INDICATORS OF MARES' FERTILITY OF RUSSIAN DRAFT BREED
Russian draft horse is one of the most common breeds of heavy draft breeds. They belong to the group of small draft horses according to zoocultural classification, but they possess a valuable set of merits: they have good working qualities, they are strong, tough, agile, very obedient, well adapted to the climatic and economic conditions, they have sufficiently high rates of reproduction compared to the other stud breeds which are widespread among horse breeders. The studies were conducted in tribal stud farm LLC «Druzhba» of Uvinsky District of the Udmurt Republic. The breeding stock of Russian draft breed belongs to the leading lines - Svist, Kapiten, Gradus. The analysis of reproduction indicators depending on the brood mares has shown that the duration of embryonic development of foals is on the average 11 months, or 335 days. The study reveals significant differences in the number of fertility years in favor of mares, whose father is Sbor - 13.5 years, this period is 8.5 years longer than in the group of Sterkh's daughters. The highest rate of pregnancy was found in the group of daughters of Sbor - 91%, but the rate of successful foaling of bred mares in this group is not the best - 77%. In this case the daughters of Sterkh have the advantage in this indicator -80%. It should be noted that the percentage of the successful foaling of the pregnant mares is at a high level in all compared groups - 85% in groups of daughters of Sbor and Retsept, and the maximum rate - 100% in the group of daughters of Sport, Gaston and Sterkh.