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Abstract

Background: Studies of large racing populations have established clear differences in the career profile of stallions, mares and geldings. Multiple studies have also demonstrated positive effects on racing careers for horses that commence racing at a younger age. However, the applicability of these studies to small, native racing populations is unknown and warrants investigation.Objectives: To provide summary statistics for performance outcomes for the Norwegian-Swedish Coldblooded Trotter and to document and provide evidence on the current differences in racing careers across age at first start groups, sexes and country of birth.Study design: Cohort study.Methods: Performance data on the population of Norwegian-Swedish Coldblooded Trotters born between 2000 and 2009 (n = 14,548) were acquired and used to describe and compare the racing careers of this native racing breed. Career length, career starts and career earnings were evaluated. Kaplan-Meier survival curves, stratified by sex, age group and country of birth were produced for career length. A Cox proportional hazards model was fitted to assess factors influencing the hazard rate of retirement from racing.Results: Log-rank test for equality of career length survival functions showed significant differences (P

Keywords

horse; harness racing; well-being; fitness; career length; performance

Published in

Equine Veterinary Journal
2019, volume: 51, number: 2, pages: 206-211
Publisher: WILEY

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Genetics and Breeding in Agricultural Sciences

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.12989

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/99085