Data from: The legend of the Canadian horse: genetic diversity and breed origin

The Canadian breed of horse invokes a fascinating chapter of North American history and as such it is now a heritage breed and the national horse of Canada. The aims of this study were to determine the level of genetic diversity in the Canadian, investigate the possible foundation breeds and the role it had in the development of the USA horse breeds, such as Morgan Horse. We tested a total of 981 horses by using 15 microsatellite markers. We found that Canadian horses have high values of genetic diversity indices and show no evidence of a serious loss of genetic diversity and the inbreeding coefficient was not significantly different from zero. Belgian, Percheron, Breton and Dales Pony, unlike the light French horses, may have common ancestries with the Canadian and could be important founders. However, the Shire and Clydesdale influenced the Canadian to a lesser extent than French and Belgian draft breeds. Furthermore, our finding indicated that there was no evidence of a clear relationship between Canadian and Oriental or Iberian breeds. Also, the Canadian likely contributed to the early development of the Morgan. Finally, these findings support the ancient legends of the Canadian Horse as North America’s first equine breed and the foundation bloodstock to many American breeds and may help in the management and breeding program of this outstanding breed in North America.

加拿大马（Canadian Horse）代表着北美历史中一段引人入胜的篇章，如今已成为本土遗产保护品种，同时也是加拿大的国马。本研究旨在明确加拿大马的遗传多样性水平，探究其潜在的基础血统类群，以及其在美国马品种（如摩根马（Morgan Horse））培育进程中所发挥的作用。本研究采用15个微卫星标记（microsatellite markers），共检测了981份马样本。研究结果显示，加拿大马的遗传多样性指数处于较高水平，未出现严重的遗传多样性流失现象，其近交系数与0无显著统计学差异。与法国轻型马不同，比利时马（Belgian）、佩尔什马（Percheron）、布列塔尼马（Breton）以及戴尔小马（Dales Pony）或与加拿大马拥有共同祖先，可能是其重要的基础血统来源。不过，夏尔马（Shire）与克莱兹代尔马（Clydesdale）对加拿大马的遗传影响程度，低于法国及比利时挽马品种。此外，本研究未发现加拿大马与东方马品种或伊比利亚马品种之间存在明确的遗传关联。同时，加拿大马可能对摩根马的早期培育起到了推动作用。综上，本研究结果佐证了加拿大马作为北美首个本土马品种、诸多美国马品种核心基础种畜的古老传说，同时可为该优秀马品种在北美的管理与繁育计划提供科学参考。