Depending on the direction of development in farms, there may be a need for horses of various types: working, sports and productive purposes. To emphasize and enhance the necessary qualities of the animal, not only purebred breeding is carried out, but also the crossing of horses, that is, the mating of individuals belonging to different breeds. To achieve optimal results, several types of crossing are used, which are worth talking about in more detail.
General information about mating horses
The right approach to mating horses allows you to get he althy offspring with the necessary qualities. It is important to choose the right time, prepare partners well, choose the best way to mate.
For breeding select he althy mares not younger than three years old. The animal must enter the "hunt", that is, mating occurs during the period of monthly estrus. Usually the duration of estrus is from three days to a week, but, depending on the individual characteristics of the animal, it may have a different duration and frequency.
Mare ovulation lasts no more than 48 hours. In order not to miss this period, mating is carried out starting from the second day anduntil the end of the flow. Experienced breeders determine the readiness of a mare by the following signs: the animal is submissive, calm and emits a specific neigh.
Mating in nature
Mating horses in a herd occurs according to certain laws. The natural control of the gene pool is ensured by obtaining offspring from the strongest males in the herd. Each strong male gets several mares, with whom they mate several times a day during the period of entering the "hunt".
The activity of animals is affected by the amount of sunlight. The optimal time for insemination begins in spring and lasts until mid-summer. In this case, foals appear in late winter or spring.
Human-supervised breeding: types of crossing
Crossing horses outside the wild, that is, under human supervision, is carried out in several ways. There are the following types:
- reproductive;
- absorbent;
- introductory;
- industrial;
- variable crossing.
Crosses get the properties of heterosis. They are able to surpass their parents in growth, productivity and stature.
Reproductive crossbreeding
This species is the most difficult, as it is used to obtain new breeds. Crossbreeding of horses in a reproductive way occurs by mating representatives of two or more breeds. Depending on the number of breeds used, reproductive crossing is divided into simple (two breeds) and complex (moretwo). By this method, excellent results were obtained and new branches were bred, such as the Oryol trotter, Budenovskaya and others.
Adsorption crossbreeding
This species is used when it is necessary to make fundamental corrections in the breed or form a branch that has not previously been bred in this region. The meaning of absorption crossbreeding is the use of stallions of the required breed over a series of generations. The bloodlines of the crosses in this case are brought to 7/8.
Absorptive crossbreeding of horses transforms underproductive breeds as queens of each generation mate with males from a highly productive improving branch. As a result, a breed group of horses is formed, which is close in terms of performance to the improving breed, but has some differences from it.
Introductory crossing
This is the most common type and is called the fresh blood method. The essence of the method is to improve the qualities of the breed by adding blood from an individual of another breed that has the necessary qualities. After receiving crossbreeds 1/4 and 1/8 breeding continues "in itself". All crossings are planned, they improve individual qualities, but do not make significant changes to the main branch.
Industrial crossing
This species is rarely used as the result is not intended for breeding purposes. The resulting offspring may have high athletic qualities or be used in productive horse breeding.
For industrial crossbreeding, animals of various body types and origins are selected, and then crossbreeds of the first generation are grown. The method is based on heterosis and allows you to get working, sporting and productive horses. In industrial crossing, strong imported stallions of trotting, riding or heavy-duty directions and mares of local breeds are used.
Variable crossbreeding
This type of crossing is typical for the general worker-user direction. For covering, stallions of two or three breeds are alternately taken in order to obtain a universal cross. Usually the first generation is mated with a stallion of one breed, the second with another, and the third generation is returned to the first. Sometimes a larger number of different breeds are used.
Two-breed and tri-breed mixes are suitable for use under saddle or harness.
The results of crossbreeding horses allow you to change and improve the quality of the selected branch. The highest heterosis is inherent in the first generation, and when switching to breeding “in itself”, the phenomenon of superiority decreases.
Getting hybrids
Indefatigable curiosity and the desire to get an animal with unique properties led to the emergence of horse hybrids. The mating of horses + other animals made it possible to obtain crossbreeds adapted to hard work, hot climates and poor feed. Livestock breeders have managed to breed a variety of hybrids, but the most common are crossbreeds with zebras (zebroids) and donkeys.
