{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T09:09:03Z","timestamp":1788858543688,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788825600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Morphometric information on ambling horses raised in T\u00fcrkiye remains limited. This study aimed to characterize the morphometric traits of ambling horses according to breeding origin, age, and sex and to provide baseline phenotypic information on the studied population. A total of 102 naturally ambling horses were evaluated, including indigenous horses raised in Bursa (n = 28), indigenous horses raised in Nazilli, Ayd\u0131n Province (n = 65), and Afghan-origin horses raised in Bursa (n = 9). Morphometric measurements of the head, body, and limbs were recorded, and the effects of breeding origin, age, and sex were analyzed using a general linear model. Significant differences among breeding origins were observed for several morphometric traits (p &lt; 0.05). Afghan-origin horses generally exhibited higher values for several body measurements, particularly withers height, body length, chest depth, chest width, and heart girth, reflecting morphometric differences within the studied sample. Age- and sex-related differences were also observed for several morphometric traits. The strongest correlation was observed between CH and BH (r = 0.920, p &lt; 0.001), followed by WH and BH (r = 0.873, p &lt; 0.001) and WH and CH (r = 0.860, p &lt; 0.001). ITH was also positively correlated with BH (r = 0.825), CH (r = 0.808), and WH (r = 0.744) (all p &lt; 0.001). Overall, this study provides baseline morphometric information on ambling horses from different breeding origins raised in T\u00fcrkiye and contributes to the phenotypic characterization of the studied population. However, because the Afghan-origin group included only nine horses and the distribution of animals among some groups was unbalanced, the observed differences should be interpreted with caution. Further studies involving larger and more balanced populations are needed to confirm these findings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16182813","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T08:10:22Z","timestamp":1788855022000},"page":"2813","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Morphological Characterization of Turkish Ambling Horses"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Burcu","family":"Bayramo\u011flu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tekirda\u011f Nam\u0131k Kemal University, Tekirda\u011f 59030, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Yahya Tuncay","family":"Tuna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tekirda\u011f Nam\u0131k Kemal University, Tekirda\u011f 59030, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Y\u00fccel, R. (2005). Orthopaedic Diseases of Horses, Akif Press."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"S\u00fcmer, F. (1983). The Horse in Turkish History and Culture, Turkish Historical Society Press."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"G\u00fcr, \u0130. (2009). The Past and Present of the Turkish Ambling Horse in Bursa."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Emiro\u011flu, M., and Y\u00fcksel, N. (2002). Domestic Animal Breeds, Ankara University Press."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"FAO (2026, June 26). FAOSTAT. Available online: https:\/\/www.fao.org\/faostat\/."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"642","DOI":"10.1038\/nature11399","article-title":"Mutations in DMRT3 affect locomotion in horses and spinal circuit function in mice","volume":"488","author":"Andersson","year":"2012","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"274","DOI":"10.1111\/age.12120","article-title":"Worldwide frequency distribution of the \u201cgait keeper\u201d mutation in the DMRT3 gene","volume":"45","author":"Andersson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Anim. Genet."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"R697","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2016.07.001","article-title":"The origin of ambling horses","volume":"26","author":"Wutke","year":"2016","journal-title":"Curr. Biol."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"Batu, S. (1951). The Horse and Horse Breeding, Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Publications."},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Ar\u0131t\u00fcrk, E. (1956). Studies on the Current Status of Horse Breeding in T\u00fcrkiye, Its Problems, and the Morphological Characteristics of Indigenous Horses, Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Publications No. 86."},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"Ak\u00e7ap\u0131nar, H., and \u00d6zbeyaz, C. (1999). Animal Breeding (Basic Principles), Kariyer Press."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"FAO (2012). Phenotypic Characterization of Animal Genetic Resources, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAO Animal Production and Health Guidelines No. 11."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1173","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-023-51018-y","article-title":"Phenotypic characterization and production system of the Nordestino horse from a multivariate perspective","volume":"14","author":"Ribeiro","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rogers, C.W., Gee, E.K., and Dittmer, K.E. (2021). Growth and Bone Development in the Horse: When Is a Horse Skeletally Mature?. Animals, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani11123402"},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"Y\u0131lmaz, O. (2019, January 18\u201321). Some Phenotypic Traits of Turkish Pace (Rahvan) Horses Raised in Turkey. Proceedings of the IVth European Conference on Science, Art & Culture, Antalya, T\u00fcrkiye."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"195","article-title":"Phenotypic diversity between pacing horses in Turkey","volume":"63","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ank. Univ. Vet. Fak. Derg."},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"G\u00fcle\u00e7, E. (1996). Turkish Ambling Horse and Horse Breeding, Association for the Preservation and Development of Anatolian Horse Breeds."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e70114","DOI":"10.1002\/vms3.70114","article-title":"Evaluations of Morphometric Traits and Body Conformation Indices of Horse Ecotypes Reared in the Highlands of Bale Eco-Region, Ethiopia","volume":"10","author":"Guyo","year":"2024","journal-title":"Vet. Med. Sci."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Arpac\u0131k, R. (1994). Horse Breeding, \u015eahin Press."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1553","DOI":"10.1590\/S1516-35982005000500015","article-title":"Morphological Characterization of Campeiro Horses Breed","volume":"34","author":"McManus","year":"2005","journal-title":"Rev. Bras. Zootec."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1016\/j.livsci.2008.03.014","article-title":"Evaluation of the sexual dimorphism in Mangalarga Marchador horses using discriminant analysis","volume":"119","author":"Pinto","year":"2008","journal-title":"Livest. Sci."},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"10","article-title":"Evaluation of body measurements of Turkish Alaca horses across different age","volume":"32","year":"2015","journal-title":"Gaziosmanpa\u015fa Univ. Agric. Fac. J."},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"Akyol, E. (2017). Morphological Characteristics of Turkish Ambling Horses. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Ankara University]."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"96","DOI":"10.1038\/s41437-023-00624-7","article-title":"Genetic diversity and signatures of selection in four indigenous horse breeds of Iran","volume":"131","author":"Mousavi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Heredity"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1590\/s1806-92902017000100005","article-title":"Morphometric Measurements and Animal-Performance Indices in a Study of Racial Forms of Brazilian Sport Horses Undergoing Training for Eventing","volume":"46","author":"Padilha","year":"2017","journal-title":"Rev. Bras. Zootec."},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Y\u0131lmazer, \u00d6. (2007). Ayvac\u0131k Pony. [Master\u2019s Thesis, \u00c7anakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science]."},{"key":"ref_27","first-page":"693","article-title":"Body Measurements of Jereed Horses","volume":"19","year":"2013","journal-title":"Kafkas Univ. Vet. Fac. J."}],"container-title":["Animals"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/16\/18\/2813\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T08:27:48Z","timestamp":1788856068000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/16\/18\/2813"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"references-count":27,"journal-issue":{"issue":"18","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["ani16182813"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ani16182813","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-2615"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-2615","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]}}}