It's often interesting to see how people in other parts of the world raise horses. Kentucky Equine Research has collected data on Thoroughbred foal growth patterns in several countries. In an article recently published on their website, KER discusses the information for the US, Australia, New Zealand, England, and India. They look at both the data and also why the results could be as they are.
"Although all Thoroughbreds share a fairly narrow genetic base, geography has a significant influence on growth patterns in young Thoroughbreds."
US-raised Thoroughbreds are larger than English ones, which in turn are larger than Indian Thoroughbreds, but smaller than Australian or New Zealand Thoroughbreds. The article goes into several factors that could explain the differences, including management goals and practices, and climate and weather differences.
The goal of presenting this data is to give Thoroughbred breeders a tool for tracking their own foals' growth against a significant population of other foals at specific age points.
Quite an interesting read!
Click to read the full article here.
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