Konik and Hucul horses: A comparative study of exterior measurements

M. Komosa, H. Purzyc*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

An exterior comparison was made between 2 primitive horse breeds: the Konik and the Hucul breeds. Each animal was characterized using 25 measurements and 24 indices. Statistical methods employed in this study were principal components analysis and the Student's t-test. It was found that in spite of both breeds being included in the group of horses with a primitive exterior, the Konik and the Hucul possess completely different metric properties of their body conformations. Although the mean height for the Hucul breed slightly exceeds that of the Konik, the latter has longer scapulae and metacarpi. The hind limb also features different proportions among its segments in the 2 breeds. The observed differences seem to be connected with different habitats for these breeds. In particular, mountainous conditions may have had an effect on the specific body conformation of the Hucul breed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2245-2254
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Animal Science
Volume87
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Biometry
  • Exterior
  • Hucul horse
  • Konik horse
  • Morphology

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