INDIVIDUAL AND MATERNAL ASPECTS OF ATHLETE CRIOULO HORSES

Freio de Ouro is a competition exclusively for Crioulo horses, officially promoted for over 30 years. Performance of equine athletes are correlated to maternal characteristics. This study aimed to describe individual and maternal aspects of athlete Crioulo horses that have won the Freio de Ouro competition. A retrospective study was performed with the data collected in the genealogical service of ABCCC, between the years 1982 and 2012. Data analyzed were the animals’ age at winning, maternal age at first parturition, maternal age at the winner’s parturition, and parturition order. Descriptive statistics were performed with a computer program. Mean age of winners was 7.1+0.17 years, 95.4% of the animals won between 4 and 11 years old and 3.2% after 12 years old. Mean maternal age at first parturition was 6+0.19, 53.6% of the females delivered before 5 years and, consequently, 46.4% at 6 years or over. Mean maternal age at parturition of the winners was 9.2+0.37 years. In the range between 5 and 8 years, 50.3% of the champions were born.  Approximately 5.9% of mares delivered champions when 4 years or younger, whereas 15.6% delivered at over 15 years. Around 28% of the champions were born from primiparous mares, 53.7% from 2nd–5th birth, and 18.3% were from their dams’ 6th–12th delivery. The present study provides retrospective information regarding individual and maternal aspects of athlete Crioulo horses that have won the Freio de Ouro over the last 30 years.