Aouane Nedjma, Nasri Abdelkrim, Bekara Mohamed Al Amine, Metref Ahmed Khireddine, Kaidi Rachid
High National Veterinary School of Algiers, Oued Smar, Algiers, Algeria.
National Stud farm of Chaouchaoua, Tiaret, Algeria.
Vet World. 2019 Jul;12(7):1132-1139. doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2019.1132-1139. Epub 2019 Jul 26.
The Barb horse occupies a prominent place in the history, culture, and equestrian traditions of the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia). Although many studies on the breed standard and morphometry have been published, there are no studies on its fertility and reproductive potential. Thus, this work aimed to study the fertility of Barb, Arabian Purebred, and Thoroughbred horses in Algeria.
A total of 168 stallions and 1202 mares at the Chaouchaoua Stud farm in Tiaret, Algeria, were included in the study. The reproductive performance during 1592 cycles over 10 consecutive mating seasons (2003-2012) was evaluated. Multivariate analysis with logistic regression was used to analyze the reproductive parameters such as the number of cycles operated, number of pregnant mares, pregnancy rate per cycle, seasonal pregnancy rate, and embryonic mortality rate, and to determine the influence of breed, stallion's age, and year of the study on reproduction.
Statistical analysis showed that stallion breed was a significant influencing factor for the number of pregnant barren mares (Odds ratio [OR]=1.72; p=0.03; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.05, 2.84) seasonal pregnancy rate (OR=1.40; p<0.001; 95% CI=1.29, 1.53). Additionally, the reproductive performance of the Barb stallion was superior to that of the Thoroughbred stallion. With regard to the significant influence of stallion's age of >5 years on the number of pregnant foaling mares and seasonal pregnancy rate, significant interactions were observed between the stallion's breed and age, and the pregnancy rate per cycle: in the Barb breed, the pregnancy rate per cycle increased with the age of the stallion, while in the Thoroughbred, it decreased with age. Moreover, a significant effect of the year of the study on the pregnancy rate per cycle and number of pregnant foaling mares was observed. In contrast, the number of cycles and embryonic mortality rate were not influenced by the breed and age of the stallion, or the year of the study.
The Algerian Barb horse attained a similar level of fertility compared with that of the Arabian Purebred and Thoroughbred stallions depending on its age and reproductive performance.
柏布马在马格里布地区(阿尔及利亚、摩洛哥和突尼斯)的历史、文化和马术传统中占据着重要地位。尽管已经发表了许多关于该品种标准和形态测量学的研究,但尚未有关于其繁殖力和生殖潜力的研究。因此,本研究旨在探讨阿尔及利亚柏布马、阿拉伯纯种马和纯种赛马的繁殖力。
本研究纳入了阿尔及利亚提亚雷特的绍沙瓦种马场的168匹种公马和1202匹母马。对连续10个交配季节(2003 - 2012年)的1592个发情周期的繁殖性能进行了评估。采用逻辑回归多变量分析来分析繁殖参数,如发情周期数、怀孕母马数、每个发情周期的怀孕率、季节性怀孕率和胚胎死亡率,并确定品种、种公马年龄和研究年份对繁殖的影响。
统计分析表明,种公马品种是影响空怀母马怀孕数(优势比[OR]=1.72;p = 0.03;95%置信区间[CI]=1.05, 2.84)和季节性怀孕率(OR = 1.40;p < 0.001;95% CI = 1.29, 1.53)的重要因素。此外,柏布马种公马的繁殖性能优于纯种赛马种公马。关于5岁以上种公马年龄对怀孕产驹母马数和季节性怀孕率的显著影响,观察到种公马品种和年龄之间以及每个发情周期的怀孕率之间存在显著交互作用:在柏布马品种中,每个发情周期的怀孕率随着种公马年龄的增加而增加,而在纯种赛马中,怀孕率则随着年龄的增长而下降。此外,观察到研究年份对每个发情周期的怀孕率和怀孕产驹母马数有显著影响。相比之下,发情周期数和胚胎死亡率不受种公马品种、年龄或研究年份的影响。
根据年龄和繁殖性能,阿尔及利亚柏布马的繁殖力与阿拉伯纯种马和纯种赛马达到了相似的水平。