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Home / Equine Research Bank / Genet Sel Evol / The ability to race barefoot is a heritable trait in Standar...
Genetics, selection, evolution : GSE2025; 57(1); 8; doi: 10.1186/s12711-025-00958-2

The ability to race barefoot is a heritable trait in Standardbred and Coldblooded trotters.

Abstract: In equine sports, shoes are used to protect the hooves from wear and tear. In Swedish trotting races, pulling off the shoes to race barefoot is popular because it improves racing time. Good hoof quality is essential for high-performance horses, but not all trotting horses have hooves that tolerate barefoot racing. The ability to race barefoot is a complex trait that is known to be influenced by environmental factors, but the genetic basis of this trait has not been studied. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters and correlations between estimated breeding values for three novel traits: two related to the proportion of barefoot races and "barefoot status", a binary trait that reflects the probability of racing unshod in a race, in Swedish Standardbred trotters (SB) and Swedish-Norwegian Coldblooded trotters (CB). Results: For the two traits describing the proportion of barefoot races, single-trait mixed linear animal models were used to estimate variance components for up to 24,958 SB and up to 4050 CB. Estimates of heritability ranged from 0.17 to 0.28. For barefoot status, a binary trait with repeated measurements, 875,056 observations from 25,973 SB, and 93,376 observations from 3384 CB were included. Using a single-trait mixed animal threshold model estimates of heritability for barefoot status were 0.07 and 0.08. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the estimated breeding values for barefoot status and each of the traits describing the proportion of barefoot races for breeding stallions was 0.63 and 0.64 for SB and 0.82 and 0.76 for CB. Conclusions: The traits analyzed reflecting the ability to race barefoot are heritable, with the traits for the proportion of barefoot races showing higher heritability estimates for both breeds than barefoot status. Estimated breeding values for breeding stallions were moderately to strongly correlated for the three traits. The average accuracy of estimated breeding values for breeding stallions was moderate to high for all traits. To breed for the ability to race barefoot, further studies on the genetic correlation of the ability to race barefoot with performance traits and the impact of racing barefoot on career length, are necessary.
© 2025. The Author(s).
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Publication Date: 2025-02-25 PubMed ID: 40000964PubMed Central: PMC11863800DOI: 10.1186/s12711-025-00958-2Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

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.

This research focuses on the genetic inheritance of the ability to race barefoot in Swedish Standardbred trotters and Swedish-Norwegian Coldblooded trotters. The researchers estimate the heredity traits and correlations between breeding scores for three traits related to racing barefoot.

Research Purpose and Background

  • The study aims to investigate the genetic inheritance of the ability to race barefoot in certain breeds of horses. Particularly Swedish Standardbred trotters and Swedish-Norwegian Coldblooded trotters were considered.
  • In Swedish trotting races, there is a trend of letting horses race barefoot as it tends to improve racing time. However, only those horses which have a good quality of hooves can handle barefoot racing.
  • The trait of racing barefoot falls under a complex category which is influenced by environmental factors, in addition to potential genetic influences which hadn’t been previously studied.

Research Methodology

  • The team employed single-trait mixed linear animal models to estimate variance components for the two traits describing the proportion of barefoot races.
  • These models were used to analyze up to 24,958 Swedish Standardbred trotters and up to 4050 Swedish-Norwegian Coldblooded trotters.
  • A binary trait known as “barefoot status,” reflecting the likelihood of a horse to race barefoot, was also studied. This involved a dataset of over 875,056 observations from 25,973 Swedish Standardbred trotters and 93,376 observations from 3384 Coldblooded trotters.

Key Findings

  • The study discovered that the traits related to the ability to race barefoot are indeed heritable.
  • The heritability estimates for the traits describing the proportion of barefoot races were found to range from 0.17 to 0.28.
  • For the barefoot status, the heritability estimates were found to be 0.07 and 0.08.
  • There was a moderate to strong correlation noted between the estimated breeding scores for barefoot status and each of the traits describing the proportion of barefoot races for breeding stallions.
  • The study also revealed that the average accuracy of estimated breeding values for breeding stallions was moderate to high for all the traits.

Implications

  • This study provides a foundation for understanding the genetics related to the ability of horses to race barefoot.
  • Regardless, further examination, focusing on the genetic correlation of the ability to race barefoot with performance attributes and the impact of barefoot racing on a career’s span, are deemed necessary for breeding horses with an inherent ability to race barefoot.

Cite This Article

APA
Berglund P, Andonov S, Jansson A, Olsson C, Lundqvist T, Strandberg E, Eriksson S. (2025). The ability to race barefoot is a heritable trait in Standardbred and Coldblooded trotters. Genet Sel Evol, 57(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12711-025-00958-2

Publication

Genetics, selection, evolution : GSE
ISSN: 1297-9686
NlmUniqueID: 9114088
Country: France
Language: English
Volume: 57
Issue: 1
Pages: 8

Researcher Affiliations

Berglund, Paulina
  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7023, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden. paulina.berglund@slu.se.
Andonov, Sreten
  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7023, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden.
Jansson, Anna
  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7023, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden.
Olsson, Christina
  • Swedish Trotting Association, P.O. Box 20151, 16102, Bromma, Sweden.
Lundqvist, Therese
  • Swedish Trotting Association, P.O. Box 20151, 16102, Bromma, Sweden.
Strandberg, Erling
  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7023, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden.
Eriksson, Susanne
  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7023, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses / genetics
  • Horses / physiology
  • Breeding
  • Quantitative Trait, Heritable
  • Male
  • Female
  • Phenotype
  • Sports
  • Hoof and Claw / physiology
  • Shoes
  • Sweden

Grant Funding

  • R-22-47-675 / The Swedish-Norwegian Foundation for Equine Research

Conflict of Interest Statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: CO and TL are employed by the Swedish Trotting Association, and SE and SA have commitments to the Swedish Trotting Association, regarding development of the genetic evaluation.

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