Nongenetic effects and genetic parameters of the limb measurements in Iranian Turkoman horses

Abstract

From the past to now, body conformation is an instrument for the Iranian horse judging. This research aimed to study and estimate the genetic and nongenetic parameters of limb conformation traits in the Iranian Turkoman horses. Therefore, body conformation traits, specifically limb conformation, of 1273 horses were measured. Among the horses studied, 357 stallions and 916 mares were included. For studying the nongenetic (such as sex, province and birth year) and genetic effects (such as additive genetic effect), the LSMEANS procedure and the restricted maximum likelihood method (REML) were used by SAS and MATVEC software, respectively. Birth year had a significant effect on most of the traits, especially scapula length and arm length (P < 0.05). The lowest and the highest heritability was estimated for femur length (0.11 ± 0.03) and forearm length (0.40 ± 0.09), respectively. Overall, considering the heritability estimations, the expectation is that limb conformation traits will have a good response to the selection and genetic progress. Farmers can choose the best stallions and mares based on the traits mentioned, so that their foals can have good body conformation.