Relations of Weight and Age to the Front Feet Sole Area of Merino Ram (Ovis aries)

Age and activities are factors that influence the anatomy of the body. This study aims to describe the correlation between the body weight and age to the front feet sole area of Merino ram. These objectives were achieved by performing measurements of front feet sole of fifteen Merino rams. Measurements were taken every month started from one-month-old until six-month-old. All data were modeled using analytical MARS (Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline Longitudinal). Data analysis resulted an equation model: Y = 11. 575 + 0.95 * BF2 (BF1 = max (0, weight – 8.000); BF2 = max (0, age – 1.000) * BF1 for front right foot sole area and Y = 20.582-0.683 * BF2 for front left foot sole area. The results of this study indicate that there is a different pattern in the correlation between the body weight and age to the right and left front feet sole areas.