Article II: Breeding Systems . . .

by Liz Freeman DVM

To recap from the first article, achievable purebred breeding goals are based on a combination of breed context (e.g. genetic status, heritage, use), personal preference, and available resources (genetics, expertise, time, space, funding). The breeding paradigm is the philosophical and scientific framework used to guide the decision making process within the context of breeding goals. A breeding paradigm is constructed of three parts: Selection - which animals you breed and which animals you choose to cull from your program Mating or breeding system - outbreeding, inbreeding, and herd systems Your management system

his is the second in a series of articles discussing the science and art of Irish Draught breeding.

INBREEDING AND LINEBREEDING So what strategy does the experienced breeder use to create a highly predictable breeding herd? To create consistency in phenotype you need to create consistency in genotype. To create a genotype that breeds true requires the creation of homozygous gene pairs for traits of interest (remember, it is probable that most of the traits that describe the Irish Draught horse are polygenic, so I am greatly simplifying this process for the sake of discussion here). In order to create homozygous gene pairs, breeders utilize various forms of inbreeding. In broad terms, inbreeding is defined as the practice of breeding together animals that are related. Some breeders consider two animals related if they have any ancestors at all in common in their pedigrees. Other breeders routinely consider the contribution of ancestors as far back as the 4th through 6th generations of the pedigree. Authors and conservation experts Phillip Sponenberg and Carolyn Christman offer a practical approach in their book A Conservation Breeding Handbook. They consider two animals to be related if they have one or more ancestors in common within the first three generations (back to great grandparents in other words). Any relative further back does not, in their opinion, make a significant contribution to the genotype of the progeny. egardless of how one defines relatedness, the term inbreeding often takes on a more specific meaning when individual matings are discussed. Most breeders consider an animal inbred if it is the result of breeding together first degree relatives such as full siblings, halfsiblings, or parent to offspring. Linebreeding encompasses any of the other relationships (uncle-niece, cousin to cousin etc.). Inbreeding and linebreeding can be emotionally charged terms. This is due in part to the misplaced application of a human cultural taboo to animal breeding, and also to the fact that absent conscientious selection, inbreeding and linebreeding can fix harmful traits in the genetics of the herd as effectively as they can fix positive traits. Weve all heard the breeders adage its linebreeding when it works, and inbreeding when it doesnt. Inbreeding and linebreeding are powerful tools for change and this power must be respected by the breeder. It is far safer for the new breeder to practice outbreeding while learning about their breed and growing their ability to assess breeding stock and progeny. There are few negative consequences to this approach. That said, most generational breeders will utilize some form of inbreeding or linebreeding in their programs to create consistency within their breeding herd. When producing breeding stock the idea is to reduce phenotypic variability while maintaining vigor. It is for this reason that generational breeders often linebreed one or two generations to fix type traits and then outcross to an unrelated bloodline to boost vigor within the breeding herd. As a system, this alternation of linebreeding and outbreeding prevents the herd from becoming inbred to the point that there is a loss in reproductive or other genetic performance parameters (i.e. inbreeding depression). As part of an outbreeding strategy to produce performance horses, two individuals from different linebred families can be bred together in a linecross. Linecrosses have provided us with some of the great nicks in horse breeding history which have brought with them the boost in hybrid vigor that is so advantageous to the production of high performance animals. Unfortunately, when many breeders in a breed pursue the same breeding direction (either by choice or by necessity) inbreeding and linebreeding can have a negative impact on genetic diversity. Having too many breeders using the same bloodlines drives the inbreeding coefficient (a mathematical calculation that estimates the percentage of homozygous gene pairs in an animal or herd) for the entire herd upwards as the gene

BREEDING SYSTEMS Breeders of many livestock species utilize a system of breeding together unrelated breeds to achieve a hybrid product with maximum performance yield in its market. Sheep breeders producing market lambs often utilize a system of crosses that result in what is called the terminal cross. The terminal cross is the market lamb that has been bred specifically for the hybrid vigor that contributes to superior performance (for example, fast growth and high carcass yield). The terminal cross is never used for breeding because progeny from a terminal cross are too unpredictable in type and performance to be useful as breeding animals. Meanwhile the integrity of the various purebred foundation herds is fiercely protected. This is because without genetically distinct and sufficiently divergent pure breeds, crossbreeding systems dont work, and the production pyramid collapses. OUTBREEDING: LINECROSSING and CROSSBREEDING Horse breeders also make use of hybrid vigor when they breed with the goal of producing outstanding horses for show and competition. Sport horse breeding can be compared to the production of terminal crosses in livestock species. Successful sport horse breeders will almost always employ some degree of outbreeding to achieve their goals. Outbreeding can be relative, for example breeding together two different strains of the same breed (known as linecrossing). Outbreeding can also take place between more distantly related groups, such as the different breeds bred together to produce crossbred sport horses (e.g. the Irish Draught Sport Horse). Outbred animals of any species tend to exhibit superior performance due to the boost in vigor created by heterosis. Heterosis is the tendency for a crossbred (or linecrossed) animal to be genetically superior to either parent (or parental line). he catch here, is that like the terminal cross market lamb, outbred horses are not always good prospects for breeding. The variability in their genetic background can be manifested in progeny which are inconsistent in type. In breeds like the Irish Draught which have been blended from different sources to begin with, the existing variability in the genotype is only amplified by outbreeding: good for hybrid vigor and producing outstanding individual performers or show horses, but not so great for creating a predictable breeding herd. Nevertheless, outbreeding is a tried and true method for creating crosses for sport and the show ring, as outbred horses often out-perform other animals due to genes inherited from their divergent parental bloodlines. When used to follow a linebred mating in the context of breeding stock production, outbreeding can also be a useful tool to boost reproductive and other genetic performance parameters in the purebred breeding herd.

