Browsing by Author "Ettala, Anna"

The aim of this study was to analyze the development and population structure of the Finnhorse's parentage. The coefficient of inbreeding, the time between generations and the effective population size was studied in the whole population. The effective number of founders and ancestors in the population was determined. The number of horses in the whole population was 77 925 animals. The time between generations was 12.6 years on average. On average, the time between generations was two years longer for stallions than for mares. The effective population size of the Finnhorse was 181, which is sufficient to preserve the genetic diversity of the gene pool. It also examined the degree of kinship and inbreeding with the development of advanced, runner, riding, working - and small horse the direction of the corresponding parameters between the years 1960-2012 and compared with the results obtained in this term. There were 9 585 horses registered in different breeding sections: 6 385 horses in the trotter section, 1 734 horses in the working section, 1 027 horses in the riding second and 439 small Finnhorses. The average coefficient of relatedness in the whole population in 1960–2012 was 2,7-10,7%. The average inbreeding coefficient of inbreeding in the whole population was 1-4,4%. Inbreeding has evolved over the last few decades in the same way as in the past. Stock recorded a runner horses degree of relatedness is, however, significantly increased in recent years. The relatedness between the trotter section and the rest of the population was in the same range than in the whole population. The results of this research concerning different variables were similar to those gathered from studies on other horse breeds. The coefficient of inbreeding and relatedness of the Finnhorse is low enough to ensure that the genetic diversity of the breed will not diminish in the future.