Horse Artificial Insemination

Selective Breeding is the process through which plants and animals with certain traits are bred together to produce an offspring with desired traits. In other words, the process in which humans choose the traits which they want in a plant or animal, and they breed them hoping for a plant which can grow bigger, or maybe an animal which can be stronger. Selective Breeding is all about the inheritance of genes and alleles. Scientists may breed individuals to their desired traits, whilst also being aware of possible recessive genes. Chromosomes which carry genetic codes for an organism, determine the features and characteristics of that organism. Each organism has different features and characteristics, this is when selective breeding takes place,

The domestication of animals by humans is an early example of eugenics. Animals were used for hunting, warning system against predators, and overall companionship. (History of Eugenics) Humans at the time wanted a powerful animal, that was able to protect their owner, and help be able to produce food and clothing Obviously a strong animal does not come from handicapped ancestry, rather it comes from a far more adaptive origin. Early day humans exchanged this idea that the fittest animal comes from the fittest parents. This idea of superior origin was used in animal husbandry (History of Eugenics). For instance, a cattle that could produce twice as much milk and supply a strong hide, would obviously out weigh its less useful

Thoroughbreds are bred for their speed. They’re known as the “English Horse,” because they evolved in Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries. Thoroughbreds were named because of the way they were bred. They were called “thoroughbreds” because they were purebred. “The name , “Thoroughbred,” is a direct translation of the Arabic word Kehilan (“IHWT Irish Horse Welfare Trust”).” The origin of the breeding of thoroughbred back in the ancient times was found that the three main descendants weren’t very fast horses. The gene that made these horses so quick came from an anonymous mare that was raced more than 300 years ago. They think that this mare may have been part or mostly Shetland. Thoroughbreds are often described as the highest class of light horse imaginable. “The Irish Thoroughbred has won many major races throughout the world (“IHWT Irish Horse Welfare Trust”).” Thoroughbreds are usually about 16 hands tall, (1 hand is equal to 3 feet). They are long and sleek, with long legs which allows them to move quickly. Their most common colors would be brown, bay, chestnut, and black. They have a straight profile and all though they have Arabian ancestors, they do not show any of their distinct profiles. “Thoroughbreds are bred

There is little evidence of how horses were managed within the first years of domestication (Dierendonc). However, in most horse husbandry systems today horses are kept confined and solitary with very little social contact. This can be seen as optimal to ensure physical health, to prevent injury or to allow exact individual monitoring (Dierendonc, 2006). However, these systems often ignore the basic needs of the horse, e.g. social contact, foraging and locomotion needs, often resulting in abnormal behaviours. The start of stereotypic behaviour usually is related to chronic stress due to mal-adaptations to cope with the environment (Hausberger et al., 2009).

After Charles Darwin published his book “On the origins of species” in 1859, evolution became a hot topic of discussion; the notion of the human race improving itself by selective breeding started to spread (Winfield, 2012). For years

The Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred have been in existence since the seventeenth century and are perhaps the most well-known horse breeds of the twentieth century. These spectacular horses are used to compete in sporting events and have tremendous abilities. They are prey animals that routinely weigh over one thousand pounds, have similar colors, and are made for riding. Both are routinely more than fifteen hands in height and are measured from the ground at their front legs with one hand equaling four inches. Reaching speeds in excess of forty miles per hour, they can easily jump heights of five feet. Each has won North American and world championships, earning themselves fame and their owner’s fortune for their accomplishments. Although these animals can be similar in size and appearance, there are differences in their abilities and personalities.

This is the reasoning behind why people started to use thoroughbreds as race horses (Breeds of Livestock - Thoroughbred

think that it is very important aspect of horses that is important to emphasis when studying the

Selective breeding also could cause a decrease in biodiversity due to inbreeding. Inbreeding is the production of breeding between closely related individuals [2] and is used as it increases the chance of having favourable alleles and desirable phenotypes in the offspring. However, due to the individuals close genetic relations to one another this can cause many problems for the biodiversity of the population of dairy cows. Traits that may be disadvantageous now will be continuously chosen against during genomic selection and embryo transfer as the DNA is being scanned and checked for undesirable traits. However, this disadvantageous trait may become an advantageous trait in the future but it will be lost through the generations of selective breeding against it and are difficult to get back. As a result, this affects the evolution of the species as a whole because they develop and change to suit the desirable traits chosen which results in the undesirable traits being lost altogether.

There are many different types of breeding, but two main types are selective and natural breeding. Both of these types of breddings are involved in something else and are nothing like each other. Each breeding causes something else, and is involved with another part of their environment.

The human race has been manipulating genetic transfer for over 10 000 years. We have been using the same principle of ‘natural selection’ (selection by the environment for the fittest) to develop artificial selection also known as selective breeding (selection by humans for the fittest.).

Equines have been essential to the evolution of our society for over 4,000 years, providing speed and strength to aid in work, travel, and war. They are extreme athletes, capable of producing high speeds and stamina and are able to do so efficiently. This is due partly to the muscle physiology of the equine. In most mammals, 40-45% of body weight is made of muscle mass. In horses this percentage is increased to over 50%. Horses are not all the same, however. Different breeds have different skeletal muscle builds as well as muscle types. For example, the Thoroughbred, one of the most athletic breeds of horses, has a muscle mass percentage of almost 55%. (Gunn, 1979) Conditioning of our equine athletes is an important part of equine care, especially

The goal of breeding is to unnaturally produce a pedigreed, or purebred, by mating a male and female of the same breed. I. Making a profit is the main reason why someone would start breeding these animals. B. For every dog that is un-naturally produced, there are more dogs and cats waiting for a home in a shelter that are never going to see that chance of being adopted. I. Only one out of ten dogs born ever get a home and only one out of twelve cats born ever find a home.

The science behind evaluating racehorses is deciding which faults make a direct impact to the horse’s career. The requirements needed for a horse to succeed starts at the conformation of the foal/yearling. To which conformational faults are passed down from parents, however, faults may or may not have consequences to their racing career, and therefore different trainers/bloodstock agents may have different inceptions with regard to acceptable faults (TOBA, 2015).

It is common for the semen of 2-3 bulls to be used to ensure at least one quality sample to produce a pregnancy. In the instance that multiple donors are used, parentage is confirmed via DNA analysis. Most frequently, nonsurgical insemination is performed. This method calls for a trained and accommodating elephant as a large bore cannula is inserted into the lower urogenital tract. A 3m endoscope is inserted through the cannula and conducted to the hymen in first time mothers and the cervix or uterine horn of a cow that has calved. A small insemination cannula is used to deposit semen into the vagina, threaded through the hymen in nulliparous cows. In parous cows the semen may be deposited further into the uterus.14 Surgical insemination