title: Coat color and gestation length in thoroughbred mares.
abstract: Average gestation periods for bay, chestnut, dark bay, gray, and black Thoroughbred mares were compared. A total of 1359 gestation periods were used. A linear model including factors for age of mare, sex of foal, month and year of breeding, and sire effects was used in the analysis. Dam and sire coat-color combinations were also investigated in a similar manner. No significant differences in gestation length could be attributed to coat color of the mare of to dam and sire coat-color combinations. Heritability of gestation length was estimated to be 0.38. The results of this study strongly suggest that coat color is not associated with gestation length in Thoroughbred mares.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006200:Hair Color; D006736:Horses / Q000235:genetics*; D008433:Mathematics; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D013997:Time Factors