Genetic parameters and breeding values for semen characteristics in Hanoverian stallions

The objectives of this study were to show whether semen traits of 30 Hanoverian stallions regularly used in AI may be useful for breeding purposes. Semen characteristics were studied using 15 149 ejaculates from 30 Hanoverian stallions of the State Stud Celle of Lower Saxony. Semen samples were collected between 2005 and 2009. Traits analysed were gel-free volume, sperm concentration, total and motile sperm number and progressive motility. A linear multivariate animal model was employed to estimate heritabilities and permanent environmental variances for stallions. The same model was used to predict breeding values for all traits simultaneously. Heritabilities were high for gel-free volume (h(2) = 0.43) and moderate for total number of sperm (h(2) = 0.29) and progressive motility (h(2) = 0.20). Gel-free volume, sperm concentration and total number of sperm were genetically negatively correlated with progressive motility. The effect of the permanent environment for stallions accounted for 9-55% of the trait variance. The total variance among stallions explained 37-69% of the trait variance. The average reliabilities of the breeding values were 0.43-0.76 for the 30 Hanoverian stallions. In conclusion, the study could demonstrate large effects of stallions, routinely employed in a breeding programme, on semen characteristics analysed here. We could demonstrate that estimated breeding values (EBV) with sufficient high reliabilities can be predicted using data from these stallions and these EBV are useful in horse breeding programmes to achieve genetic improvement in semen quality.