with evolutionary algorithms. G3 (Bethesda) 2025 Jan 8;15(1).
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  5. Martin R, Pook T, Bennewitz J, Schmid M. Genomic selection strategies for the German Merino sheep breeding programme - A simulation study. J Anim Breed Genet 2025 May;142(3):251-262.
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  6. Martin R, Pook T, Bennewitz J, Schmid M. Optimization Strategies to Adapt Sheep Breeding Programs to Pasture-Based Production Environments: A Simulation Study. Animals (Basel) 2023 Nov 10;13(22).
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  7. Hassanpour A, Geibel J, Simianer H, Pook T. Optimization of breeding program design through stochastic simulation with kernel regression. G3 (Bethesda) 2023 Dec 6;13(12).
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  8. Faria R, Vicente A, Silva J. Racing Performance of the Quarter Horse: Genetic Parameters, Trends and Correlation for Earnings, Best Time and Time Class. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jun 17;13(12).
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