Reproduction and adaptation of herd horses to Arctic and subarctic conditions of northern Siberia on the example of Yakutia: a brief overview

The aim of the work was to briefly review the issues of reproduction and adaptation of the Yakut horse to the harsh conditions of the Arctic and Subarctic in the territory of Yakutia. An analysis of studies conducted by scientific institutions of the country on the issues of reproduction and morphological and physiological adaptation of Yakut herd horses to the conditions of the Arctic and Subarctic of northern Siberia over the past 60 years was made. From the brief review of the literature we have reviewed, it is clear that part of the population is exposed to the influence of such negative environmental factors as abnormally severe frosts, shortage of under-snow forage and its low quality, summer heat, etc. It is manifested in a decrease in reproduction rates, in a noticeable depletion of part of the livestock. Alekseev N.D. (2008) put forward a hypothesis of early diagnostics of stress reactivity of horses of the Yakut breed based on the method of determining the number of eosinophils in the blood of animals. He associated this with the occurrence of a stressful state in the body of horses, accompanied by eosinopenia. He suggested that a decrease in the eosinophil index by more than 50% of the initial level should be considered stress sensitivity of the animal. The prevalence of gray color in Yakut horses living in the high latitudes of the Subarctic and Arctic in extremely cold conditions is not the spread of the gray color of the Arabian horse, but an adaptive trait supported by natural selection. The nature of the development of the hair coat in the Yakut horse also belongs to morphological adaptation. The quantity and quality of the hair coat of the Yakut horse in comparison with other breeds were studied very carefully by Alekseev N.D. Part of the Yakut horse population is exposed to the negative factors of the Arctic and Subarctic environment, which is manifested in a decrease in reproduction rates, in a noticeable depletion of part of the herd, thus the method of early diagnostics of stress reactivity of horses of the Yakut breed should be tested on a large herd.

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