ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the following six body weight (BW) estimation methods in Campolina (CAM) horses: A - weight tape placed at three different positions on the animal’s thorax; B - Crevat and Quetelet’s formula; C - Hall’s formula; D - Hintz and Griffiths’s table; E - Santos’s table; and F - Cintra’s formula. A total of 380 CAM horses were separated according to sex, age class, and gestational stage and evaluated. To determine their accuracy, weights measured on a scale and weight estimates of the six methods were compared by paired t-test, mean prediction error (MPE), and coefficient of determination (R2), using R software. The predictive capacity of method F was lower in the 6-12 months age class, so this formula is not indicated. The BW was overestimated compared with the actual weight by methods A (with weight tape placed in position 3) and B and underestimated by method C. Methods D and E accurately estimated BW of CAM horses. Correction factors are required to accurately estimate BW in this breed using methods B and C. Method A with the weight tape placed in position 2 is the most accurate for predicting BW, including pregnant female horses, and can, therefore, be considered the most suitable method for estimating BW of CAM horses.
breed; equine; foal; nutrition
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