2012/06/01 by Ashok Kumar Gupta, S. N. Tandon, Yash Pal +2 · 4 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock #Genetic diversity and population structure #Livestock Management and Performance Improvement
paper · doi:10.1017/s2078633612000094
openalex publication_date 2012/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/13
Populations of the six equine breeds registered by the Indian National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources have drastically decreased due to indiscriminate breeding and their low utilization. In this study, 15 biometric indices along with typical breed characteristics were recorded for 50 animals of each breed except Bhutia breed (35) for their phenotypic characterization. On the basis of their heights at wither, Kathiawari and Marwari breeds were grouped under “horse”, while Zanskari, Manipuri, Bhutia and Spiti fell under “pony” breeds. Marwari was the tallest and significantly different from other breeds in most of the biometric indices. Spiti was the shortest breed among all the six horse and pony breeds. Sex-wise differences were also observed in some of the biometric indices in different breeds. In Marwari and Kathiawari breeds, both stallions and mares can rotate their ears at an angle of 180° making the ear tips meet in the centre, which is a typical characteristic of the two breeds. This report aims at providing reference data for identification and comparison of different breeds of equines in India with a view to raise awareness among animal geneticists and breeders for production of true to breed animals, conservation and better management of these precious genetic resources.