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Relationship between live body condition score and carcass fat measures in equine

Relationship between live body condition score and carcass fat measures in equine Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/4/4/txaa179/5916396 by DeepDyve user on 10 November 2020 Lance A. Baker, Amanda M. Burrows, Kelsey J. Nonella, John L. Pipkin, Logan D. Holmes, Trent J. McEvers, Travis C. Tennant, Zane M. Tisdale, Austin H. Voyles, and Ty E. Lawrence, Department of Agricultural Sciences, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX 79016 ABSTRACT:  Relationships between live body process, all kidney–pelvic–heart (KPH) fat was condition score (BCS) and carcass fat depots trimmed from the carcass and weighed. After have not been well established in equine. Our chilling, the marbling score was subjectively study was designed to quantify the relationship evaluated using beef grading standards. Carcass between BCS and fat depot measurements from fat trim was weighed during the fabrication equine carcasses. Live horses (n  =  429) were process. As BCS increased, hot carcass weight evaluated immediately prior to immobiliza- (HCW), absolute KPH weight, KPH expressed tion at a commercial equine processor. Horses as a percentage of HCW, marbling score, neck were independently assigned a BCS by a panel fat depth, absolute weight of trimmed carcass of three trained evaluators; BCS was evaluated fat, and trimmed carcass fat as a percentage of by visual appraisal and manual palpation of the HCW increased (P  <  0.01). A  strong correl- neck, withers, back, ribs, behind the shoulder, ation (r = 0.74; P < 0.01) was detected between and tailhead. Median BCS frequencies were: 3.0 BCS and absolute KPH weight. Similarly, cor- (n = 9), 4.0 (n = 43), 5.0 (n = 116), 6.0 (n = 86), relations between BCS and percentage of KPH 7.0 (n = 72), 8.0 (n = 76), and 9.0 (n = 27). Sex (r  =  0.65), neck fat depth (r  =  0.60), absolute (stallion [n  =  5], mare [n  =  159], or gelding trimmed carcass fat (r = 0.58), trimmed carcass [n  =  114]) and breed type (draft [n  =  56], stock fat as a percentage of HCW (r  =  0.54), marb- [n = 363], pony [n = 8], or mule [n =3]) were also ling score (r = 0.54), and HCW (r = 0.52) were denoted. Horses were processed for human con- also detected (P  <  0.01). These data indicate a sumption according to industry-accepted pro- strong relationship between subjective live BCS cedures under the supervision of the Canadian and objectively measured carcass fat depots in Food Inspection Agency. During the harvest various equine breed types and sexes. Key words: body condition score, equine, fat depots © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com Transl. Anim. Sci. 2020.4:1-5 doi: 10.1093/tas/txaa179 fat in equine. Westervelt et  al. (1976) suggested INTRODUCTION that measuring rump fat thickness using ultra- Multiple studies have reported on the relation- sound was a useful method to estimate body fat ship between body fat estimates and actual body in horses and ponies. Cavinder et al. (2017) stated that although ultrasonic measurements have been used in several studies to determine body fat Corresponding author: tlawrence@wtamu.edu (Cavinder et al., 2007; Cordero et al., 2013; Ferjak Received April 17, 2020. Accepted September 28, 2020. et al., 2017), the reliability of this method has been 1 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/4/4/txaa179/5916396 by DeepDyve user on 10 November 2020 Baker et al. questioned due to fat deposits varying among indi- Animals vidual horses. The most commonly cited and pre- While under CFIA supervision, live horses dominant live body composition tool for horses is (n  =  429) were evaluated upon entering an open- the body condition scoring (BCS) system developed sided alley leading to the stunning chamber. Horses by Henneke et al. (1983), who reported that calcu- were identified by tag number and assigned a BCS; lated percentage body fat, as measured by ultra- sex (stallion, mare, and gelding) and breed-type sound-measured rump fat thickness (Westervelt classification (draft, stock, pony, and mule) were et al., 1976), was positively correlated (r  = 0.65) to also denoted. Horses either originated from com- BCS. mercial equine feedyards or were hauled in from More recently, Dugdale et al. (2011a) reported independent