ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphometric characteristics of horses utilized in ostensive patrolling belonging to Squadrons of Mounted Police located in the cities of Lages, Joinville and Florianópolis - SC. One hundred and one animals were used (78 geldings, a stallion and 22 females) with a mean age of 11.9 years and body mass of 490.82±53.51kg. Twenty individual linear measurements were taken, from which 13 zootechnical indexes were determined. The data was evaluated according to descriptive analysis and simple comparison between averages by Student's t test (P<0.05). There were significant differences between males and females in relation to hip length, hip width, cannon bone circumference and dactyl-thoracic index (DTI) in animals belonging to the Squadron of Florianopolis. We conclude that equines from three evaluated Squadrons are generally low front animals, "far from the ground", middleweight and large in shape, classified between light traction and heavy traction animals.
zootechnical indexes; linear measures; policingostensible