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A Novel Non-Invasive Selection Criterion for the Preservation of Primitive Dutch Konik Horses

The Dutch Konik is valued from a genetic conservation perspective and also for its role in preservation of natural landscapes. The primary management objective for the captive breeding of this primitive horse is to maintain its genetic purity, whilst also maintaining the nature reserves on which the...

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Autores principales: May-Davis, Sharon, Brown, Wendy Y., Shorter, Kathleen, Vermeulen, Zefanja, Butler, Raquel, Koekkoek, Marianne
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5836029/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29389896
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani8020021
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author May-Davis, Sharon
Brown, Wendy Y.
Shorter, Kathleen
Vermeulen, Zefanja
Butler, Raquel
Koekkoek, Marianne
author_facet May-Davis, Sharon
Brown, Wendy Y.
Shorter, Kathleen
Vermeulen, Zefanja
Butler, Raquel
Koekkoek, Marianne
author_sort May-Davis, Sharon
collection PubMed
description The Dutch Konik is valued from a genetic conservation perspective and also for its role in preservation of natural landscapes. The primary management objective for the captive breeding of this primitive horse is to maintain its genetic purity, whilst also maintaining the nature reserves on which they graze. Breeding selection has traditionally been based on phenotypic characteristics consistent with the breed description, and the selection of animals for removal from the breeding program is problematic at times due to high uniformity within the breed, particularly in height at the wither, colour (mouse to grey dun) and presence of primitive markings. With the objective of identifying an additional non-invasive selection criterion with potential uniqueness to the Dutch Konik, this study investigates the anatomic parameters of the distal equine limb, with a specific focus on the relative lengths of the individual splint bones. Post-mortem dissections performed on distal limbs of Dutch Konik (n = 47) and modern domesticated horses (n = 120) revealed significant differences in relation to the length and symmetry of the 2nd and 4th Metacarpals and Metatarsals. Distal limb characteristics with apparent uniqueness to the Dutch Konik are described which could be an important tool in the selection and preservation of the breed.
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spelling pubmed-58360292018-03-07 A Novel Non-Invasive Selection Criterion for the Preservation of Primitive Dutch Konik Horses May-Davis, Sharon Brown, Wendy Y. Shorter, Kathleen Vermeulen, Zefanja Butler, Raquel Koekkoek, Marianne Animals (Basel) Article The Dutch Konik is valued from a genetic conservation perspective and also for its role in preservation of natural landscapes. The primary management objective for the captive breeding of this primitive horse is to maintain its genetic purity, whilst also maintaining the nature reserves on which they graze. Breeding selection has traditionally been based on phenotypic characteristics consistent with the breed description, and the selection of animals for removal from the breeding program is problematic at times due to high uniformity within the breed, particularly in height at the wither, colour (mouse to grey dun) and presence of primitive markings. With the objective of identifying an additional non-invasive selection criterion with potential uniqueness to the Dutch Konik, this study investigates the anatomic parameters of the distal equine limb, with a specific focus on the relative lengths of the individual splint bones. Post-mortem dissections performed on distal limbs of Dutch Konik (n = 47) and modern domesticated horses (n = 120) revealed significant differences in relation to the length and symmetry of the 2nd and 4th Metacarpals and Metatarsals. Distal limb characteristics with apparent uniqueness to the Dutch Konik are described which could be an important tool in the selection and preservation of the breed. MDPI 2018-02-01 /pmc/articles/PMC5836029/ /pubmed/29389896 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani8020021 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
May-Davis, Sharon
Brown, Wendy Y.
Shorter, Kathleen
Vermeulen, Zefanja
Butler, Raquel
Koekkoek, Marianne
A Novel Non-Invasive Selection Criterion for the Preservation of Primitive Dutch Konik Horses
title A Novel Non-Invasive Selection Criterion for the Preservation of Primitive Dutch Konik Horses
title_full A Novel Non-Invasive Selection Criterion for the Preservation of Primitive Dutch Konik Horses
title_fullStr A Novel Non-Invasive Selection Criterion for the Preservation of Primitive Dutch Konik Horses
title_full_unstemmed A Novel Non-Invasive Selection Criterion for the Preservation of Primitive Dutch Konik Horses
title_short A Novel Non-Invasive Selection Criterion for the Preservation of Primitive Dutch Konik Horses
title_sort novel non-invasive selection criterion for the preservation of primitive dutch konik horses
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5836029/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29389896
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani8020021
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