sellers; the origin of horses used in that BCS was unlikely to be a sensitive indicator this study was observed but not recorded as an in- of body fat in ponies when body condition ranged dividual variable. from moderate to obese. These authors also val- idated the use of deuterium oxide (D O) dilution Body Condition Scoring as a method of estimating body fat mass in po- nies (Dugdale et  al., 2011b). They reported D O During a 2-d period, all horses (n = 429) enter- dilution-derived estimates of total body water and ing the facility were assigned a BCS according body fat to values obtained from proximate ana- to the 9-point scale developed by Henneke et  al. lysis and carcass dissection were strongly correlated (1983): 1 = poor; 2 = very thin; 3 = thin; 4 = mod- to the proximate analysis of the whole body and of erately thin; 5  =  moderate; 6  =  moderately fleshy; dissected white adipose tissues. Ferjak et al. (2017) 7  =  fleshy; 8  =  fat; and 9  =  extremely fat. Horses also observed a strong correlation between D O were scored independently by three trained per- prediction of body fat and body fat as measured by sonnel from the WTAMU Equine Industry carcass dissection and near-infrared spectroscopic Program; horses were assigned a BCS using both analysis. The authors further reported that of the visual appraisal and manual palpation of six loca- 24 stock-type horses with BCS of 4, 5, and 6, those tions (neck, withers, crease down the back, ribs, and with a BCS of 6 had greater body fat as compared behind the shoulder) of the horse’s body. The me- with those with BCS of 4 or 5. dian BCS of each horse was determined. The use of Numerous studies have documented the rela- ultrasonography was initially considered; however, tionship between live body fat assessment and car- due to the rapid movement of horses through the cass measurements in beef cattle (Wagner et  al., chute system, the time required for proper ultra- 1988; Houghton et  al., 1990; Apple et  al., 1999), sonic measurements on any part of the horse’s body dairy cattle (Otto et al., 1991; Gregory et al., 1998), was not available. goats (McGregor, 1992), pigs (Charette et al., 1996), laying hens (Gregory and Robins, 1998), and sheep Processing and Carcass Records (Teixeira et al., 1989; Sanson et al., 1993). However, little information exists regarding the relationship Horses were processed according to indus- between BCS and carcass fat measurements in the try-accepted procedures while under the supervi- equine. Although the horse is not raised as a car- sion of the CFIA. During the harvest process, all cass animal in the United States, in many parts of kidney–pelvic–heart (KPH) fat was trimmed from the world (Asia, Europe, and South America), this the carcass and weighed. The quantity of KPH fat animal is considered a valuable source of protein. was also expressed as a percentage of hot carcass Therefore, the objective of the current study was weight (HCW). to quantify the relationship between live BCS and Carcasses were chilled a minimum of 48  h at carcass fat measurements in equine. 0 °C, then ribbed between the fifth and sixth thor - acic vertebrae, and evaluated for marbling (using MATERIALS AND METHODS USDA beef marbling cards as standards) of the longissimus dorsi muscle by one trained evalu- Animal care and use committee approval was ator from the West Texas A&M University-Beef not obtained for this study because data were col- Carcass Research Center. Neck fat depth (cm) of lected at a federally inspected equine processor each carcass was measured. During carcass fabri- (Bouvry Exports Calgary Ltd.; establishment cation, total fat trim was collected from the right- 506) under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency side carcass halves. The quantity of carcass fat was (CFIA) supervision. Translate basic science to industry innovation Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/4/4/txaa179/5916396 by DeepDyve user on 10 November 2020 Equine body condition score validation weighed and expressed as an absolute value and as the longissimus dorsi muscle and described poten- a percentage of HCW. tial effects on eating quality. Additional measures that appear novel in the current trial include the measure of neck fat depth and KPH. Similarities Statistical Analysis can be drawn between these data and beef carcass This study was designed to be