Zebroids
Most often to get thisThe hybrid is used by mares and stallions of zebras. When trying to cover a female zebra with a horse stallion, fertilization occurs quite rarely. The resulting hybrid individuals are closer in physique to the maternal, and the striped color is inherited from the father. Zebroids are used in mountainous landscapes and deserts, as they are much more enduring than horses. Due to the peculiarities of the genetic structure, hybrids of zebras and horses are sterile.
Today, the main purpose of zebroids is circus performances and children's skating.
Horse-donkey hybrid
Crossing a donkey with a horse gave a unique hybrid called a mule. The new animal was not inferior in size to horses, but it turned out to be much stronger and more enduring. In addition, it could boast of a longer life expectancy. However, in speed of movement, mules were significantly inferior to horses.
The appearance of the mule combines the data of both parents. Here, the features of both a horse and a donkey are clearly traced. Mules have a large head, elongated ears, thin legs, narrow and small hooves, a massive neck, a proportional body and strong muscles.
The donkey and the horse, which were crossed to obtain a hybrid, have different colors. The color of the resulting mule often depends on the maternal line. If the mother has a spotted color, then the mule will inherit the piebald color. The size and physique of the mule also largely depend on the breed of the mare. The structure of the head, ears and legs is closer to the paternal line.
Hinny
A horse and a donkey whose mating led tothe appearance of mules is the best option for obtaining a working hybrid. But crossing a stallion and a donkey gives a less useful result. The hybrid obtained in this way is called a hinny. Since the capabilities of the donkey's uterus are limited, the animal turns out to be undersized and less hardy than a mule. In appearance, hinnies are similar to wild horses. They are large-headed, have a short neck and mane. The ears are longer than those of horses, but much smaller than those of donkeys.
Getting a hinny is more difficult than getting a mule, because donkeys are wary of allowing stallions. Fertilization occurs much less frequently, since with a difference in the number of chromosomes, fewer pairs are allowed for conception in the male, and not in the female. The offspring are born weak, because the duration of pregnancy of a donkey is shorter than that of a mare.
Difficulties in obtaining this hybrid and low performance caused that hinnies were not widely used even at the peak of the use of horses and their hybrids in agriculture and industry.
Why are hybrids sterile?
Mating donkeys and horses leads to barren males, but females in some (isolated) cases are able to give offspring. Why is this happening? There is a sound scientific answer to this question.
The fact is that a donkey and a horse have a different number of chromosomes. A mare has 64 of them, and a donkey has 62. To continue the race, a paired set of chromosomes is needed, and a mule inherits an unpaired number, that is, 63chromosomes. This becomes an obstacle to reproduction.
How horses and their hybrids are used today
The progressive development of technology has led to the fact that even horses are gradually losing their popularity. For the transportation of people and goods, it is much more convenient and faster to use road transport, rather than horse-drawn transport. If horses are used for sports purposes, for racing and exhibitions, as well as for relaxation and advertising, then there is almost no need for hybrid types.
In the mountainous regions, horses and mules are still used to transport goods, but in much smaller quantities. The main use for hybrid species is circus performances and short horse rides. Unfortunately, a large number of animals is not required to meet these needs.
Statistics inexorably records the decline in the number of thoroughbred and working horses, as well as all hybrid species, that is, zebroids, hinnies, and mules.
Horses in Black Desert Online
Horse breeding can be done not only in real life. There are online games where such an activity is practiced. What offspring will appear as a result of crossing certain breeds depends on many factors.
The main theses and results of crossbreeding of BDO horses will be considered in more detail:
- You cannot catch a wild stallion in the game, which will have a unique color.
- The quality of the offspring does not depend on the breed of horses, but on the rank that the stallion ormare.
- Animals in the game have a crossing limit. If 2 matings are allowed for a male, then only 1 time is available for a mare.
- What will be the offspring of a certain pair of animals can be calculated on a special online calculator.
Breeding stallions in Black Desert allows the player to earn silver, because the only means of transportation here are horses, and the higher their rating, the more expensive the horse can be sold.
