An exterior comparison was made between 2 primitive horse breeds: the Konik and the Hucul breeds. Each animal was characterized using 25 measurements and 24 indices. Statistical methods employed in this study were principal components analysis and the Student's t-test. It was found that in spite of both breeds being included in the group of horses with a primitive exterior, the Konik and the Hucul possess completely different metric properties of their body conformations. Although the mean height for the Hucul breed slightly exceeds that of the Konik, the latter has longer scapulae and metacarpi. The hind limb also features different proportions among its segments in the 2 breeds. The observed differences seem to be connected with different habitats for these breeds. In particular, mountainous conditions may have had an effect on the specific body conformation of the Hucul breed.

The purpose of this study has been to evaluate the applicability of discriminant function analysis to determine gender dimorphism in Hucul horses, based on morphological indices obtained in different stages of life. A total of 243 horses, divided into six age groups, have been examined in its course. For each horse we have measured 12 metric traits, which were then used to calculate 13 biometric indices commonly used in horse breeding in Poland. These have become the basis for defining functions classifying the animals by gender in each of the six age groups. This study answers the question of what parameters play the greatest role in the course of shaping of body proportions of male and female horses in post-foetal development. The following indices have been found to significantly contribute in discriminant models: boniness, smaller trunk length, height at the croup, pelvis width and width of chest.

The outflow of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in animals was over the years the subject of detailed analysis. For a long time it was stated that arachnoid granulations of the venous sinuses play a key role in CSF circulation. However, recent studies on this subject have shown that a considerable part of the CSF is drained to the lymphatic vessels. Moreover, disorders in the CSF passage may result in severe central nervous system diseases such as e.g. hydrocephalus. In this paper, we summarize the current knowledge concerning the lymphatic drainage of the CSF in mammals. We present in detail comparative anatomy of different species taking into account cranial and spinal compartment. In addition, we clarified role of the lymphatic vessels in the CSF outflow and the relationship between impairment in this transport and central nervous system diseases. In the author’s opinion knowledge on CSF circulation is still poorly examined and therefore required comment.

The study included 249 horses belonging to 3 horse breeds. Konik horses, comprising the first group, is an example of a breed similar to the extinct Tarpan. In our study, these horses were taken to be a primitive anatomical model of the horse body. The other groups comprised the Polish Half-bred horse and Thoroughbred horse. The biometric characteristics of the horses were compared based on 24 indices. The aim of the paper was to find a reduced set of indices that can be used to determine group membership of the horses. To do this, we used statistical methods to find the most important indices that best discriminate breeds from each other. Chi-squared statistics, linear discriminant analysis, logistic regression, and 1-way ANOVA showed that the discrimination among groups of horses is connected with these 5 indices: scapula, smaller trunk (distance between tubercle of humerus and coxal tuber), greater trunk (distance between tubercle of humerus and ischial tuberosity), metacarpus circumference, and hind autopodium-smaller trunk. Thoroughbred and Half-bred horses are clearly different in exterior conformation from Konik horses. The differences between Thoroughbred and Half-bred horses are more subtle. The conformation of Thoroughbreds is jointly determined by relatively small differences in a range of features.