exploratory and data reported in the 2016 National Beef Quality observational, thus strict experimental and treat- Audit (NBQA; Boykin et  al., 2017). Equines ment design criteria were not applied. The agree- had mean HCW, KPH, and marbling scores of ment between the three independent BCS of each 328.3 kg, 2.75%, Slight , whereas cattle reported in horse was tested using the Spearman-ranked correl- the recent NBQA were represented by mean values ation coefficient using SAS (SAS 9.3, SAS Institute of 390.3 kg, 1.90%, and Small . This equine popu- Inc. Cary, NC). Outcome frequency was determined lation reported in the current study is a collective using the FREQ procedure. Differences in outcome mixture of equines from commercial feedlots and variables amongst the BCS were evaluated using the those that were grazing pastures. In contrast, the MIXED procedure; the model included the fixed bovine population is representative of the commer- effect of BCS. The SATTERTH option was used to cial fed beef population. correct for unequal cell sizes; the LSMEANS op- Internal fat measurements were not obtainable tion generated means, which were separated when for horses assigned a BCS of 9 (n  =  27) because significant (α = 0.05) using the PDIFF option. KPH from carcasses with that amount of fat was marketed with the carcass and thus not removed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Thus, the relationship of BCS and carcass meas- ures is reported for horses with a BCS ranging Spearman’s ranked correlations indicated from 3.0 to 8.0 (Table 2). As BCS increased, mean strong agreement (r  =  0.92 to 0.95; P  <  0.01) be- HCW increased (P < 0.01) in a quadratic manner tween the three independent BCS evaluators (data from 274  kg at BCS 3 to 385  kg at BCS 8.  These not shown in tabular form). Median BCS was de- data indicate that as BCS increased, so did HCW, termined for each horse, which was utilized as the which is likely a direct result of changes in nutri- fixed variable for subsequent analyses. Frequencies tional and health status between the BCS clas- of BCS for horses evaluated in this study were: 3.0 sifications. Differences (P   <  0.01) in KPH as an (n = 9), 4.0 (n = 43), 5.0 (n = 116), 6.0 (n = 86), 7.0 absolute weight and as a percentage of HCW were (n = 72), 8.0 (n = 76), and 9.0 (n = 27). also observed between BCS. Absolute KPH weight Descriptive statistics reported for the random and KPH expressed as a percentage of HCW both sample of equines (Table 1) are novel in the peer-re- increased in an exponential manner with increas- viewed literature. Previous equine trials have fo- ing BCS. These data agree with the findings of cused on carcass attributes from equines that vary Teixeira et  al. (1989) who also reported that BCS in age (De Palo et al., 2013) or genetic type (Franco was a better predictor than live weight of both et al., 2013) rather than BCS. Subjective intramus- total body fat and the individual fat depots in Rosa cular fat (marbling content) estimates generated in Aragonesa ewes. As BCS increased, the marbling this trial related to BCS are also novel because pre- score increased (P < 0.01) from 21.7 (Traces ) for vious trials have reported the proximate analysis of BCS 3 equine to 47.3 (Small ) for BCS 8 equine, a change of 5.7 units of marbling per unit change Table 1.    Descriptive statistics of data collected in BCS. The equine carcass export market to Asia from a sample population of equine carcasses preferred a highly marbled product. Data from this Item Mean SD Min Max study indicate that a BCS ≥ 7 achieves the marb- HCW, kg 328.3 77.9 102.0 645.0 ling equivalent of a USDA Choice beef carcass. KPH fat, kg 9.06 7.22 0.11 33.77 Moreover, the export market to Europe preferred a KPH fat, % 2.75 2.21 0.04 9.93 lean product devoid of marbling. These data indi- Marbling score 33.9 15.1 10 92 cate that a BCS ≤ 5 achieved the marbling equiva- Neck fat depth, cm 3.4 1.9 0 12 lent of a USDA Standard beef carcass, whereas a Trimmed carcass fat, kg 6.08 4.24 0.64 22.28 BCS of 6 approximated a USDA Select beef car- Trimmed carcass fat, % 4.04 2.69 0.40 14.04 cass. In summary, this established BCS to marb- Practically devoid  =  < 20, traces  =  20 to 29, slight  =  30 to 39, ling relationship will allow for visual appraisal small = 40 to 49, modest = 50 to 59, moderate = 60 to 69, slightly abun- and sorting of equine