Morphological Differentiation of Polish Arabian Horses - Multivariate Analysis

The aim of the study was to show the variability of exterior type in Arabian horses bred in three leading stud farms in Poland. A total of 334 adult animals from the basic herd of stud farms in Bialka, Janow Podlaski, and Michalow were studied. Each horse underwent 26 exterior measurements. In the first stage, the method of exploration of multidimensional data - principal component analysis, was used, and subsequently, a stepwise canonical discriminant analysis. It was found that each stud farm breeds horses with a different metrical pattern. Horses bred in Bialka represent clearly different morphotype comparing to horses from the other stud farms. Individuals from Janow Podlaski are more similar to horses originating from Michalow but morphological variation also occurs between them. From among the 26 metric traits, 10 parameters have a meaningful discriminative power. These include in particular such parameters as the length of the metatarsus, pelvis, arm, and neck, and depth of the chest.