Analysis of different horse breeds’ approach to an obstacle

Abstrakt

The study aims at determining the differences in approaching an obstacle shown by young half-bred stallions, as well as associating the measureable traits describing the first phase of
a jump of various breeds stallions with the official scores put by judges. The study material consisted of the records of 550 half-bred stallions’ jumps during the 100-day test performance in the Polish Training Centers (ZT). Recordings were copied to the computer and divided into particular frames. Four frames (jump elements) were selected and subject to a digital image analysis by making 8 measurements of every jump – jump characteristics (4 – describing head, neck, and trunk position, and 4 – describing legs position). Stallions represented five breed groups: Polish halfbred, Malopolski, Wielkopolski, German horse (mainly Holsteiner), and others breeds with Dutch Warmblood prevalence. Single-factorial variance analysis GLM (ANOVA) was applied and significance between the mean values was verified using t-Tukey test. Pearson correlation test was used to find the dependence between the values of particular jump features and the scores put by the commission and ZT manager for free jumps. The obtained results indicate that Malopolski stallions are characterized by a distinct way of approaching an obstacle, which is different from that of other breeds, whereas quite close resemblance can be observed in the case of other breeds.
This specificity refers mainly to the head position in relation to the body, as well as the fore and hind legs spreading. Official scores of judges for free jumps are poorly associated with the way of stallion’s approach to an obstacle. Scores put by ZT manager, particularly that referring to Malopolski breed representatives, appeared to be more precise.