Efficiency of crossing the Russian Trotter breed of the Ukrainian population with the French Trotter breed

To improve the Russian Trotter breed of Ukrainian and Russian populations, crossing with the original American standardbred is traditionally used, which comes from a thoroughbred horse and is the most popular of all trotting breeds. An alternative to absorbing crossbreeding of trotting horses of Ukrainian selection with the American standardbred is the moderate use of French Trotter breed producers, which over the past decade has been gaining in selection on an increasing scale. The popularity of French Trotter breed producers in Ukrainian breeders in recent years is associated with their success on world racetracks, as well as due to their origin from the outstanding producers of the American standardbred breed and belonging to progressive lines and branches. Thus, using them, breeders compensate for the lack of high-class producers of American standardbred breeds. It was found that using the French Trotter breed gene pool for crossbreeding makes it possible to improve the breeding characteristics of horses of the Russian Trotter breed in the Ukrainian population and reduce inbreeding depression in conditions of selection with a limited breed gene pool. The positive effect of crossing the Russian Trotter breed with the French Trotter on improving the characteristics of the horse's agility was experimentally proved. In all the groups studied, the young, French Trotter was superior to purebred peers of both trotting breeds in speed at 1600 m. Horses, stallions obtained from the French Trotter breed was very much the same age, obtained from the American standardbred stallions of the breed: at the age of two years old 0.5 s, three years old, 1.2 s, four years old 1.1 s. in the offspring of standardbred stallions of the American breed more horses discovered class of liveliness 2.10 min and alive - 7.2 %, grade of 2.05 min. with liveliness and alive - by 8.9 %. Stallions of the American standardbred breed on average were inferior to stallions of the French selection in speed at 1600 m by 2.3 s.