Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41900973›Full record

ArticleLife (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Integrating Performance Records and Genetic Evaluations in Spanish Horse Populations Competing in Olympic Disciplines.

María Dolores Gómez, María José Sánchez-Guerrero, Davinia Isabel Perdomo-González, María Ripollés-Lobo, Ester Bartolomé, Mercedes Valera

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Life (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

María Dolores GómezDepartamento de Agronomía, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Universidad de Sevilla, Ctra. Utrera Km 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.
María José Sánchez-GuerreroDepartamento de Agronomía, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Universidad de Sevilla, Ctra. Utrera Km 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-4357-9908
Davinia Isabel Perdomo-GonzálezDepartamento de Producción Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-2618-105X
María Ripollés-LoboDepartamento de Agronomía, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Universidad de Sevilla, Ctra. Utrera Km 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.
Ester BartoloméDepartamento de Agronomía, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Universidad de Sevilla, Ctra. Utrera Km 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-0594-6076
Mercedes ValeraDepartamento de Agronomía, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Universidad de Sevilla, Ctra. Utrera Km 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-1742-550X

Funding

AECAA PRJ202304692ANCADES PRJ202104060ANCCE PRJ202304988
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study evaluates performance data and genetic merit of the main horse populations competing in Olympic disciplines in Spain and examines their implications for the optimization of official Breeding Programs. Performance records from 2004-2023 were analyzed, including 101,093 participations in Dressage, 319,000 in Show Jumping, and 17,535 in Eventing. These records were combined with pedigree information from 35,589 horses in Dressage, 33,935 in Show Jumping, and 12,102 in Eventing and evaluated using BLUP animal models to obtain standardized Estimated Breeding Values (EBV; mean 100 ± 20) and a Genetic Global Index (GGI). A single unified evaluation model was implemented for all studbooks, enabling a direct comparison of genetic quality across different breeds. Results revealed marked differences in genetic merit and genetic progress among breeds. Similar mean EBVs were obtained for the three analyzed breeds in Dressage in both the complete and the top 10% populations, with positive genetic trends in Caballo de Deporte Español (CDE) and Pura Raza Española (PRE), while the slope of EBV on birth year was not significantly different from zero in Spanish Anglo-Árabe (AA). CDE showed the highest mean EBVs and accuracies in Show Jumping (EBV up to 109.27; R up to 0.72), with a clear positive genetic trend. In Eventing, CDE and AA showed similar EBVs, while PRE consistently exhibited lower ones, although with a comparatively more favorable genetic trend. Analysis of selection intensity indicated that PRE breeders applied the most consistent genetic criteria, preferentially using animals with GGI > 100, whereas CDE and AA showed discrepancies between genetic merit and reproductive use. Overall, the unified Spanish genetic evaluation system provides reliable comparative information across breeds and has enabled measurable genetic progress, although improvements in breeders' decision-making and in the use of genetic information are needed to maximize selection response.

Indexed as

BLUP genetic evaluationbreeding program evaluationselection intensitysport horse performance

Identifiers

PMID41900973
PMCPMC13028280

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.