that achieve specific market dant = 70 to 79, moderately abundant = 80 to 89, and abundant = 90 readiness. Neck (nape) fat depth increased in a to 99. Translate basic science to industry innovation Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/4/4/txaa179/5916396 by DeepDyve user on 10 November 2020 Baker et al. linear manner from 1.14  cm at BCS 3 to 5.25  cm Evaluating the relationships between BCS and at BCS 8, an average change of 0.89 cm per 1 unit measures of fatness suggested that neck fat accrued change in BCS. As median BCS increased from 3 in a linear manner with increasing BCS, whereas to 8, trimmed carcass fat increased (P < 0.01) from KPH and marbling accrued in an exponential 2.21 to 14.63 kg, an average change of 1.8 kg per manner. However, percentage of carcass fat was ob- 1 unit change in BCS. Moreover, trimmed carcass served to accrue in a quadratic manner. Our neck fat as a percentage of HCW increased from 1.64% fat and marbling observations agree with the expo- to 9.67% across the range of BCS observed, an nential growth of lipid tissue reported by Dugdale average change of 1.0% per 1 unit change in BCS. et  al. (2011a). The correlation observed between HCW, KPH, marbling scores, and trimmed carcass median BCS and HCW was the weakest measured fat are similar in scale and rate of change to the (r = 0.52). values reported across BCS of cull cow carcasses Our study agrees with previous data (Westervelt by Apple et al. (1999). et  al., 1976; Henneke et  al., 1983; Ferjak et  al., Spearman’s ranked correlation coefficient was 2017), which indicated that measures of body fat- used to quantify the linear agreement between ness correlate with the lipid content of horses. Our median BCS and variables measured upon the measure of percentage KPH fat is in alignment equine carcasses (Table  3). A  moderate correl- with the increasing percentage of body fat as- ation (r  =  0.74) was observed between BCS and sessed in BCS 4 to 6 equine as reported by Ferjak KPH weight. The correlation observed between et al. (2017). Additionally, Gentry et al. (2004) and BCS and percentage of KPH (r = 0.65) or neck fat Indurain et  al. (2009) indicated that both visual depth (r  =  0.60) was also quite good. These data and ultrasound measures of body fat were correl- are in agreement with previously reported correl- ated with fatness of horses, and Ferjak et al. (2017) ations between BCS and fat percentage (Henneke suggested that visual and palpable appraisal of the et al., 1983). BCS system might be useful in body fat prediction Table 2. Carcass fat depot traits of equine by median BCS Median BCS SEM P-Value Item 3 4 5 6 7 8 — — Hot carcass data, n 8 42 115 85 72 75 — — d d d c b a HCW, kg 274.0 281.0 294.6 310.9 332.3 385.1 7.42 <0.01 d d d c b a KPH fat, kg 1.62 2.30 4.04 8.09 13.45 15.85 0.59 < 0.01 c c c b a a KPH fat, % 0.61 0.82 1.36 2.62 4.13 4.53 0.20 < 0.01 Cold carcass data, n 7 41 103 73 45 29 — — † c c c b a a Marbling score 21.7 25.3 27.2 34.9 45.5 47.3 1.72 < 0.01 d cd c b a a Neck fat depth, cm 1.14 2.07 2.60 3.79 4.73 5.25 0.21 < 0.01 Fabrication data, n 2 12 42 25 9 6 — — d d d c b a Trimmed carcass fat, kg 2.21 4.67 4.06 6.60 10.10 14.63 0.72 < 0.01 d d d c b a Trimmed carcass fat, % 1.64 3.53 2.74 4.39 6.23 9.67 0.46 < 0.01 Practically devoid = < 20, traces = 20 to 29, slight = 30 to 39, small = 40 to 49, modest = 50 to 59, moderate = 60 to 69, slightly abundant = 70 to 79, moderately abundant = 80 to 89, and abundant = 90 to 99. a–d Means within a row with different superscripts differ (P < 0.05). Table 3. Spearman correlation coefficients amongst equine BCS and carcass fat depots KPH Marbling Neck fat Trimmed car- Trimmed Variable HCW, kg fat, kg KPH, % score depth, cm cass fat, kg carcass fat, % KPH, kg 0.41* KPH, % 0.21* 0.97* Marbling score 0.27* 0.71* 0.72* Neck fat depth, cm 0.33* 0.63* 0.62* 0.64* Trimmed carcass fat, kg 0.18 0.73* 0.73* 0.68* 0.52* Trimmed carcass fat, % -0.01 0.66* 0.70* 0.68* 0.54* 0.97* Median BCS 0.52* 0.74* 0.65* 0.54* 0.60* 0.58* 0.54* *P < 0.015. Translate basic science to industry innovation Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/4/4/txaa179/5916396 by DeepDyve user on 10 November 2020 Equine body condition score validation Franco,  D., S.  Crecente, J.  A.  Vázquez, M.  Gómez, and modeling. In summary, appraisal of BCS in equine J. M. Lorenzo. 2013. 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Relationship between live body condition score and carcass fat measures in equine

