Analysis of performance test results of cold-blooded stallions from north-eastern Poland with regard to origin

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1 Roczniki Naukowe Polskiego Towarzystwa Zootechnicznego, t. 5 (2009), nr 4 Analysis of performance test results of cold-blooded stallions from north-eastern Poland with regard to origin Ewa Jastrzębska, Aleksandra Tomczak University of Warmia and Mazury, Chair of Horse Breeding and Equestrian Prawocheńskiego 2, Olsztyn Science, The aim of the study was to determine the effect of specific breed group on the score achieved in performance tests by cold-blooded stallions, The study covered a population of cold-blooded stailions (87 horses) from north-eastern Poland which were subjected to fuli utility evaluation (a preliminary and main test) in the years The stallions were divided into two groups by ownership sector (private or state-owned). Field harness tests were performed according to the principles laid down in the BREEDING PROGRAMME FOR POLISH COLD-BLOODED HORSES [19] developed by the Polish Horse Breeders Association. The stallions which took part in the performance tests were divided into five breed groups, with Swedish Ardennes dominating in both the private (35) and state sector (14). The best resuits of the preliminary tests were achieved by privately-owned Belgian horses (4.83 pt.), whereas the poorest results were achieved by privately-owned German cold-blooded horses (3.90 pt.). Despite the absence of statistically significant differences between the studied groups, the stallions from the state-owned Stallion Depot in Kętrzyn were found to achieve better average resuits in the tests than those from private farms. The best results of the main performance tests were achieved by French Ardennes, regardless of the ownership sector. Compared to other breed groups, they achieved high and stable results in all test elements. The high scores achieved in the main tests by state-owned stallions may indicate that they were better prepared by the Stallion Depot employees than those from the private sector. KEY WORDS: performance tests / cold-blooded stallions / pedigree lnterest in the control and evaluation of the pulling capacity of horses dates back to the end of the 19 th cen tury, when pulling force demonstrations were organised at fairs in England; such horses were fastened with their equalizer to oak trees. The winning farmer's horse remained for the longest time with taut muscles, trying to move the tree. After World War l, a concept was proposed to introduce reliable methods and systems for the evaluation of the utility value of draught horses. The first draught horse tests in Poland were initiated by Lieutenant A. Krauz, who constructed a device for measuring the pulling force of horses which pulled cannons and other military vehicles in the 33

2 Polish Kingdom in the years However, considerably greater interest in the performance tests of harnessed horses did not start until after World War I [15]. Over the years, the system of organised utility tests was constantly modified. Stallions in Poland have been subjected to two obligatory harness utility tests since The first, "preliminary" performance test is done at the age of , when horses are qualified for breeding. The other, "main" test is performed for older studs, after two copulation periods at the age of 4-6 (at the earliest). Evaluated in the performance tests, the utility value of cold-blooded horses includes their readiness to pull, speed of movement when walking and trotting and the men tal characteristics of a horse [19]. The purpose of the performance tests of cold-blooded stallions is to select horses whose valuable utility traits, mild temper and effective movement in all gaits will be passed on to their offspring [14]. The available literature contains a number of studies of utility tests of various horse breeds. However, the literature on the evaluation of the utility of cold-blooded stallions to work in harness is usually outdated, as the analyses presented in the papers are not reflected in the current system of performance tests. The current study was prompted by the fact that earlier studies did not attempt to determine the effect of horse breed on the results of performance tests of cold-blooded stallions. Materiał and methods A population of cold-blooded stallions from north-eastern Poland, subjected to a complete utility test (preliminary and main test) in the years , was used in the study. The analysed population of studs was divided into two groups by ownership: - privately-owned stallions, qualified for breeding at the Horse Breeders' Association in Warmia and Mazury - 56 stallions; - stallions owned by the Stallion Depot in Kętrzyn (so-called "state-owned"), from the area of activity of the Horse Breeders' Association in Warmia and Mazury and such associations from the neighbouring provinces - 31 stallions. Source materials in this study were provided by the Horse Breeders' Association in Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Horse Breeders Associations in Białystok and in Bydgoszcz, the "Nowe Jankowice" Stud Farm and Stallion Depot in Kętrzyn [1,2,3,4,5]. Stallion sheets, performance test reports and the central Internet database of the Polish Horse Breeders' Association were the main sources of data for analysis. The pedigree analysis conducted for the animals has provided grounds for dividing the stallions into various breed groups: Swedish Ardennes, French Ardennes, Belgian horses, Breton horses and cold-blooded German horses, following the classification presented by Chrzanowski et al. [8]. The research dealt with the results of field harness tests for cold-blooded stallions, in accordance with the BREEDING PROGRAMME FOR THE POLISH COLD-BLO- ODED HORSE [19]. According to the guidelines provided in the BREEDING PROG- RAMME... [19], a preliminary test is conducted when a stallion is qualified for breeding (entering in the herd book). The test is done only for walking and is divided into three 34

