Press release from the IAFH – International Association of Future Horse Breeding
Thanks to enormous joint efforts, we’ve done it: the world’s largest genomics-based breeding value estimation system is now up and running!
Until now, breeding selection has largely relied on the desired traits being assessed and recorded with sufficient certainty. This approach involved hoping that environmental effects would not obscure the true hereditary predispositions too much. Genomic analysis now offers the invaluable advantage of being able to directly determine hereditary predispositions for many traits from the horse’s genotype, thereby enabling far more reliable breeding selection.
Breeding Planning
‘Wahl-O-Mat’
The new system is a genuine milestone in modern horse breeding, as for the first time, traits relating to conformation, performance and health can be directly linked to genetic predispositions. With the publication of genomics-based breeding values for traits from the linear description, valuable information is now available to breeders, which they can incorporate into their selection and mating decisions.
Building on this, an online mating programme has been developed which suggests a selection of suitable mating partners for the breeder’s mare. This is done in a fully customisable manner, based on the breeder’s specific breeding objectives as set out in their own online account. The breeder still makes the final decision on their preferred stallion themselves.
The IAFH breeding values for the stallions are now available free of charge to all breeders belonging to IAFH member associations in the respective online stallion allocation plan.
Extensive database
The database is based on information collected by the IAFH over 14 years of systematic data recording of individual criteria that may be significant for breeding decisions. These comprise 28 conformation traits, 19 movement traits and 12 jumping traits, for the breeding assessment of which the linear profiles of a total of just under 84,000 horses are used. The data was contributed by six horse breeding associations, which cover the majority of German warmblood breeding. A pool of over 130,000 genotyped horses enables the assignment of conformation and performance traits to specific genotypes, which is ensured by the vit computing centre using state-of-the-art analysis methods.
Who is the IAFH?
The cross-association collaboration of the IAFH has thus achieved an important interim goal. The IAFH (International Association of Future Horse Breeding GmbH & Co KG) was founded in 2017 with the clear objective of developing genomics-based applications for sport horse breeding and, to this end, investing in the necessary research and development work. The consortium comprises the Oldenburg Breeding Associations (OL, OS), the Holsteiner Verband, the Westphalian Stud Book, the Trakehner Verband, the Hanoverian Verband and the German Sport Horse (DSP), as well as the vit computing centre.
Focus
on health
However, in addition to selection for conformation and performance, genomic breeding value estimation pursues another exceptionally important objective: improving the health and resilience of the horse population. Anyone involved with horses knows that health problems can destroy a horse’s value in an instant – not to mention the resulting veterinary costs. And this is where a genomics-based breeding value estimation for health traits could prove invaluable. The necessary foundations for this have been laid by genomic research, and a so-called ‘SNP chip’ containing the key genetic loci is available. Unfortunately, however, there is still a lack of sufficient equine data to allow the reliable linking of specific diseases or health defects to precisely defined genotypes. But this is precisely what researchers are now working on intensively. A breakthrough in this area would represent a quantum leap for the entire horse breeding sector.
