Hematological and biochemical reference intervals for adult Croatian Posavac horse

The aim of the study was to establish breed-specific hematological and biochemical reference intervals (RI) for Croatian Posavac horses. Strict criteria were established for inclusion of reference subjects, blood specimen collection and handling. Blood samples font 125 healthy, adult Croatian Posavac horses of both sexes (94 mares and 31 stallions) were used to determine RIs. Statistical analysis was performed according to the 2012 ASVCP guidelines for nonparametric RIs. RIs for hematological parameters from this study were quite compatible with RIs for warmblood horses for 11 out of the 20 measured parameters. The reported biochemical RIs in our study agree well with RIs for a mixed population of Croatian coldblood breeds, except for LDH, GGT and ALP. The RI for total protein and albumin differ substantially from the published RIs, and from a clinical viewpoint further investigation is warranted. The RIs established in this study provide a useful baseline for the clinical assessment of hematological and biochemical data of Croatian Posavac horses.