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Sports poneys are often the result of crossbreeding between poneys and sports horses. These crossbreedings are traditionnally done in a very intuitive manner but even though this practice improves the ability to jump obstacles, it also makes the maximal wither height very random for which a limitation is set at 1m48 for unshod and 1m49 for shod ponies.

In order to opitimize sports poney production by selection of breeders, the BIGE team developed a genotyping quantitative PCR test focused on three SNP that explain a large part of the variance in wither size in French saddle ponies. They performed a first genomic study on size in the French saddle ponies and showed that the genotyping of a group of 48 poneys for which size is fixed by regulation below 149 cm is 82,9% homozygous on three of the identified SNP.

This genotyping test makes selection of breeding animals easier and as a consequent the development of reasoned crossbreeding in order to respect the size sought for in production of sports ponies. This molecular test is easy to do, at a low cost and only slightly invasive (blood test). A transfer of the license for know-how use has been opened with INRAE Transfert.

Contacts :

• Scientists: Sophie Pollet, Eric Barrey
• Valorisation: Franck Le Guerhier