Assessment of methods for determining body weight based on biometric dimensions in Hucul horses

Abstract

The aim of the study was to verify existing methods for determining the weight of adult Hucul horses on the basis of biometric dimensions associated with changes in the conformation of horses of this breed resulting from breeding work. The experiment was performed on 159 adult Hucul horses ≥ 3 years old (25 stallions, 23 geldings and 111 mares, including 44 barren, 23 in early pregnancy (up to the 7th month) and 43 in late pregnancy (> 7 months). Actual body weight, determined using a platform scale, was compared with the weight estimated using selected formulas and with a special measuring tape. The estimation error (%) was calculated, and it was determined whether the estimated body weight was on average over- or underestimated. The most reliable means of estimating body weight proved to be the use of the formulas of Carroll and Huntington (1988) and Sendel (1999), which non-significantly underestimated actual body weight, by an average of 7 and 8 kg, respectively, so that the error resulting from this method was 4.5%. The measuring tape was also found to be a good tool, resulting in an error not exceeding 6%, with a non-significant underestimation of actual body weight. The tendency of various methods to over - or underestimate body weight was similar irrespectively of sex and physiological state, which may indicate that the body weight of Hucul horses changes proportionally with changes in biometric dimensions. Therefore, it can be assumed that the sex and physiological state of the mare, despite their effect on body weight, need not be taken into account when developing new formulas for estimating it.