Analysis of performance test results of cold

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 Science,
Prawocheńskiego 2, 10-957 Olsztyn
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 1999-2005. 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 19th 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
Polish Kingdom in the years 1828-1829. 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
1999. The first, "preliminary" performance test is done at the age of 2.5-3.5, 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 1999-2005, 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-BLOODED HORSE [19]. According to the guidelines provided in the BREEDING PROGRAMME ... [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
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 2.5-3.5-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 V A/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
Table - Tabela
Number of staIJions from different
Liczba ogierów w poszczególnych
breeds, taking into account the ownership sector
grupach rasowych, z uwzględnieniem
sektora własności
Stallions
Group
of breed
Grupa
rasowa
Ogiery
private
prywatnego
frorn ownership
pochodzące
sector
z sektora
state
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
35
14
2
4
Total - Ogółem
l. Preliminary
2
2
6
15
7
56
31
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
5,00
4,50
2,50
2,00
-t"--===---,----'===--r----==---,--===---,------'===----r
Sw. Ard.
Fr. Ard.
Bre!.
Belg.
Group of breed-Grupa
Gl
Private stallions
Fig. 1. Comparison
- Ogiery prywatne
of stallions'
group and ownership
sector
Rys.
wyników
1. Porównanie
rasowej
preliminary
próby
•
State-owned
rasowa
stallions - Ogiery państwowe
performance
tests results,
ogierów,
z uwzględnieniem
wstępnej
German
taking
into account
przynależności
the breed
do grupy
i sektora własności
3,70
3,60
3,50
3.40
3,30/
3,20/
3,10
3.00~~~~~~~~~~~==~~,-~~~~~==~~
Sw. Ard.
Fr. Ard.
Bret.
Belg.
Group of breed-Grupa
El
Private stallions - Ogiery prywatne
a, b - values denotcd differ statistically
Fig. 2. Comparison
and ownership
State-owned
rasowa
stallions - Ogiery państwowe
of 0=0.05 - różnica statystyczna na poziomie istotności a=O,05
of stallion trotting results in the performance
test, taking into account the breed gro up
sector
Rys. 2. Porównanie
i sektora
at alevel
•
German
wyników
ogierów
w kłusie,
z uwzględnieniem
przynależności
do grupy rasowej
własności
37
9,40
9.20
c
'E ~
~'E
;s=
<.J -'"
880
'
8,60
!J5 S
8,40
'" c
-;:rn
8,00 -jL-----'---"--...---------,------==-----r--"--'-'-"-------,-------,-------t"
Sw. Ard.
Fr. Ard.
Belg.
Group of breed-Grupa
o Private
stallions - Ogiery prywatne
BreI.
German
rasowa
• State-owned stallions - Ogiery państwowe
Fig. 3. Comparison
of stallion walking results in the performance
group and ownership sector
Rys. 3. Porównanie
wyników ogierów w stępie, z uwzględnieniem
i sektora własności
test, taking
into account
przynależności
do grupy
the breed
rasowej
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
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
5,50
4.00~~====~,-~======-,--====---.--~-----.--------~
Sw.Ard.
Fr. Ard.
Belg.
BreI.
German
Group of breed-Grupa rasowa
o Private
stallions - Ogiery prywatne
a, b - values denoted differ statistically
• State-owned stallions - Ogiery państwowe
at a le vel 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
15,00
14,00
13,00
12,00
11,00
10,00
9,00
8,00*-------~--------~--~--~--------~------~
Sw. Ard.
Fr. Ard.
Group
ot
Belg.
breed-Grupa
Bret.
German
rasowa
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 0.26. 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 1999-2005 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
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.
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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 1999-2005. 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