3 short sections with three 15-second breaks. The test involves evaluation (from O to 5 points) of the horses readiness to pull a cart which is being gradually loaded (with resistance wedges), and the horses behaviour when starting with an unloaded cart (after the thrust washers have been removed). No extreme effort is required of the horses during the test, which is done for year old horses. A horse is disqualified if the coachman uses a whip excessively or if the horse will not pull a cart with only one thrust washer or behaves nervously throughout the test. The main test is don e with stallions aged 4-6. It is done with a cart with rubber-tubed wheels according to the following pattern: l - speed test at a trot, unloaded, for l km; 2 - the speed test at a walk with the load equal to 200% of the stallion 's weight, at a distance of l km; 3 - the test of force and readiness to pull with the use of resistance wedges. Each element of the main harness test, i.e. walk and trot test, as well as the test of force and readiness to pull, are evaluated on a scal e of O to 7 points. The overall result of the performance test is the total of all three stages; hence, the maximum number of points is 21. According to the guidelines of the BREEDING PROGRAMME... [19], a stallion is disqualified if: the coachman uses a whip excessively during any of the test parts, the horse fails to complete any part of the test, i.e. during the speed test it exceeds the maximum time limit or during the force test it refuses to pull the cart with two resistance wed ges. The results are presented in a graphic and tabul ar form. In order to determine the differences between the results of performance tests between the studs from separate breeds, a single-factor non-orthogonal analysis of variance was performed. The results were analysed with Fischer' s test and the significance of differences between the average values ofthe evaluated features was analysed by a Duncans test. Ali statistical calculations were performed with the ST ATISTICA (Statsoft) software package, using the ANO VA/MANOV A module. Results and discussion The animals descended from Swedish Ardennes dominated among the animals divided into five separate breed groups (Table), both in the private (35 horses) and state-owned group (14). The Swedish Ardennes exerted the greatest influence on breedin g cold-blooded horses in Poland, mainly due to their large-scale import after World War II; therefore, their contribution to the pedigree of Polish cold-blooded horses is still the highest [8]. A large number of studs (22) subjected to utility tests in the north-east of Poland were those descended from cold-blooded stallions imported from Germany. Their calibre is high, hence breeders often use German studs for reproduction with a view to achieving higher body weight and more intense growth in their offspring [11]. 35

4 Table - Tabela Number of staijions from different breeds, taking into account the ownership sector Liczba ogierów w poszczególnych grupach rasowych, z uwzględnieniem sektora własności Group Grupa of breed Stallions frorn ownership sector Ogiery pochodzące z sektora private state prywatnego państwowego Swedish Ardennes (Sw. Ard.) Ardeny szwedzkie French Ardennes (Fr. Ard.) Ardeny francuskie Belgian horse (Belg.) Konie belgijskie Bretons (Bret.) Konie bretońskie German cold-blooded (German) Zimnokrwiste niemieckie Total - Ogółem l. Preliminary test An analysis of the preliminary test results has revealed different scores achieved by stallions from various groups. The best results were achieved by 2 privately-owned Belgian horses (4.83 pts.), whereas the lowest num ber of points was achieved by privately-owned cold-blooded German horses (3.90 pts.). A comparison of the other breed groups shows slightly better results achieved by state-owned stallions, but the differences between them were not found to be statistically significant (Fig. 1). II. Main test The results of the main performance tests, which are the final stage of selection, determine whether the stalli on will be further used for reproduction or not. The speed of performing specific types of work is one of the fundamental criteria which determine the effectiveness of using a horse in a cart [16]. Trotting speed test The tests showed that in a l km trot, better results were achieved by state-owned stallions, except for a smali group of Belgian horses (2) which were oni y privately-owned (Fig. 2). Privately-owned Breton stallions were the slowest to cover the distance (3' 70"), and that speed was significantly lower than that recorded for the other breed groups of the state sector. The better results achieved by those stallions may have been caused by thetraining in car pull ing which the stallions received at the Stallion Depot in Kętrzyn. The effects of the training work can be seen at show s organised during the National Cold-Blooded Horse Championship in Kętrzyn. The effect of training on the results of performance tests was confirmed by Kaproń [13] who conducted a studyon a gro up of 72 stallions from state-owned stallion depots. 36

