Morphometry of Venezuelan Criollo horses in a herd in the state of Apure. Preliminary results

Paper presented at the III Ibero-American Symposium on the Conservation of Local Animal Genetic Resources and Sustainable Rural Development

Abstract

Venezuelan Criollo Horses are the descendants of the horses brought by the Spaniards during the Conquest and the Colony. In Venezuela, two nuclei are established: in the Guajira and in the Llanos. There is little information about their morphometry. With the intention of characterizing it before establishing it as the first recognized equine breed, this study is carried out. Fifty castrated creoles between 4 and 19 years of age randomly selected in the State of Apure were measured. We considered 8 variable for head and neck, 9 for trunk and 7 for limbs. We obtained the mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values and coefficient of variation in percentage. The proportions in the different layers were considered. For the height at the withers, we obtained a range of 127 to 144 cm, compared to 136 to 152 cm, mentioned by another author. There is a difference of fifty-six years between the previous work and the present one, the consanguinity, adaptation, feeding and others, which may have influenced the height at the withers. The values of the other variables are considered contributions. The kite coat predominates in 40%.