Avaliação do perfil morfométrico de cavalos da raça Quarto de Milha de Vaquejada

Abstract

The Vaquejadais a genuine northeastern equestrian sport, of centenary origin, due to the cattle breeding in the Sertão.In this sport, Quarter Horse stands out for being an animal of temperament docile and extremely fast in races of short distances, comprising about ninety percent of the animals used in a competition.With the increase of the popularity of the Vaquejada, there was a greater search for animals that stood out in the tests, that is, of superior genetics and for that, crossings were thrown, turned only for the genealogy.Biometrics is intended to aid in the breeding programs, definition of racial pattern, identification of defects, as well as the selection of specific abilities that the animal will perform, since equine morphology correlates with function.The objective of this work was to evaluate the biometry of Quarter Horse animals used in the sport of Vaquejada. A total of 45 animals were evaluated. 12 equines of Pull in Training (PTr), 22 equines of Pull in competition (PCom) and 11 equines ofhelper (E). Data were collected from 10 linear measures, in addition to body mass. The data were submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the means were compared by the Tukey test, with significance level of 5%. SigmaPlot 13.0 was used for windows in all statistical analyzes. Significant measurement (P <0.05) for height of the withers, croup height, body length, croup length, thoracic perimeter, breast width, in addition to the body mass, being the values found superior in the pull animals compared to the helper.The results showed that the Vaquejadahorses have different biometrics because they perform different functions.This information can contribute to guide which function the animal will play in the sport, as well as its training.