5 5,00 4,50 2,50 2,00 -t"--===---,----'===--r----==---,--===---,------'===----r Sw. Ard. Fr. Ard. Belg. Bre!. German Group of breed-grupa Gl Private stallions - Ogiery prywatne State-owned stallions - Ogiery państwowe Fig. 1. Comparison of stallions' preliminary performance tests results, taking into account the breed group and ownership sector Rys. 1. Porównanie wyników próby wstępnej ogierów, z uwzględnieniem przynależności do grupy rasowej i sektora własności 3,70 3,60 3, ,30/ 3,20/ 3, ~~~~~~~~~~~==~~,-~~~~~==~~ Sw. Ard. Fr. Ard. Belg. Bret. German Group of breed-grupa El Private stallions - Ogiery prywatne State-owned stallions - Ogiery państwowe a, b - values denotcd differ statistically at alevel of 0= różnica statystyczna na poziomie istotności a=o,05 Fig. 2. Comparison of stallion trotting results in the performance test, taking into account the breed gro up and ownership sector Rys. 2. Porównanie wyników ogierów w kłusie, z uwzględnieniem przynależności do grupy rasowej i sektora własności 37

6 c 'E ~ 9, ~'E 880 '" c ' ;s= <.J -'" 8,60 -;:rn!j5 S 8,40 8,00 -jl-----'---" ,------==-----r--"--'-'-" , , t" Sw. Ard. Fr. Ard. Belg. BreI. German Group of breed-grupa o Private stallions - Ogiery prywatne State-owned stallions - Ogiery państwowe Fig. 3. Comparison of stallion walking results in the performance test, taking into account the breed group and ownership sector Rys. 3. Porównanie wyników ogierów w stępie, z uwzględnieniem przynależności do grupy rasowej i sektora własności Walking speed test Walking is the most difficult to train, especially in stallions, and it is the best proof of a horses ability to work [20]. The distance of 1 km was covered with the highest speed by Belgian horses (8'48"); it was covered with the lowest speed by Swedish Ardennes (9'28 "). Both groups represented the private sector (Fig. 3). Of the two breed groups, i.e. French Ardennes and Breton horses (those which represented the Stallion Depot in Kętrzyn) were slower in walk ing than those belonging to private owners. As early as the 1960s, Nozdryn-Płotnicki [18] proposed that more attention should be paid to more effective walking in breeding and selection procedures. A comparison of the average time achieved in walking by the stallions from the private (9' 19") and state sector (9'05") with those provided by: Hroboni [10] - 9' 47", Chachuła [7] - 9' 16", Wadowski [23] - 9'40", Nozdryn-Płotnicki [18] - 10' 11", Sasimowski [21] - 9'53", Budzyński [6] - 9'59" and Sapuła [20] - 9'55" shows improvement of the movement speed of cold-blocded stallions subjected to performance tests. The readiness to pull and pulling Jarce test Evaluation of the readiness to pull and the pull ing force are the basie elements of performance in a harness test [20]. However, pulling force is affected by numerous factors, including training. According to Kaproń [13], the type of harness also affects 38

7 the force and readiness to pull, especially in draught stallions, which were more ready to pull when wearing the harness they worked in every day. The same author also proved the maximum pulling force depended on the body weight of a tested stalli on [12]. The research conducted by the authors found a greater readiness to pull in privately-owned stallions, except the Breton horses; the maximum score (7.00) for the element was achieved by privately-owned stallions - descendants of French Ardennes. Statistically significant differences between the groups of stallions were recorded in the evaluation of this element of the main test (Fig. 4). 7,00 5, ~~====~,-~======-,--====---.--~ ~ Sw.Ard. Fr. Ard. Belg. BreI. German Group of breed-grupa o Private stallions - Ogiery prywatne State-owned stallions - Ogiery państwowe a, b - values denoted differ statistically at a level of u=o,05 - różnica statystyczna na poziomie istotności u=o,05 Fig. 4. Comparison of stallions' readiness to pull in the performance test, taking into account the breed group and ownership sector Rys. 4. Porównanie wyników chęci ciągnięcia ogierów, z uwzględnieniem przynależności do grupy rasowej i sektora własności As the performance test for Polish cold-blooded horses in its current form [19] do es not include the measurement of pull ing force (only evaluation of their readiness to pull) the results of this study carmot be compared with the values obtained by other authors who measured pulling force with a resistance device. Final evaluation The best results for al! the elements of the main test were achieved by state-owned stallions descended from Breton horses (14.67 pt.), whereas the lowest score was achieved by horses of that same breed from private stu d farms (11.50 pt.) (Fig. 5). An analysis of the results of a preliminary performance test of stallions from separate breed groups showed that the horses descended from Belgian horses (private sector) should be better predisposed to work in harness than the other breed groups. However, this was not confirmed in the main test, which may indicate that the horses 39

