Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
International Congress on Biological and Health Sciences, Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye, 26 - 28 Şubat 2021, ss.151
Investigation of Some Environmental Factors Affecting Race Performance in Thoroughbred Horses
Sibel DANIŞAN1, Büşra YARANOĞLU2
1 Mahmudiye Horse Breeding Vocational School, Department of Plant and Animal Production, Horse Breeding and Coaching Programme
2 Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Science, Balikesir University
Abstract: The main yield of British horses raised for sports purposes is the race performance. It is a quantitative breed characteristic for horses and changes between breeds and individuals within the breed. Race performance is affected by genetic and environmental factors. In order to improve racing performance, it is very important to know the genotypic and phenotypic parameters that affect this feature and to evaluate the environmental factors. In order to obtain high performance from horses, environmental conditions should be optimized as well as improving genetic capacity.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationships between some environmental factors and the race performance of purebred British racehorses in the Turkey Jockey Club. In the study, 448 of the racing data of 2020 for purebred British horses registered with The Jockey Club of Turkey were used. Race data information included gender, age, age of dam, race track, race distance, race speed, and race city. While analyzing the data, the General Linear Model was used in SPSS Statistic 20. Tukey's multiple comparison test was used to evaluate the significance of the differences among averages of the sub-groups.
The average race performances for purebred British horses were found 16.00±0.03 m/sec. The effects of race city, age, and track-type were found significant (P˂0,001). Higher race performances were found for Istanbul city, 4 years of age, turf, and synthetic tracks. There were no statistically important relationships between race performance and age of dam and race distance. In conclusion horses with good racing, performance is very valuable and should be used not only in races but also in inbreeding. Determining race performance is important in increasing efficiency. More comprehensive studies and more horse data should be used for evaluating the environmental factors that affected purebred British horses’ race performance.
Keywords: Horse, race performance, environmental factors.