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Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/4/4/txaa179/5916396 by DeepDyve user on 10 November 2020 Lance A. Baker, Amanda M. Burrows, Kelsey J. Nonella, John L. Pipkin, Logan D. Holmes, Trent J. McEvers, Travis C. Tennant, Zane M. Tisdale, Austin H. Voyles, and Ty E. Lawrence, Department of Agricultural Sciences, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX 79016 ABSTRACT:  Relationships between live body process, all kidney–pelvic–heart (KPH) fat was condition score (BCS) and carcass fat depots trimmed from the carcass and weighed. After have not been well established in equine. Our chilling, the marbling score was subjectively study was designed to quantify the relationship evaluated using beef grading standards. Carcass between BCS and fat depot measurements from fat trim was weighed during the fabrication equine carcasses. Live horses (n  =  429) were process. As BCS increased, hot carcass weight evaluated immediately prior to immobiliza- (HCW), absolute KPH weight, KPH expressed tion at a commercial equine processor. Horses as a percentage of HCW, marbling score, neck were independently assigned a BCS by a panel fat depth, absolute weight of trimmed carcass of three trained evaluators; BCS was evaluated fat, and trimmed carcass fat as a percentage of by visual appraisal and manual palpation of the HCW increased (P  <  0.01). A  strong correl- neck, withers, back, ribs, behind the shoulder, ation (r = 0.74; P < 0.01) was detected between and tailhead. Median BCS frequencies were: 3.0 BCS and absolute KPH weight. Similarly, cor- (n = 9), 4.0 (n = 43), 5.0 (n = 116), 6.0 (n = 86), relations between BCS and percentage of KPH 7.0 (n = 72), 8.0 (n = 76), and 9.0 (n = 27). Sex (r  =  0.65), neck fat depth (r  =  0.60), absolute (stallion [n  =  5], mare [n  =  159], or gelding trimmed carcass fat (r = 0.58), trimmed carcass [n  =  114]) and breed type (draft [n  =  56], stock fat as a percentage of HCW (r  =  0.54), marb- [n = 363], pony [n = 8], or mule [n =3]) were also ling score (r = 0.54), and HCW (r = 0.52) were denoted. Horses were processed for human con- also detected (P  <  0.01). These data indicate a sumption according to industry-accepted pro- strong relationship between subjective live BCS cedures under the supervision of the Canadian and objectively measured carcass fat depots in Food Inspection Agency. During the harvest various equine breed types and sexes. Key words: body condition score, equine, fat depots © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com Transl. Anim. Sci. 2020.4:1-5 doi: 10.1093/tas/txaa179 fat in equine. Westervelt et  al. (1976) suggested INTRODUCTION that measuring rump fat thickness using ultra- Multiple studies have reported on the relation- sound was a useful method to estimate body fat ship between body fat estimates and actual body in horses and ponies. Cavinder et al. (2017) stated that although ultrasonic measurements have been used in several studies to determine body fat Corresponding author: tlawrence@wtamu.edu (Cavinder et al., 2007; Cordero et al., 2013; Ferjak Received April 17, 2020. Accepted September 28, 2020. et al., 2017), the reliability of this method has been 1 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/4/4/txaa179/5916396 by DeepDyve user on 10 November 2020 Baker et al. questioned due to fat deposits varying among indi- Animals vidual horses. The most commonly cited and pre- While under CFIA supervision, live horses dominant live body composition tool for horses is (n  =  429) were evaluated upon entering an open- the body condition scoring (BCS) system developed sided alley leading to the stunning chamber. Horses by Henneke et al. (1983), who reported that calcu- were identified by tag number and assigned a BCS; lated percentage body fat, as measured by ultra- sex (stallion, mare, and gelding) and breed-type sound-measured rump fat thickness (Westervelt classification (draft, stock, pony, and mule) were et al., 1976), was positively correlated (r  = 0.65) to also denoted. Horses either originated from com- BCS. mercial equine feedyards or were hauled in from More recently, Dugdale et al. (2011a) reported independent sellers; the origin of horses used in that BCS was