Association of morphometric measurements with rump fat in jumping horses in an equestrian school in Bogotá

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the relationship of morphometric measurements and body fattening measured by ultrasound in jumping horses at an equestrian school in Bogotá. Adult male jumping horses in training, mixed breed of Argentine and Colombian Creole (n = 9), were measured. The analyzed measurements were wither height (WH), thoracic perimeter (TP), body length (BL), hind leg perimeter (HLP), actual weight (AW), estimated weight (EW), backfat thickness (BT), rump fat thickness (RFT), and loin eye area (LEA). To estimate fattening, body mass index (based on morphometric measurements) and body fat percentage (based on fat measurements by ultrasound) were calculated. Descriptive statistics and principal component analysis were performed. The averages found for WH, TP, BL, HLP, AW, EW, BT, RFT, and LEA were 1.69 ± 0.02 m, 1.89 ± 0.04 m, 1.67 ± 0.07 m, 26 ± 1.82 m, 526 ± 36 kg, 525 ± 33 kg, 2.34 ± 0.32 mm, 2.12 ± 0.15 mm, and 58 ± 4.7 cm², respectively. The estimated average body mass index was 183.97 ± 11, and the average body fat percentage was 14.07 ± 0.85. The two methods for estimating fattening (r = 0.41) were significantly correlated.