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The F IS value was not significantly different from zero suggesting that this breed has not suffered a recent loss of genetic diversity due to inbreeding despite a relatively small population size compared with other breeds. Similar results for the genetic variability of the Canadian was reported by Behara et al. The genetic diversity, shown as the expected heterozygosity HE , of the Canadian reported 13 years ago was 0.
This high level of genetic variability, supported by our finding of the high number of both total and effective number of alleles, indicates a wide base of genetic diversity of the Canadian breed through its recent history. Regulations for Canadian horse registration have restricted introgressive gene flow since when the Canadian government established the first pedigree records Gendron Therefore, the relatively high Ra in the Canadian is not likely due to recent genetic introgression from other horse breeds but is more likely part of the evolutionary history of the breed.
The high value for Ra also could be one consequence of the isolation of this breed and represents alleles that are in the process of being lost. The presence of rare alleles was reported in some other primitive horse populations Leroy et al.
Although we tested horses from different areas from Canada, these horses came from a closed breed and represent a single gene pool. This finding agrees with other works that found a strong relationship between the Canadian and draft horses Plante et al. The clear relationship between the Canadian and French draft horses—Breton and Percheron, as shown in Figures 1 , 2 and 3B , confirmed a likely common ancestry for these horses. The old horses in Canada were known as French-Canadian horses before officially called the Canadian Horse Pelletier The old name came from the historical fact that horses of French origin, mainly from the royal stud of Louis XV, formed the basis of the French-Canadian horses.
French horses imported into Canada during the 17th century came from Normandy and Brittany Jones ; Gendron Percheron and Breton are well known breeds from the Normandy and Brittany regions, respectively Hendricks These 2 French breeds were reported as very genetically similar horses Leroy et al.
It was reported that the Percheron resembles the French-Canadian more closely than any other breed in the world Jones French Trotters have been reported before as genetically distinct breeds from the Breton and Percheron breeds Leroy et al. The Belgian breed was also very close to the Canadian breed Figure 1 and individuals clearly overlapped as shown in Figure 2. The strong relationship between Belgian and Percheron was reported before Petersen et al.
The Belgian breed is a very ancient breed in Western Europe Hendricks Therefore, the admixture pattern and the high similarity among Western European horses are expected. Regardless of the origin of the Belgian breed, it could be one of the candidate founders for the Canadian breed along with Percheon and Dales Pony. Shire and Clydesdale formed one cluster, as reported in other studies Petersen et al.
Initially, Lithuanian Heavy Draughts were included into herd books as Ardennes crossbreds. The Factorial Corresponding Analysis of 19 breeds. However, the Shire and Clydesdale influenced the Canadian to a lesser extent than French and Belgian draft breeds. The importance of genetic populations diversity in livestock populations of the future. Receive exclusive offers and updates from Oxford Academic. Regulations for Canadian horse registration have restricted introgressive gene flow since when the Canadian government established the first pedigree records Gendron Regardless of the origin of the Belgian breed, it could be one of the candidate founders for the Canadian breed along with Percheon and Dales Pony.
Horses that came with the English settlement were part of the horse breed establishment in Canada and the Northern US states Howard The power and strength of the British horses such as Shire and Suffolk impressed Canadian farmers. Therefore, they used them to produce horses capable not only of general draught work but of supplying power required for pioneer cultivation on the high plains Moore-Colyer Similarly, the Clydesdale, from Scotland, found their way to Canada to meet the needs of Scottish settlers. Our results showed that Shire and Clydesdale influenced the Canadian breed less than French and Belgian draft horses did.
This could be because various British exporters sent many unsound, unsuitable and even impotent British stallions to the North American market before Moore-Colyer These poor quality stallions came to be unfavorably compared with horses of Percheron and Belgian types whose breeders made sure that only the very best specimens reach North America at a reasonable price.