unlikely to be a sensitive indicator this study was observed but not recorded as an in- of body fat in ponies when body condition ranged dividual variable. from moderate to obese. These authors also val- idated the use of deuterium oxide (D O) dilution Body Condition Scoring as a method of estimating body fat mass in po- nies (Dugdale et  al., 2011b). They reported D O During a 2-d period, all horses (n = 429) enter- dilution-derived estimates of total body water and ing the facility were assigned a BCS according body fat to values obtained from proximate ana- to the 9-point scale developed by Henneke et  al. lysis and carcass dissection were strongly correlated (1983): 1 = poor; 2 = very thin; 3 = thin; 4 = mod- to the proximate analysis of the whole body and of erately thin; 5  =  moderate; 6  =  moderately fleshy; dissected white adipose tissues. Ferjak et al. (2017) 7  =  fleshy; 8  =  fat; and 9  =  extremely fat. Horses also observed a strong correlation between D O were scored independently by three trained per- prediction of body fat and body fat as measured by sonnel from the WTAMU Equine Industry carcass dissection and near-infrared spectroscopic Program; horses were assigned a BCS using both analysis. The authors further reported that of the visual appraisal and manual palpation of six loca- 24 stock-type horses with BCS of 4, 5, and 6, those tions (neck, withers, crease down the back, ribs, and with a BCS of 6 had greater body fat as compared behind the shoulder) of the horse’s body. The me- with those with BCS of 4 or 5. dian BCS of each horse was determined. The use of Numerous studies have documented the rela- ultrasonography was initially considered; however, tionship between live body fat assessment and car- due to the rapid movement of horses through the cass measurements in beef cattle (Wagner et  al., chute system, the time required for proper ultra- 1988; Houghton et  al., 1990; Apple et  al., 1999), sonic measurements on any part of the horse’s body dairy cattle (Otto et al., 1991; Gregory et al., 1998), was not available. goats (McGregor, 1992), pigs (Charette et al., 1996), laying hens (Gregory and Robins, 1998), and sheep Processing and Carcass Records (Teixeira et al., 1989; Sanson et al., 1993). However, little information exists regarding the relationship Horses were processed according to indus- between BCS and carcass fat measurements in the try-accepted procedures while under the supervi- equine. Although the horse is not raised as a car- sion of the CFIA. During the harvest process, all cass animal in the United States, in many parts of kidney–pelvic–heart (KPH) fat was trimmed from the world (Asia, Europe, and South America), this the carcass and weighed. The quantity of KPH fat animal is considered a valuable source of protein. was also expressed as a percentage of hot carcass Therefore, the objective of the current study was weight (HCW). to quantify the relationship between live BCS and Carcasses were chilled a minimum of 48  h at carcass fat measurements in equine. 0 °C, then ribbed between the fifth and sixth thor - acic vertebrae, and evaluated for marbling (using MATERIALS AND METHODS USDA beef marbling cards as standards) of the longissimus dorsi muscle by one trained evalu- Animal care and use committee approval was ator from the West Texas A&M University-Beef not obtained for this study because data were col- Carcass Research Center. Neck fat depth (cm) of lected at a federally inspected equine processor each carcass was measured. During carcass fabri- (Bouvry Exports Calgary Ltd.; establishment cation, total fat trim was collected from the right- 506) under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency side carcass halves. The quantity of carcass fat was (CFIA) supervision. Translate basic science to industry innovation Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/4/4/txaa179/5916396 by DeepDyve user on 10 November 2020 Equine body condition score validation weighed and expressed as an absolute value and as the longissimus dorsi muscle and described poten- a percentage of HCW. tial effects on eating quality. Additional measures that appear novel in the current trial include the measure of neck fat depth and KPH. Similarities Statistical Analysis can be drawn between these data and beef carcass This study was designed to be exploratory and data reported in the 2016 National