Blup

Welcome to the home page where you can search for breeding information on your horse! Here you will find the official BLUP-indexes for Swedish Warmblood horses; stallions, mares and young horses. The BLUP – index is based on all the results from the three year old - and quality tests up until 2007 and the official competition results up until 2006. Through the site you can search the index of individual horses, find the four generational pedigree and the detailed inspection – and competition results. You can also create lists, ranking stallions and mares for various traits.

What is BLUP?

A BLUP-index is the closest we can come to a “consumer tested” horse. The indexes are estimated breeding values of what one can predict the horse will pass on to its offspring genetically. This information is the most objective genetical breeding information we can receive today. BLUP stands for”Best Linear Unbiased Prediction”, which hints at providing the most accurate and real compilation of all the information with which the individual’s breeding value is computed. In breeding for sport horses the BLUP is utilized in Germany, France, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and Ireland, in other countries for breeding for standard bred trotters, but in no other country is there such an extensive data base with results from horses of so many generations available as we have in the ASVH (Swedish Warmblood Association) data base. In calculating an index the horse’s own results are included as well as the results from its relatives from the three year old test, the quality test and from competition.

Since the introduction of the three year old test in 1999, close to 8, 000 horses have been evaluated up until 2007. The quality testing began in 1973 and up until 2007 more than 18, 000 horses have participated. The results are all included in the calculation of the BLUP-index. Competition results up until 2006 on a regional, national and elite level from close to 40, 000 horses are also included. The competition results are from 1961 to 2006. The first few years show an incomplete reporting of results which may cause older, sucessful show horses to be without any show results. Due to the inclusion of the results from the three year old test an early review of a stallion’s offspring can be performed. As the offspring get older and evaluated in the quality test and competition, the results as well as the stallion’s index will become more reliable.

Since the scores from the young horse evaluations are subjective, every horse’s results are compared with the mean score for all other horses that were evaluated at the same time. To evaluate the competition results, horses are compared within the same year of birth. Simultaneously the genetic level of evaluated and competition horses are taken into account through the utilization of the pedigree information. One of the advantages of the BLUP-method is the correction for the quality of the mares a stallion has bred (and vice versa). This means that a stallion’s breeding index is automatically corrected if he is breeding lower or higher quality mares than the average. The indexes for all horses, regardless of age or generation, are directly comparable with one another. Due to the great progress in breeding that has taken place during the last 15-20 years it gets tougher for older stallions and mares to maintain their status as breeding animals.

What does 100 in index mean?

The BLUP-indexes are so constructed that 100 is the equivalent to the mean index of horses of today. This so called reference group for current index consists of all horses that have been tested (three year old test, quality test and competition) and that are between the ages of 4 and 18 the year of evaluation (2007) which means horses born 1989-2003. Breeding stallions however, is a heavily selected group and a s such has a significantly higher index than the reference group. Today’s stallions that are born the same year as the horse in the reference group therefore has a mean index for the various traits of 105-115 (table 1).

BLUP-index for eleven partial traits!

In order to mirror the proposed breeding goal for the breed the BLUP-index is published for eleven different traits. The main indexes are the two competition indexes in dressage and in jumping and are divided up as follows:

Three conformation traits

The horse’s conformation quality is proposed in three different indexes: Height at the withers, Sport horse type (average of the score for Type and Head-neck-body) and Legs. The conformation index is from the results of 4 years of age, but is also compiled from the results from the three year old test due to the relationship between the results from different ages. The height is published in cm:s deviant from respective gender’s average.

Dressage index for five traits: Walk, Trot, Canter, Temperament and Overall Impression under rider, Competition results in dressage (main index)

Just like in jumping there is a main index in dressage that mirrors the competition results. There are also four partial indexes: Walk, Trot, Canter and Temperament and overall impression under rider. The partial indexes are based on the results from the quality test (4-yr olds and 5-yr old mares that have had a foal) even if both the three year old test and the competition results contribute through the relationships that exist genetically with the 4 year old results. The chosen value for competition results is the (over the show career) Accumulated championship score.

Three jumping traits: Technique and ability, Temperament and Overall Impression under rider, Competition results in jumping (main index)

The main index in jumping is first and foremost about the ability to succeed in competition through the value Accumulated championship scores. The partial indexes Technique and ability and Temperament and overall impression are based on the 4-yr old results. In calculating the jumping indexes all the results from the three year old test, quality test and competition are included and contribute through the relationships that exist genetically between the different traits.

Three Day Event index?

Due to the fact that so few horses compete in three day eventing it is not possible to calculate a BLUP-index with a satisfactory reliability in this particular discipline.

The reliability of an index

The reliability of an index is depending on the type of information that forms the basis of each individual’s index. More information on the individual itself, offspring, sire, dam and other relatives presents an index with a higher reliability. Other information like the amount of evaluated horses and heritability affects the reliability as well. The measure used is called

standard deviation and is on the same scale as the index. The standard deviation indicates in which interval the horse’s index most likely would be in, should a new calculation of the breeding value be performed. In other words, a low value for the standard deviation is the equivalent to an index with a high reliability. Sometimes an index will change even though the amount of inspected offspring is the same. This is often due to the fact that the amount of inspected relatives has increased, for example offspring to a son of the stallion. If a stallion has many offspring inspected the standard deviation will be relatively low. If the offspring still are too young to compete, the standard deviation for competition traits (dressage and jumping) will be higher. The reliability will also vary due to the amount of horses that have competed in respective discipline. Also, a higher heritability has a positive influence on the reliability of the indexes.

What horses are awarded an index?

For a stallion to be awarded an official index the requirement is a minimum of 15 young horses evaluated in the three year old test or the quality test. Among mares all are awarded an index that either have been evaluated them selves as a young horse (three year old test or quality test) or have competed or have had at least one offspring with results of its own. Also, all young mares are awarded a pedigree index under the condition both of the parents have a BLUP-index. This type of index is listed under the heading “Preliminary index profile” instead of just “Index profile”. This way one can receive a good foundation for an initial selection of young mares for breeding.

If you have questions abut the BLUP-index or would like to know more, feel free to send these to blup@asvh.se