the canadian breeds ancestors were imported to canada in 1690s.
the canadian breeds ancestors were imported to canada in 1690s.
when were the canadian breeds ancestors imported to canada?
1690s
the canadian horse is a horse breed from canada. it is a strong, well-muscled breed of horse, usually dark in colour. the horses are generally used for riding and driving. descended from draft and light riding horses imported to canada in the late 1600s, it was later crossed with other british and american breeds. during the 18th century the canadian horse spread throughout the northeastern us, where it contributed to the development of several horse breeds. during the peak popularity of the breed, three subtypes could be distinguished, a draft horse type, a trotting type and a pacing type. thousands of horses were exported in the 19th century, many of whom were subsequently killed while acting as cavalry horses in the american civil war. these exports decreased the purebred canadian population almost to the point of extinction, prompting the formation of a studbook and the passage of a law against further export.
canadian horse
in a study of mitochondrial dna published in 2012, the canadian horse and the newfoundland pony were found to be the most genetically diverse of the canadian breeds studied, which also included the sable island horse and the lac la croix pony. the canadian horse showed high haplotype diversity, sharing haplotypes with all canadian populations, as well as draft breeds, nordic pony breeds and british mountain and moorland pony breeds also tested in the study. the canadian horse had been shown to be related to draft horse breeds, including the percheron, belgian and clydesdale, in previous microsatellite loci studies. this relationship was supported by findings in the 2012 study. the high levels of diversity in the canadian horse supported the conclusions of a 1998 study, which determined that the small population size and historical genetic bottlenecks had not resulted in a significant loss of genetic variation. the 1998 paper also stated that the canadian horse did not show inbreeding any more significant than other, more popular, breeds.
canadian horse