Abstract

MUNOZ, L. et al. Body condition in elite Chilean rodeo horses: preliminary study. Rev. Med. Vet. Zoot. [online]. 2019, vol.66, n.1, pp.28-34. ISSN 0120-2952.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rfmvz.v66n1.79389.

The aim of this study was to characterize the distribution of body condition score for elite Chilean rodeo horses in competition. Forty-eight Chilean breed horses (15 mares, 24 stallions and 9 geldings) were randomly chosen for evaluation while participating at the 64th National Championship of Chilean Rodeo 2012. Body condition score for each horse was assessed by visual inspection and palpation according to the Henneke system. The sport performance was recorded as qualified or not qualified to the final round of the competition. Frequencies of body condition score were tabulated according to gender and according to sport performance of the horses. Modes were calculated as central tendency measurements and body condition score was compared between gender and sport performance groups by means of the Kruskal-Wallis test (p < 0.05). The mode of the general body condition score had a value of 7, with range between 5 and 8. 87.5% of the horses had body condition score between 6 and 7 points and 6.3% of them exhibited obesity. No significant differences were found both for gender and sport performance. This is the first study reporting body condition score in Chilean élite horses and results suggest that in the breed the most frequent value for this variable lies between 6 and 7 points.

Keywords : equine; fat percentage; Chilean breed horses; sport performance.

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