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Article II: Breeding Systems - cont . . .

SlievenamonRID SnowfordBellmanRID SnowfordHarebelleRID WinmaurSergeantPepperRID ColmanRID SnowfordBrightPinkRID HareparkPinkRID BallynoeBoyRID GeorgesGirlRID SkippyRID HareparkPinkRID KilcolmanRID MarebyIrishSport HuntsmanRID HareparkPegRID

Figure 1. An example of a linebred pedigree. Harepark Pink RID appears in the 2nd and 3rd generations: Inbreeding Coefficient 6.6%

ing many small purebred breeding groups, all breeding in different directions. By different directions I mean that each breeder focuses on different bloodlines, perhaps even linebreeding those bloodlines (but only once the breeder has carefully researched their specific group of animals and their ancestors). This can be a particularly effective method for BlueHenryRID expanding the influence of under-represented individuals or bloodlines within the overall herd population of a rare breed. Linebred individuals from these subset herds are then used as outcrosses for other breeders DuhonwDaisyRID herds, thus serving to balance the representation of available bloodlines within the herd. While it is true that any of the smaller herd groups in MoyglassDollyRID this system may have a higher inbreeding coefficient than the overall herd population, when individuals from different linebred groups are selectively linecrossed, the inbreeding coefficient of the breed population as a whole may actually remain quite low.

KylemoreRID GypsyRID BlueHenryRID PrideofShaunlaraRID KnockavaherPrideRID CarrigfaddaGreyRID DuhonwDaisyRID PrideofShaunlaraRID PrideofToamesRID ToamesBeautyRID MoyglassDollyRID GoleenRID MoyglassLassRID Unknown Figure 2. Another linebred pedigree. Pride of Shaunlara RID appears twice in the 3rd generation: Inbreeding Coefficient 3.5% BallynoeBoyRID SlievenamonRID GeorgesGirlRID SlievenamonRID SnowfordBellmanRID pool for the whole breed becomes more and more constricted. When f course no breeding SnowfordBellmanRIDprogram can progress successfully without SkippyRID SnowfordHarebelleRID too many breeders linebreed in the same direction, it decreases the likelicareful culling, and culling is particularly important when inbreedWinmaurSergeantPepperRID SnowfordHarebelleRID Culling is part of the selection process. hood that there will be a genetic outcross available for every animal in the ing and linebreeding. ColmanRID HareparkPinkRID SnowfordBrightPinkRID breeding herd, something that conservation experts stress is an important More about this in the next article. WinmaurSergeantPepperRID HareparkPinkRID VirtualFoal benchmark to achieve in the maintenance of genetically healthy breeds. KilcolmanRID BluePeterRID ColmanRID Ironically, careful linebreeding is a strategy that can also be used to inIn the meantime, I would encourage anyone who wants to learn more BlueHenryRID KnockavaherPrideRID crease genetic distance within breeds. about breeding systems and strategies to MarebyIrishSport many avail themselves of the DuhonwDaisyRID SnowfordBrightPinkRID PrideofToamesRID resources available from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. HuntsmanRID MoyglassDollyRID LINEBREEDING FOR CONSERVATION Two volumes I highly recommend are the previously mentioned book, A MoyglassLassRID HareparkPinkRID One linebreeding strategy for maintaining genetic diversity involves creatConservation Breeding Handbook by D. Phillip Sponenberg and Carolyn HareparkPegRID BluePeterRID

J. Christman, and Managing Breeds for a Secure Future Strategies for Breeders and Breed Associations by D. Phillip Sponenberg and Donald E. Bixby. Both of these books are available from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy and can be ordered online via their website, www. KylemoreRID BluePeterRID albc-usa.org. GypsyRID

PrideofShaunlaraRID If members would like to discuss any of these ideas further, you can conKnockavaherPrideRID CarrigfaddaGreyRID tact me privately at flyingharp@gmail.com. Alternatively, I would be happy to start a thread on the IDHSNA Yahoo list where everyone can post quesPrideofShaunlaraRID tions, PrideofToamesRID and we can mine the collective wisdom of our membership while ToamesBeautyRID discussing some of these topics as a group! Let me know if there is any GoleenRID interestMoyglassLassRID in doing that. Unknown

SnowfordBellmanRID WinmaurSergeantPepperRID SnowfordBrightPinkRID VirtualFoal BlueHenryRID DuhonwDaisyRID MoyglassDollyRID

SlievenamonRID SnowfordHarebelleRID ColmanRID HareparkPinkRID BluePeterRID KnockavaherPrideRID PrideofToamesRID MoyglassLassRID

Figure 3. An example of a linecrossed pedigree using our linebred horses from Figures 1 and 2: Inbreeding Coefficient now much lower at 0.9%

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2009 Yearbook - T he Blarney