Another reason that could be of major significance is that the draft British horses, except Suffolk, have long hairs on the lower part of their legs known as the feather that was considered as unsuitable feature for the needs of most Canadian horse breeders Moore-Colyer Furthermore, the reconstitution of the Canadian breed pedigree records that happened in followed a severe selective inspection where only perfectly healthy horses with no features of large drought breeds, such as Shire and Clydesdale, was accepted Gendron Our findings indicate that the Dales Pony had a moderate level of differentiation based upon pair-wise Fst and it is a possible contributor to the Canadian breed.
This finding is supported by the fact that all breeding efforts after were centered to keep the small size of the Canadian Gendron Similar results came from the genetic distance trees and the Factorial Corresponding Analysis where the Canadian breed was in a different clade than all Arabian, Akhal Teke, and Iberian breeds. Therefore, our finding indicated no evidence of a clear relationship between Canadian and those horses.
Yet, the Percheron themselves, as well as Belgian and Breton, showed no relationship with either the Andalusian or Arabian breeds in this study as well as other studies Leroy et al. Such as results were previously reported Behara et al.
The Lithuanian Heavy Draught is a draught horse breed created in Lithuania during the 19th In additional heavy horses were imported from the Netherlands to re-establish the breed following World War I, and in , , and See more ideas about Draft horses, Clydesdale and Equestrian. The Lithuanian Heavy Draft Draft Horse Breeds, Draft Horses, Horse Stables, Horse Horse wild horses of sable island by fifi luis Beautiful Creatures, Animals Beautiful, Beautiful Horses . 10 Adorable Labrador Retriever Puppies Youve Ever Seen.
Our finding about the Canadian and Morgan breeds could be explained by 2 scenarios. First, Morgan Horses were used to recover the Canadian after different waves of the Canadian breed contraction in number and quality which happened after The second scenario is that the Canadian influenced the development of Morgan Horse at some level. The first scenario is rejected because although the Morgan Horse was among the breeds that fought for the honor of recovering the Canadian between and , all the attempts of these crossbreeding projects were abandoned Gendron The second scenario is more likely.
The Morgan breed was established around from a single foundation stallion, named Figure and then called Morgan, and mares with no information of their origin or pedigree Hendricks Around that time, purebred and mongrel French-Canadian horses crossed the borders from Lower Canada to the northern states of US, such as Vermont, through trade with farmers and American dealers Jones Mares that resulted from the intermixing of French-Canadian with American horses on the United States side evidentially contributed to the development of the Morgan hose Jones ; Lynghaug Furthermore, the presence of the French-Canadian genetic materials in Morgan horses was indicated by specific characteristics such as the excellent legs and feet, heavy crimpy mane and tail Herbert et al.
The breed is currently near extinction. The Lithuanian Heavy Draught was created during the late 19th century by crossing local Zhmud mares with Ardennes , Percheron , Brabant , and other heavy breeds.
In additional heavy horses were imported from the Netherlands to re-establish the breed following World War I , and in , , and additional Ardennes horses were imported from Sweden. Initially, Lithuanian Heavy Draughts were included into herd books as Ardennes crossbreds. A breed-specific herd book was issued from to The herd books for Lithuanian Heavy Draughts are now issued by the Lithuanian Horse Breeders Association, with purebred Lithuanian Draughts identified by their colour, conformation, and markings.
The Lithuanian Heavy Draught generally stands 15 to 16 hands high, and may be bay , chestnut , black , grey or roan. Overall the breed is large and solid. The head is well-proportioned with a straight profile and heavy jaw.
The neck is short, muscular, and arched, the withers broad and moderately pronounced and the chest wide, deep and muscular. Your email address will not be published. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Muscular, well-proportioned head, straight profile, heavy jaw; short, arched, and muscular neck, broad withers; deep, wide, and fairly conspicuous chest; long, straight back that can sometimes be slightly dipped; long, rounded, and well-built croup, short and solid legs with strong joints, well-formed hooves.
Apart from heavy drafting, it is used for improvement of other horse breeds; it is often crossed with Altai horses to improve production of milk and meat. Though a healthy breed, it may show physical deformities such as excessively dipped back and a coarse head.