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Morphometric characteristics of quarter horses in barrel racing events: impacts on performance and competitive
Giovanna Polo Freitag1, Luis Gustavo Freitag de Lima2, Luiz Ernandes Kozicki2
1Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciência Animal, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil; Department of Animal Science, State University of Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil.
Aims:
This study investigated the influence of morphometric characteristics on performance in Quarter Horses competing in barrel racing.
Methods:
A total of 125 horses were assessed using 28 linear and angular body measurements derived from standardized left-side photographs captured via smartphone and analyzed with open-source software.
Results:
Measurements were subjected to exploratory factor analysis, extracting six principal components (forequarters, hindquarters, midsection, posterior angles, scapular traits, age and weight), which together explained 83.0 % of the morphological variance. Forequarter morphology, including withers height and limb lengths, accounted for 37.4 % of the variation in race performance. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped horses by trial times, revealing that animals with faster times exhibited significantly larger ribcage dimensions, longer scapulae, and greater coxofemoral angles. A multivariate regression model incorporating the principal components predicted individual potential trial times with high accuracy (R² = 0.6848; P = 0.0388), and comparisons with actual times confirmed the model's validity. Age and body weight were also relevant, with younger, well-muscled horses demonstrating superior performance.
Conclusion:
Forequarter conformation, scapular inclination, and indicators of respiratory and muscular capacity were strong predictors of barrel racing success in Quarter Horses, and image-based morphometric analysis was a valuable tool for performance prediction and selection in this study.
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