Selective breeding is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant males and females will sexually reproduce and have offspring together. Domesticated animals are known as breeds, normally bred by a professional breeder, while domesticated plants are known as varieties, cultigens, cultivars, or breeds. Two purebred animals of different breeds produce a crossbreed, and crossbred plants are called hybrids. Flowers, vegetables and fruit-trees may be bred by amateurs and commercial or non-commercial professionals: major crops are usually the provenance of the professionals.
The Ukrainian Riding Horse or Ukrainian Saddle Horse is a modern Ukrainian breed of warmblood sport horse. Breeding began in the years after the Second World War at the stud farm of Dnipropetrovsk in central Ukraine – at that time in the USSR – and later expanded to three other state stud farms. It derives from cross-breeding of Hanoverian, Thoroughbred and Trakehner stallions with local mares or with Hungarian Furioso, Gidran Arab or Nonius mares. It incorporates the last bloodlines of the extinct Orlov-Rostopchin or Russian Saddle Horse. It was bred to compete in show jumping, three-day eventing and dressage, but is also suitable as a general riding horse.
Vietnamese Pot-bellied is the exonym for the Lon I or I pig, an endangered traditional Vietnamese breed of small domestic pig.
Animal breeding is a branch of animal science that addresses the evaluation of the genetic value of livestock. Selecting for breeding animals with superior EBV in growth rate, egg, meat, milk, or wool production, or with other desirable traits has revolutionized livestock production throughout the entire world. The scientific theory of animal breeding incorporates population genetics, quantitative genetics, statistics, and recently molecular genetics and is based on the pioneering work of Sewall Wright, Jay Lush, and Charles Henderson.
The Dorset Horn is an endangered British breed of domestic sheep. It is documented from the seventeenth century, and is highly prolific, sometimes producing two lambing seasons per year. Among British sheep, it is the only breed capable of breeding throughout the winter.
The American Yorkshire is an American breed of large domestic pig. It is the most numerous pig breed in the United States. It derives from pigs of the British Large White or Yorkshire breed imported from the United Kingdom or from Canada at various times from about 1830 to the mid-twentieth century.
The Hungarian Sport Horse, Hungarian: 'Magyar sportló', is a modern Hungarian breed of sporting horse. Like the Furioso-North Star, the Gidran, and the Nonius, it was developed at the Hungarian State Stud Mezőhegyes, in Békés county in the Southern Great Plain region of south-eastern Hungary. At the end of 2012, the total number for the breed was reported to be 1091. The breeders' association is the Magyar Sportlótenyésztők Országos Egyesülete, or Association of Hungarian Sporthorse Breeders.
The Bardigiano is a traditional Italian breed of small horse. It originates in the region of Emilia Romagna and takes its name from the town of Bardi, in the province of Parma. It is strongly associated with Bardi, the Valle del Ceno and the Val di Taro, and surrounding areas of the Tusco-Emilian Apennines of Parma.
Kalmyk cattle is a breed of beef cattle of the former Soviet Union, now found in the Russian Federation, in Kazakhstan and in Tajikistan. It is believed to have originated in Dzungaria, and to have been brought into south-eastern Russia by migrating Kalmyks in the seventeenth century.
The Semirechensk is a Kazakh breed of domestic pig. It was purpose-bred in the twentieth century in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. The breeding stock was principally Large White, with some admixture of Siberian Kemerovo and a small proportion of wild boar.
The Hirzai is a rare Pakistani breed of riding horse. It derives from cross-breeding of Baluchi horses with Arab stock. It is usually grey; other colours occur infrequently. The average height is 152 cm. In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed.
The Asil or Aseel is an Indian breed or group of breeds of game chicken. It is distributed in much of India, particularly in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha; it has been exported to several other countries. Similar fowl are found throughout much of Southeast Asia.
The Malvi or Malavi, also known as Manthani or Mahadeopuri, is breed of zebu cattle from the Malwa plateau in western Madhya Pradesh, in central India. It is a good draught breed; the milk yield of the cows is low.
The Finnish Ayrshire is a Finnish breed of dairy cattle. It derives from Scottish Ayrshire stock imported to Finland between about 1847 and 1923. It is the most numerous dairy breed of the country, constituting approximately 61% of the dairy herd.
The Vištinės or Vishtines is a Lithuanian breed of domestic goose. It was developed by selective breeding of traditional Lithuanian geese, with some later influence from the East Prussian, Emden and Pomeranian breeds.
The Onagadori is a historic Japanese breed of chicken, characterised by an exceptionally long tail. It was bred in the seventeenth century in Kōchi Prefecture, on Shikoku island in southern Japan, and was designated a Japanese National Natural Treasure in 1952. It is one of the ancestors of the German Phoenix breed.
The Lithuanian Native or Lithuanian: Lietuvos Vietinė is a traditional Lithuanian breed of domestic pig. In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed, kept principally for conservation reasons. The principal herd is kept at the Centre for Farm Animal Genetic Resources of Baisogala, in the Radviliškis District Municipality of central Lithuania.
The Bleue du Nord is a French breed of dual-purpose cattle from the former region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais in the north-east of the country, on the border with Belgium. It shares the origins of the Belgian Blue, but unlike that breed is selectively bred both for meat and for dairy use. The double-muscling characteristic of the Belgian Blue, caused by a genetic myostatin deficiency, is present also in the Bleue du Nord, but to a limited and controlled extent.
The German Classic Pony or German: Deutsches Classic Pony is a modern German breed of riding pony. It derives from the traditional Shetland Pony of the Scottish Shetland Isles, but is principally influenced by the taller and more elegant American Shetland Pony.
The Dutch Improved Red Pied, Dutch: Verbeterd Roodbont, is a recently-developed Dutch breed of beef cattle. It derives from the dual-purpose Meuse-Rhine-Issel breed, and is characterised by a high incidence of the double-muscling gene. A breed association was started in 1988.
