Evaluation of some morphological measurements of Hungarian Hucul horse mares
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59913/dagr.2026.23885Keywords:
Hucul horses, conformation, genetic parametersAbstract
This study evaluated four key body measurement traits in Hungarian Hucul mares: height at withers by stick and tape, heart girth, and cannon bone circumference. Data from 623 individuals collected between 2002 and 2025 were analysed using a linear model that included age at entry into the studbook, the year of conformation scoring, the stallion line and mare family as fixed effects. Genetic parameters (heritability, genetic and phenotypic correlations) were estimated utilizing the REML method via VCE-6 software. The descriptive statistical analysis was performed using the R statistical software. Heritability (h2) values were above 0.7 for height at withers measured by stick and tape, as well as for heart girth size, while a lower value (0.45) was found for cannon bone circumference. The genetic correlation (rG) between height at withers measured by stick and heart girth was 0.45, and, as expected, the highest (0.97) was observed between height at withers measured by stick and tape. The lowest phenotypic correlation (rP) was 0.39, observed between height at withers height measured by stick and cannon bone circumference, while the highest value (0.90) was also found between the two withers height measurements. Overall, while the Hungarian Hucul population is morphologically homogeneous, the moderate to high heritability of these traits suggests that corrective mating plans utilizing genetic information can be highly efficient for future breed management.
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