8 15,00 14,00 13,00 12,00 11,00 10,00 9,00 8,00* ~ ~--~--~ ~------~ Sw. Ard. Fr. Ard. Belg. Bret. German Group ot breed-grupa DPrivate stallions - Ogiery prywatne State-owned stallians - Ogiery państwowe Fig. 5. Comparison of stallions' final results in the main performance test, taking into account the breed group and ownership sector. Rys. 5. Porównanie wyników końcowych próby wysiłkowej ogierów, z uwzględnieniem przynależności do grupy rasowej i sektora własności were poorly prepared by their owners. The highest score for the elements of the main test among the state-owned stallions was achieved by stallions descended from Breton horses which, in tum, achieved the poorest results in the private sector. Evaluation of genetic factors which influence the utility traits is difficult as most traits are difficult to measure. For researchers, the difficulty of evaluating the utility traits aggravates the problem of estimating the effect of genetic factors on those traits.. It has been claimed that selection towards amplification of certain traits is effective if heredity indexes are higher than 0.6 [17]. Varo [22] and Grot et al. [9] calculated lower heredity indexes for certain utility traits, such as pulling and starting force, horses' behaviour when working in harness to lie between 0.14 and The heredity indices. developed by Varo [22] and Grot'a et al. [9] indicate that the effectiveness of selection towards those traits is low, which is not always corroborated in practice. It can be concluded that stallions subjected to performance tests in the north-east of Poland in the years belonged to five breed groups, with Swedish Ardennes dominating in both the private (35 horses) and state-owned sectors (14 horses). The best results of preliminary tests were achieved by two Belgian stallions (4.83 points), whereas the privately-owned German cold-blooded stallions achieved the poorest results (3.90 points). A comparison of the ownership sector to which the horses belonged showed that the state-owned horses had higher scores for the preliminary tests than those owned by private stud farms. 40

9 An analysis of the effect of separate breed groups on the scores achieved in the main performance tests indicates that the stallions descended from French Ardennes had the best results (regardless of the ownership sector), achieving high and stable results in all the test elements. Results of the preliminary performance tests indicate that the stallions from both ownership sectors were well prepared; however, the results of the main tests were more varied and showed that the stallions from the StalIion Depot in Kętrzyn were better prepared for them. It carmot be ruled out that the farm purchases stallions which achieved high scores during the qualification procedure (entering them in the herd book), which is also evidence of their predisposition to work in harness. REFERENCES l. AKTA KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIEGO ZWIĄZKU HODOWCÓW KONI W BYDGOSZ- CZY. 2. AKTA STADA OGIERÓW KĘTRZYN. 3. AKTA STADNINY KONI "NOWE JANKOWICE':. 4. AKTA WARMIŃSKO-MAZURSKIEGO ZWIĄZKU HODOWCÓW KONI W OLSZTY- NIE. 5. AKTA WOJEWÓDZKIEGO ZWIĄZKU HODOWCÓW KONI W BIAŁYMSTOKU. 6. BUDZYŃSKI M., Analiza porównawcza wskaźników ruchu ogierów typu pociągowego głównych grup regionalnych w Polsce. Rocz. Nauk RoI., T. 93-B-2, CHACHUŁA J., Chów, hodowla i użytkowanie koni. Wyd. SGGW, Warszawa. 8. CHRZANOWSKI S., CHACHUŁA 1., SZELĄGOWSKA-WĄSIK U., OLEKSIAK S., WIL- CZAK 1., Konie zimnokrwiste w Polsce środkowej, środkowowschodniej i południowej. PWN, Warszawa. 9. GROT P., POLITIEK R.D., VOS M.R., The importance for breeding of the perforrnance testing of horses. Veeteelten Zivelber, lo. HROBONI Z., Próby w zaprzęgu ogierów uznanych. Rocz. Nauk RoI., ser. B, T. 67 (3). II. JASTRZĘBSKA E., Rola państwowego stada ogierów w Kętrzynie w hodowli koni zimnokrwistych. Praca doktorska (maszynopis), UWM Olsztyn. 12. KAPROŃ M., Analiza powtarzalności wyników maksymalnej próby siły uciągu koni. I. Powtarzalność wyników prób ogierów uznanych i ze stad państwowych. Prace i Mat. Zoot. 21, KAPROŃ M., Analiza powtarzalności wyników maksymalnej próby siły uciągu koni. II. Wpływ niektórych czynników na wyniki prób maksymalnej siły uciągu koni. Prace i MaI. Zool. 21, l. 14. KAPROŃ M., Hodowlane znaczenie oceny wartości użytkowej ogierów w Zakładach Treningowych (cz. II). Pol. Zwierz. Gosp. 8, KAPROŃ M., Zarys historii prób dzielnościkoni w zaprzęgu. Pol. Zwierz. Gosp. l, KAPROŃ M., Metody doskonalenia koni. Wyd. AR Lublin. 17. KOWNACKI M., Uwarunkowania genetyczne cech użytkowych u koni. Zesz. Prob. Post. Nauk Roln. 264, NOZRDYN-PŁOTNICKI 1., Koń sokólski. PWRiL, Warszawa. 41

