Estimates of genetic parameters of distal limb fracture and superficial digital flexor tendon injury in UK Thoroughbred racehorses

Welsh, C. E. , Lewis, T. W., Blott, S. C., Mellor, D. J. , Stirk, A. J. and Parkin, T. D.H. (2014) Estimates of genetic parameters of distal limb fracture and superficial digital flexor tendon injury in UK Thoroughbred racehorses. Veterinary Journal, 200(2), pp. 253-256. (doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.03.005) (PMID:24679457)

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Abstract

A retrospective cohort study of distal limb fracture and superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injury in Thoroughbred racehorses was conducted using health records generated by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) between 2000 and 2010. After excluding records of horses that had both flat and jump racing starts, repeated records were reduced to a single binary record per horse (<i>n</i> = 66,507, 2982 sires), and the heritability of each condition was estimated using residual maximum likelihood (REML) with animal logistic regression models. Similarly, the heritability of each condition was estimated for the flat racing and jump racing populations separately. Bivariate mixed models were used to generate estimates of genetic correlations between SDFT injury and distal limb fracture. The heritability of distal limb fracture ranged from 0.21 to 0.37. The heritability of SDFT injury ranged from 0.31 to 0.34. SDFT injury and distal limb fracture were positively genetically correlated. These findings suggest that reductions in the risk of the conditions studied could be attempted using targeted breeding strategies.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Parkin, Professor Tim and Mellor, Professor Dominic and Welsh, Dr Claire
Authors: Welsh, C. E., Lewis, T. W., Blott, S. C., Mellor, D. J., Stirk, A. J., and Parkin, T. D.H.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Journal Name:Veterinary Journal
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:1090-0233
ISSN (Online):1532-2971
Published Online:26 March 2014
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2014 The Authors
First Published:First published in Veterinary Journal 200(2):253-256
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
500192BBSRC Doctoral Training Grant 2009-15Massimo PalmariniBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)BB/F016786/1MVLS III - CENTRE FOR VIRUS RESEARCH
500193BBSRC Doctoral Training Grant 2009-15Massimo PalmariniBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)BB/F016786/1MVLS III - CENTRE FOR VIRUS RESEARCH