Beef Quality observational, thus strict experimental and treat- Audit (NBQA; Boykin et  al., 2017). Equines ment design criteria were not applied. The agree- had mean HCW, KPH, and marbling scores of ment between the three independent BCS of each 328.3 kg, 2.75%, Slight , whereas cattle reported in horse was tested using the Spearman-ranked correl- the recent NBQA were represented by mean values ation coefficient using SAS (SAS 9.3, SAS Institute of 390.3 kg, 1.90%, and Small . This equine popu- Inc. Cary, NC). Outcome frequency was determined lation reported in the current study is a collective using the FREQ procedure. Differences in outcome mixture of equines from commercial feedlots and variables amongst the BCS were evaluated using the those that were grazing pastures. In contrast, the MIXED procedure; the model included the fixed bovine population is representative of the commer- effect of BCS. The SATTERTH option was used to cial fed beef population. correct for unequal cell sizes; the LSMEANS op- Internal fat measurements were not obtainable tion generated means, which were separated when for horses assigned a BCS of 9 (n  =  27) because significant (α = 0.05) using the PDIFF option. KPH from carcasses with that amount of fat was marketed with the carcass and thus not removed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Thus, the relationship of BCS and carcass meas- ures is reported for horses with a BCS ranging Spearman’s ranked correlations indicated from 3.0 to 8.0 (Table 2). As BCS increased, mean strong agreement (r  =  0.92 to 0.95; P  <  0.01) be- HCW increased (P < 0.01) in a quadratic manner tween the three independent BCS evaluators (data from 274  kg at BCS 3 to 385  kg at BCS 8.  These not shown in tabular form). Median BCS was de- data indicate that as BCS increased, so did HCW, termined for each horse, which was utilized as the which is likely a direct result of changes in nutri- fixed variable for subsequent analyses. Frequencies tional and health status between the BCS clas- of BCS for horses evaluated in this study were: 3.0 sifications. Differences (P   <  0.01) in KPH as an (n = 9), 4.0 (n = 43), 5.0 (n = 116), 6.0 (n = 86), 7.0 absolute weight and as a percentage of HCW were (n = 72), 8.0 (n = 76), and 9.0 (n = 27). also observed between BCS. Absolute KPH weight Descriptive statistics reported for the random and KPH expressed as a percentage of HCW both sample of equines (Table 1) are novel in the peer-re- increased in an exponential manner with increas- viewed literature. Previous equine trials have fo- ing BCS. These data agree with the findings of cused on carcass attributes from equines that vary Teixeira et  al. (1989) who also reported that BCS in age (De Palo et al., 2013) or genetic type (Franco was a better predictor than live weight of both et al., 2013) rather than BCS. Subjective intramus- total body fat and the individual fat depots in Rosa cular fat (marbling content) estimates generated in Aragonesa ewes. As BCS increased, the marbling this trial related to BCS are also novel because pre- score increased (P < 0.01) from 21.7 (Traces ) for vious trials have reported the proximate analysis of BCS 3 equine to 47.3 (Small ) for BCS 8 equine, a change of 5.7 units of marbling per unit change Table 1.    Descriptive statistics of data collected in BCS. The equine carcass export market to Asia from a sample population of equine carcasses preferred a highly marbled product. Data from this Item Mean SD Min Max study indicate that a BCS ≥ 7 achieves the marb- HCW, kg 328.3 77.9 102.0 645.0 ling equivalent of a USDA Choice beef carcass. KPH fat, kg 9.06 7.22 0.11 33.77 Moreover, the export market to Europe preferred a KPH fat, % 2.75 2.21 0.04 9.93 lean product devoid of marbling. These data indi- Marbling score 33.9 15.1 10 92 cate that a BCS ≤ 5 achieved the marbling equiva- Neck fat depth, cm 3.4 1.9 0 12 lent of a USDA Standard beef carcass, whereas a Trimmed carcass fat, kg 6.08 4.24 0.64 22.28 BCS of 6 approximated a USDA Select beef car- Trimmed carcass fat, % 4.04 2.69 0.40 14.04 cass. In summary, this established BCS to marb- Practically devoid  =  < 20, traces  =  20 to 29, slight  =  30 to 39, ling relationship will allow for visual appraisal small = 40 to 49, modest = 50 to 59, moderate = 60 to 69, slightly abun- and sorting of equine that achieve specific market dant = 70 to 