Breeds of farm and domestic animals bred by people many centuries ago determine their relevance for keeping and breeding primarily due to their inherent characteristic features. Many are familiar with the word used in connection with the concept of "breed" - the exterior. What is this word and how is it related to the ability to preserve the characteristics of animals of the same breed for centuries?
The concept of the constitution of animals
About 2 thousand years ago, for the first time, people began to pay attention to the constitution of animals. It covers a wide range of characteristics of the organism, ranging from its physique, character and ending with a reaction to the external environment and heredity.
It is from observing the external characteristics of the animal’s body that the study of its constitution begins. External forms of the creature, closely associated with its strength and value for the economy, are the basis of the concept of "exterior". What it is? Read more about this.
This strange word is the exterior.
The exterior of the animals is like a business card, in which you can find indications of how strong the breed is biologically, what is its adaptability to a certain environment of existence and to the reproduction of full-fledged offspring. Individual parts of the body of the beast, which are taken into account in a harmonious relationship with each other, objectively indicate an irrefutable link between the productivity of a particular breed and its exterior.
The evolution of animals has led to the fact that all parts of their body are inextricably linked, which directly affects the productivity of the breed. The best individuals were selected, and the exterior became the main tool for this selection. What did it give? The abundance of breeds that fully meet the requirements set before them by man.
Exterior Assessment Technique
Methods for assessing the exterior of an animal have been developed for a long time and have been improved over time. There are only three of them. The first - visual - is based on excellent knowledge of the body parts of the animal and their proportional proportions. The second is probing. This method makes it possible to assess the strength of individual sites, their development, compliance with the required standards. And the third is the measurement of the body of the animal, which consists in measuring both the body as a whole and its individual parts.
About the exterior of the dogs
The exterior of the dog consists of two sections - general and private. The first contains information about the appearance of the dog, its physique, structure and harmonious development of the individual parts. He also notes all the characteristic abnormalities and defects. And what about the private exterior? The characteristic features of specific breeds, inherent to them, or features atypical for them, which are determined by firmly established standards.
Typically, the visual method used in dog breeding is used in conjunction with simple biometric measurements. Assessment of the exterior produced at various exhibitions, broods and shows. At these events, the selection of the best individuals for further breeding and improvement of the breed, in accordance with the requirements of standards, regulations and tolerances.
Dogs that are used for the same purpose have a lot in common in appearance, but they also have differences in the structure of individual parts of the body. The exterior of bitches and dogs has its own peculiarities - the graceful muscles of the former are clearly different from the more developed muscle mass of the latter.
The developmental stages of dogs also affect appearance due to age-related changes. Therefore, the evaluation of the exterior at the above events is always carried out taking into account gender differences and age groups of participants.
A little bit about the exterior of the horse
Such an animal as a horse used by man for various purposes and tasks should have qualities and characteristics that contribute to the full performance of functions without compromising the health and life of the animal. The centuries-old breeding of horses has led to the fact that there are clear signs of the correct ratio of the forms and functions of their body. Therefore, the correct choice of breed intended to perform certain tasks is determined by the structural features of the animal’s body, which will accurately assess the exterior of the horse.
Visual assessment begins by determining the format of the enclosure. To do this, enclose the animal in an imaginary rectangle in which its upper face is the line from the withers along the croup, and the tangent lines from the shoulder and ischial tuber, respectively, become the lateral borders. A horizontally elongated rectangle indicates a horse that can walk both under a saddle and in a harness. If the virtual rectangle is closer to the square, or, moreover, stretched vertically, then such an animal is suitable only for a saddle.
Next, it is necessary to evaluate the parts of the body that provide a more complete picture of the exterior of the animal and allow us to establish a correspondence between its capabilities and the proposed functions, for which, in fact, it is chosen.
The key to successful breed cleanliness
The taming of wild animals dates back to the time of the Mesolithic. People constantly engaged in the selection of domesticated animals, noting in them certain qualities that turned out to be especially useful for the community. As a result, it was the exterior that became one of the main tools that allows not only to preserve the desired qualities of individuals, but also to improve them for each breed.