10 19. PROGRAM HODOWLI KONI RASY POLSKI KOŃ ZIMNOKRWISTY, Polski Związek Hodowców Koni, Warszawa. 20. SAPUŁA M., Analiza cech biometrycznych i użytkowych oraz ich uwarunkowania genetyczne u ogierów sokólskich. Ann. UMCS Lublin, ser. EE, vol. 6, 22, SASIMOWSKI E., Współzależność między maksymalną siłą uciągu i biometrycznymi pomiarami sokólskich ogierów uznanych. Folia Societatis Scientiarum Lublinensis, vol VARO M., Some coefficient of heritability in horses. Anna/es Agriculturae Fenniae WADOWSKI S., Koń lidzbarski i jego grupy krwi. Praca habilitacyjna, WSR Olsztyn. Ewa Jastrzębska, Aleksandra Tomczak Analiza wyników prób dzielności ogierów zimnokrwistych z terenu północno-wschodniej Polski z uwzględnieniem przynależności rasowej Streszczenie Celem badań było określenie wpływu przynależności osobników do grup rasowych na wyniki prób dzielności ogierów zimnokrwistych. Badaniami objęto populację ogierów zimnokrwistych (87 szt.) z terenu północno-wschodniej Polski, poddanych pełnej ocenie użytkowości (próba wstępna i właściwa) w latach Analizowaną stawkę reproduktorów podzielono na dwie grupy, z uwzględnieniem sektora własności (prywatny i państwowy). Polowe próby zaprzęgowe odbyły się zgodnie z PROGRAMEM HODOWLI KONI RASY POLSKI KOŃ ZIMNOKRWISTY [19], opracowanym przez Polski Związek Hodowców Koni. Reproduktory uczestniczące w próbach dzielności zakwalifikowano do pięciu grup rasowych. Dominowały wśród nich osobniki pochodzące od ardenów szwedzkich, zarówno w sektorze prywatnym (35 szt.), jak i państwowym (14 szt.). Najlepsze wyniki próby wstępnej uzyskały ogiery pochodzenia belgijskiego z sektora prywatnego (4,83 pkt.), natomiast najsłabiej zdały próbę wstępną reproduktory prywatne z grupy koni zimnokrwistych niemieckich (3,90 pkt.). Jednakże mimo braku występowania różnic statystycznie istotnych pomiędzy badanymi grupami stwierdzono, iż osobniki będące własnością Stada Ogierów w Kętrzynie (państwowe), uzyskały lepsze średnie noty za zdane próby wstępne niż ogiery z sektora prywatnego. Wyniki właściwych prób dzielności wykazały, że najlepiej próbę tę zdały ogiery (niezależnie od sektora własności) z grupy ardenów francuskich. Uzyskały one wysokie, najbardziej wyrównane noty we wszystkich elementach próby, w porównaniu z innymi grupami rasowymi. Wysokie wyniki uzyskane w próbach właściwych przez ogiery państwowe, mogą świadczyć o ich lepszym przygotowaniu przez pracowników SO w porównaniu z reproduktorami z sektora prywatnego. 42