Depending on the direction of development, farms may need different types of horses: working, sporting and productive. To emphasize and enhance the necessary qualities of the animal, not only purebred breeding is carried out, but also horses are crossed, that is, mating of individuals belonging to different breeds. To achieve optimal results, several types of crosses are used, which are worth discussing in more detail.
Horse Mating General
The correct approach to mating horses allows you to get healthy offspring with the necessary qualities. It is important to choose the right time, prepare partners well, and choose the best way to mate.
For breeding, healthy mares are selected at least three years old. The animal must enter the "hunt", that is, mating occurs during the period of monthly estrus. Typically, estrus lasts 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 performed, starting from the second day to the end of estrus. Experienced breeders determine the mare’s readiness by the following criteria: the animal is docile, calm and emits a specific neighing.
Mating in nature
Mating horses in a herd occurs according to certain laws. Natural control of the gene pool is ensured by the generation of 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, the foals appear in late winter or spring.
Human-controlled breeding: crossbreeding
Crossing horses outside the wild, that is, under the supervision of humans, is carried out in several ways. The following types are distinguished:
- reproductive;
- absorbing;
- introductory;
- industrial;
- crossbreeding.
Hybrids get the properties of heterosis. They are able to surpass parents in growth, productivity and stats.
Reproductive Crossing
This species is the most complex because it is used to produce new breeds. Mating horses in a reproductive way occurs by mating representatives of two or more breeds. Depending on the number of breeds used, reproductive crosses are divided into simple (two breeds) and complex (more than two). By this method, excellent results were obtained and new branches were bred, such as the Oryol trotter, Budyon and others.
Absorption Crossing
This type is used if it is necessary to make fundamental corrections to the breed or to form a branch that has not previously been bred in this region. The meaning of absorptive crosses is the use of stallions of the necessary breed for a series of generations. The bloodiness of the hybrids in this case is brought up to 7/8.
Absorption crossbreeding of horses transforms unproductive breeds, as the uterus of each generation mates with males of a highly productive improving branch. As a result, a pedigree group of horses is formed, which is close in indicators to an improving breed, but having some differences from it.
Introductory Crossing
This is the most common species, which is called the method of adding fresh blood. The essence of the method is to improve the quality 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 crosses are performed as planned, they improve individual qualities, but do not make a significant change to the main branch.
Industrial Crossing
This species is used quite rarely, since the result has no tribal purpose. The resulting offspring can have high athletic qualities or is used in productive horse breeding.
For industrial crossbreeding, animals of various body types and origins are selected, and then first-generation crosses are raised. The method is based on heterosis and allows you to get working, sporting and productive horses. For industrial crossbreeding, strong imported stallions of trotter, horseback or heavy-handed directions and local mares are used.
Crossbreeding
This type of crossing is characteristic of the general work-user direction. To cover, alternately take stallions of two or three breeds to get a universal cross. Usually the first generation is mated with a stallion of one breed, the second is another, and the third generation is returned to the first. Sometimes a larger number of heterogeneous breeds are used.
Two-breed and three-breed crossbreeds are suitable for use both under saddle and harness.
The results of crossing 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
Irrepressible curiosity and the desire to obtain an animal with unique properties led to the appearance of hybrids of horses. Mating horses + other animals made it possible to obtain crossbreeds adapted for hard work, hot climates and poor food. Breeders managed to breed a variety of hybrids, but the most common are hybrids with zebras (zebroids) and donkeys.
Zebroids
Most often, mares and zebra stallions are used to obtain such a hybrid. When trying to cover a zebra female with a horse stallion, fertilization is quite rare. The resulting hybrid individuals are physically closer to the mother, and the striped color is inherited from the father. Zebroids are used in mountainous landscapes and deserts, since they are much more enduring than horses. Due to the genetic structure, the hybrids of zebras and horses are barren.
To date, the main purpose of zebroids is circus performances and children's skating.
Hybrid horse and donkey
Crossing a donkey with a horse gave a unique hybrid, called the 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 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, traits of both the horse and the 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.
Donkey and 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 is spotted, then the mule will inherit the pinto. 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.
Loshak
A horse and a donkey, the mating of which led to the appearance of mules, is the best option for obtaining a working hybrid. But the cross between a stallion and a donkey gives a less useful result. The hybrid thus obtained is called a horn. Since the possibilities of the donkey uterus are limited, the animal turns out to be stunted and less enduring than a mule. In appearance, hinnies are similar to wild horses. They are large-headed, have a short neck and mane. Ears are longer than horses, but significantly smaller than donkeys.
Getting a hinny is harder than a mule, since donkeys cautiously allow stallions. Fertilization occurs much less often, since with a difference in the number of chromosomes for conception, fewer pairs are allowed in the male, and not in the female. Offspring are born weak, since the duration of a donkey’s pregnancy is shorter than that of a mare.
Difficulties in obtaining this hybrid and low performance characteristics have led to the fact that horses were not widely used even at the peak of the use of horses and their crossbreeds in agriculture and industry.
Why are hybrids barren?
Mating donkeys and horses leads to infertile 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 the donkey and the horse have different numbers of chromosomes. The mare has 64, and the donkey has 62. To continue the genus, a paired set of chromosomes is required, and the mule inherits an unpaired number, that is, 63 chromosomes. This becomes an obstacle to reproduction.
How horses and their hybrid species are used today
The progressive development of technology has led to the fact that even horses are gradually losing their popularity. To transport people and goods, it is much more convenient and faster to use automobile rather than horse-drawn vehicles. If horses are used for sports purposes, for horse racing and exhibitions, as well as for relaxation and advertising, then there is almost no need for hybrid species.
In the mountainous regions, horses and mules are still used to transport goods, but in much smaller quantities. The main applications for hybrid species are circus performances and short horseback riding. Unfortunately, large numbers of animals are not required to meet these needs.
Statistics inexorably records a decrease in the number of thoroughbreds and work horses, as well as all hybrid species, that is, zebroids, hinnies, and mules.