79, moderately abundant = 80 to 89, and abundant = 90 readiness. Neck (nape) fat depth increased in a to 99. Translate basic science to industry innovation Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/4/4/txaa179/5916396 by DeepDyve user on 10 November 2020 Baker et al. linear manner from 1.14  cm at BCS 3 to 5.25  cm Evaluating the relationships between BCS and at BCS 8, an average change of 0.89 cm per 1 unit measures of fatness suggested that neck fat accrued change in BCS. As median BCS increased from 3 in a linear manner with increasing BCS, whereas to 8, trimmed carcass fat increased (P < 0.01) from KPH and marbling accrued in an exponential 2.21 to 14.63 kg, an average change of 1.8 kg per manner. However, percentage of carcass fat was ob- 1 unit change in BCS. Moreover, trimmed carcass served to accrue in a quadratic manner. Our neck fat as a percentage of HCW increased from 1.64% fat and marbling observations agree with the expo- to 9.67% across the range of BCS observed, an nential growth of lipid tissue reported by Dugdale average change of 1.0% per 1 unit change in BCS. et  al. (2011a). The correlation observed between HCW, KPH, marbling scores, and trimmed carcass median BCS and HCW was the weakest measured fat are similar in scale and rate of change to the (r = 0.52). values reported across BCS of cull cow carcasses Our study agrees with previous data (Westervelt by Apple et al. (1999). et  al., 1976; Henneke et  al., 1983; Ferjak et  al., Spearman’s ranked correlation coefficient was 2017), which indicated that measures of body fat- used to quantify the linear agreement between ness correlate with the lipid content of horses. Our median BCS and variables measured upon the measure of percentage KPH fat is in alignment equine carcasses (Table  3). A  moderate correl- with the increasing percentage of body fat as- ation (r  =  0.74) was observed between BCS and sessed in BCS 4 to 6 equine as reported by Ferjak KPH weight. The correlation observed between et al. (2017). Additionally, Gentry et al. (2004) and BCS and percentage of KPH (r = 0.65) or neck fat Indurain et  al. (2009) indicated that both visual depth (r  =  0.60) was also quite good. These data and ultrasound measures of body fat were correl- are in agreement with previously reported correl- ated with fatness of horses, and Ferjak et al. (2017) ations between BCS and fat percentage (Henneke suggested that visual and palpable appraisal of the et al., 1983). BCS system might be useful in body fat prediction Table 2. Carcass fat depot traits of equine by median BCS Median BCS SEM P-Value Item 3 4 5 6 7 8 — — Hot carcass data, n 8 42 115 85 72 75 — — d d d c b a HCW, kg 274.0 281.0 294.6 310.9 332.3 385.1 7.42 <0.01 d d d c b a KPH fat, kg 1.62 2.30 4.04 8.09 13.45 15.85 0.59 < 0.01 c c c b a a KPH fat, % 0.61 0.82 1.36 2.62 4.13 4.53 0.20 < 0.01 Cold carcass data, n 7 41 103 73 45 29 — — † c c c b a a Marbling score 21.7 25.3 27.2 34.9 45.5 47.3 1.72 < 0.01 d cd c b a a Neck fat depth, cm 1.14 2.07 2.60 3.79 4.73 5.25 0.21 < 0.01 Fabrication data, n 2 12 42 25 9 6 — — d d d c b a Trimmed carcass fat, kg 2.21 4.67 4.06 6.60 10.10 14.63 0.72 < 0.01 d d d c b a Trimmed carcass fat, % 1.64 3.53 2.74 4.39 6.23 9.67 0.46 < 0.01 Practically devoid = < 20, traces = 20 to 29, slight = 30 to 39, small = 40 to 49, modest = 50 to 59, moderate = 60 to 69, slightly abundant = 70 to 79, moderately abundant = 80 to 89, and abundant = 90 to 99. a–d Means within a row with different superscripts differ (P < 0.05). Table 3. Spearman correlation coefficients amongst equine BCS and carcass fat depots KPH Marbling Neck fat Trimmed car- Trimmed Variable HCW, kg fat, kg KPH, % score depth, cm cass fat, kg carcass fat, % KPH, kg 0.41* KPH, % 0.21* 0.97* Marbling score 0.27* 0.71* 0.72* Neck fat depth, cm 0.33* 0.63* 0.62* 0.64* Trimmed carcass fat, kg 0.18 0.73* 0.73* 0.68* 0.52* Trimmed carcass fat, % -0.01 0.66* 0.70* 0.68* 0.54* 0.97* Median BCS 0.52* 0.74* 0.65* 0.54* 0.60* 0.58* 0.54* *P < 0.015. Translate basic science to industry innovation Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/tas/article/4/4/txaa179/5916396 by DeepDyve user on 10 November 2020 Equine body condition score validation Franco,  D., S.  Crecente, J.  A.  Vázquez, M.  Gómez, and modeling. In summary, appraisal of BCS in equine J. M. Lorenzo. 2013. 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