A Morphometric Survey among Three Iranian Horse Breeds with Multivariate Analysis

Three Iranian horse breeds, Turkoman, Caspian, and Kurdish, are the most important Iranian horse breeds which are well known in all around of the world because of their beauty, versatility, great stamina, and  intelligence. Phenotypic characterization was used to identify and document the diversity within and between distinct breeds, based on their observable attributes. Phenotypic characterization and body biometric in 23 traits were measured in 191 purebred horses belonging to three breeds, i.e. Turkoman (70 horses), Kurdish (77 horses), and Caspian (44 horses).  Caspian breed was  sampled from the Provinces of Alborz and Gilan. Kurdish breed was sampled from the Provinces of Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and Hamadan. Turkoman breed was sampled from the Provinces of Golestan, Markazi, and Isfahan. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was implemented. In addition, Canonical Discriminate Analysis (CDA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Custer analysis were executed for assessing the relationship among the breeds. All statistical analysis was executed by SAS statistical program. The results of our investigation represented the breeds classification into 3 different classes (Caspian, Turkoman, and Kurdish) based on different morphometrical traits. Caspian breed with smaller size in most variables was detached clearly from the others with more distance than Kurdish and Turkoman breeds. The result showed that the most variably trait for classification was Hind Hoof Length. Adaptation with different environments causes difference in morphology and difference among breeds. We can identify and classify domestic population using PCA, CDA, and cluster analysis.