TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wutke, Saskia
A1  - Benecke, Norbert
A1  - Sandoval-Castellanos, Edson
A1  - Döhle, Hans-Jürgen
A1  - Friederich, Susanne
A1  - Gonzalez Soto, Javier Esteban
A1  - Hallsson, Jon Hallsteinn
A1  - Hofreiter, Michael
A1  - Lougas, Lembi
A1  - Magnell, Ola
A1  - Morales-Muniz, Arturo
A1  - Orlando, Ludovic
A1  - Palsdottir, Albina Hulda
A1  - Reissmann, Monika
A1  - Ruttkay, Matej
A1  - Trinks, Alexandra
A1  - Ludwig, Arne
T1  - Spotted phenotypes in horses lost attractiveness in the Middle Ages
JF  - Scientific reports
N2  - Horses have been valued for their diversity of coat colour since prehistoric times; this is especially the case since their domestication in the Caspian steppe in similar to 3,500 BC. Although we can assume that human preferences were not constant, we have only anecdotal information about how domestic horses were influenced by humans. Our results from genotype analyses show a significant increase in spotted coats in early domestic horses (Copper Age to Iron Age). In contrast, medieval horses carried significantly fewer alleles for these phenotypes, whereas solid phenotypes (i.e., chestnut) became dominant. This shift may have been supported because of (i) pleiotropic disadvantages, (ii) a reduced need to separate domestic horses from their wild counterparts, (iii) a lower religious prestige, or (iv) novel developments in weaponry. These scenarios may have acted alone or in combination. However, the dominance of chestnut is a remarkable feature of the medieval horse population.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38548
SN  - 2045-2322
VL  - 6
PB  - Nature Publ. Group
CY  - London
ER  -