Morphological, chemical-physical and mineralogical characteristics on hoof of Anglo-Arabian and Maremmano Horses and discriminant analysis (PCA) on mineral content

In this work the qualitative characteristics of Anglo-Arabian and Maremmano horses hooves were considered. All hooves were healthy and well shaped. Twenty-nine hoof samples were taken during the hoof trimming. The Maremmano hoof was most large and wide (crown and plantar face circumferences respectively of cm 41.0±0.5 and 46.8±0.9, and the ratio between regions was 0.87±0.01), while the Anglo-Arabian hoof was harder (H 112.27±6.00 and H 119.44±2.75 in sole and in wall respectively). The hoof of Anglo-Arabian horses was upright with concave sole, while the Maremmano hoof that derives from a swampy area had a large and flat hoof.The Anglo-Arabian hoof tended to cumulate ashes, microelements and extraneous elements on wall, while that of Maremmano tended to cumulate these elements uniformly between sole and wall. The PCA showed 9 significant factors (ratio of variance = 93.52), of which 6 explained 79.28% of the cumulative variance. The PC1, explaining 24.7% of the total, identified microelements and extraneous elements. These minerals discriminated between breeds and between hoof regions.