Students' Research Circle    
 
 
» 2023
Call for papers
The conference
Veterinary Session
Veterinary Jury
Biology Session
Sponsors
Awards-list
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
Home » Archive » 2023

TDK conference 2023

Study of the body sizes of the breed reconstruction population of the Szekler horse using conventional and VATEM methods
Halmágyi Maja - year 4
University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Department Animal Breeding, Nutrition and Laboratory Animal Science
Supervisor: Dr. Ákos Maróti-Agóts

Abstract:

Study of the body sizes of the breed reconstruction population of the Szekler horse using conventional and VATEM methods

The studbook of the Szekler horse was abolished after the Second World War, the studbooks were destroyed. The horses involved in breed reconstruction today are all selected based by their phenotype. For an authentic description of the Szekler horse, the 1941 publication of Béla Hankó is used.

In the work that has been going on since 2012, every year the new horses are judged at inspections to be suitable or improper for inclusion on the programme. Until 2020, body measurements were recorded using the traditional methods only, but from 2021, the VATEM method was introduced alongside the traditional method.

This study compares the manually and VATEM measured wither heights. Furthermore, this study investigates the benefits of the VATEM method for "phenotyping" that serves the documentation of the breed reconstruction process.

In our study, we compared the measurements of the wither heights taken with stick and the data measured in VATEM. The number of horses measured was 25 in 2021, 8 in 2022 and 22 in 2023.

Based on our tests, the Blant-Altman analysis of the wither heights, between the stick and VATEM results 98.2% of the data points are falling within the 95% agreement range. Based on the results and experience, the VATEM method can be used reliably for further measurements.

The VATEM method can be used to determine 11 additional body measurements (chest depth, shank diameter, height of the back, trunk length, croup length, croup height, shoulder width, chest width, abdomen width, ilium width of the croup, ischium width of the croup, croup length) that are important in horse breeding from video recordings.

The VATEM optometric method can be used effectively for fast, accurate and safe measuring of horses. The "phenotyping" of the Szekler horse, which can be carried out by means of multi-dimensonal recordings, also plays an important role in the documentation of the breed reconstruction. The "phenotyping", which allows more complex processing methods than linear, one-dimensional measurements (e.g. complex comparison of body proportions with geometric morphometry).



List of lectures