**4. Selection**

Traditionally, three types of selection are made: genealogical, morphological, and functional [32]. In relation to the first, the farmer systematically records information, in his own books, the lines, or families that form the basis of the genetic heritage of his livestock, as well as the results of the offspring of each generation.

This information is used to choose future breeding animals. In addition, each farm defines its morphological preferences, depending on the type it belongs to or the priorities of the owner. The selection criteria are usually higher for males than those used for females. They focus, fundamentally, on aspects related to external appearance, neck musculature conformation, bone structure and development, and so on [43]. And finally, the functional selection consists in measuring the brave character of each animal, although each farmer understands the meaning of this term in a very subjective way. A series of tests are carried out on both females and males to assess their bravery [32].

In the case of females, animals of 1, 2, or 3 years are evaluated. The test is practiced in the *tienta*, 2 under the direction of the farmer and with the participation of professional bullfighters, trying to discover the functional performance of each animal. The behavior of each individual in each phase of the test is assessed using

<sup>1</sup> *encastes* = specific genetic lines in Lidia cattle breed.

<sup>2</sup> *tienta* = selection test applied mainly to female Lidia animals where a bullfighting show is played on livestock farm.

the horse and with the muleta. There are different parameters (prompt response, attack, fixity, mobility, nobility, fierceness, aggressiveness, repetition, and so on) that are evaluated by the farmer, to achieve a final note for each animal and, subsequently, keep the best females as breeders [44].

In the test of males, animals of 2–4 years of age are chosen, initially selecting the specimens that have obtained the best results in the genealogical and morphological tests. They are tested in a small bullring, and if the animal does not respond properly, the test is interrupted, and the bull is withdrawn and will be destined for normal fighting. Those animals initially selected, after testing the behavior of their offspring, will become part of the livestock as a sire or will be discarded, losing their value for a standard fight since they have developed sense during the test fight [32].

There is another circumstantial and sporadic form of sire selection, performed by fans and not by the farmer, which is the case of *indulto*. 3 It occurs in the context of a bullfight where many influential factors could alter the true criteria by which a bull must be selected. Therefore, it is the breeder who will decide, later, if the animal should be used for reproductive purpose or not.

Currently, another type of selection, genetics, has been introduced by livestock associations, which has become increasingly important [9]. It consists of identifying the individuals carrying the most beneficial genes for the interest characters and using them as breeding animals to transmit them to their descendants. The way to evaluate whether or not the phenotype of an animal is a good reflection of the genes of which it is a carrier (genetic value or merit) is based on calculating the heritability of that character [45].

The capacity to transfer behavioral characters is very slow because it is limited by the production of a calf per year, at the most, as well as the complexity to accurately and quickly assess the ethological response of its products in the show [46].

According to Cañón et al. [2], many of the behavioral characters manifested by the Lidia bull, such as mobility, repetition, nobility, rhythm, and fierceness, despite its complexity and subjective assessments, if scored with enough rigor, can manifest high heritability (>0.35) that makes them susceptible to be selected in one way or another, at the choice of the farm's owner.

A very precise selection of the best individuals entails the maintenance of a population with high consanguinity; therefore, controlling it is an always necessary activity in a Lidia cattle ranch, preserving the necessary genetic variability within it. In general, in Lidia farms, the level of consanguinity does not seem to be very high: 0.12 and 0.13 [47]. Even so, it is possible to find bulls with a consanguinity coefficient of 0.25 [48]. However, regulated mating strategies should be followed, to avoid mating animals with common ancestors, establishing a short- or mediumterm conservation program. However, we must be aware of the difficulties involved in the conservation of some minority genetic lines, cattle ranches, or "*encastes*" [48], because the smaller a population is and the greater the imbalance between the sexes the more difficult it is to preserve their genetic characteristics, complicating the task of avoiding mating between related animals.

Finally, the incorporation of the computer methods to control the productive data of the animals allows organization and best valuation of each reproductive potential. With the information reduced to informative schemes, the results can be checked immediately, which make it possible to know, through the corresponding analysis of the offspring, the racing power of the father or mother [45, 49–51].

**119**

small [56].

**5.1 Ruminal acidosis (RA)**

mucous membranes [60, 61].

*The Lidia Breed: Management and Medicine DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92008*

The most frequent diseases of Lidia cattle, which also affect extensive cattle, are parasitic processes (coccidiosis, ostertagiosis, dictyocaulosis, and sarcosporidiosis), infectious processes (clostridiosis, anthrax, paratuberculosis, tuberculosis, actinomycosis, actinobacillosis, and pyobacillosis), poisonings (aflatoxicosis, ochratoxicosis, aluminum phosphide, and lead poisoning), and deficiency processes as

In addition, the extensive nature of this animal production system predisposes him to suffer from eye problems such as infectious keratoconjunctivitis and horn wounds due to fights between animals [53]. The latter represents a very important chapter in the economies of Lidia farming assuming losses of traumatic etiology ranging from 3 to 15% of male adult individual. Most of them require surgical treatment; some of the interventions are simple, and others are more complicated, but

The gorings have an etiology closely related to the age of the bulls, strength, and *encaste*, with an increase in frequency of incidence in 4-year-old bulls with a weight of 500 kg, and the wounds occur with a greater probability in the head and extremity regions. They are caused by external violence in which the surface of the traumatic agent is wide. We can find open or closed wounds. The closed wounds, even when not seen to affect external skin tissues, can cause internal muscular or vascular lesions. Hematomas or serous effusions (blood and lymphatic exudates) of difficult reabsorption due to their large size appear, and they require intervention.

The treatment of all types of wounds should be focused on controlling, primarily, the bleeding, either by suturing damaged vessels or by hemostatic parenteral treatments, then preventing or controlling the infection, disinfecting and cleaning the affected area, and finally achieving the rapid healing, usually by second attempt, and is always suggested to leave a drain at the trauma point even if it is

Another pathology that has been observed with a high incidence in the Lidia breed is osteochondrosis [57]. It is a degenerative process of the joint surfaces, widely described in horses and in bait cattle of other breeds, with few studies in fighting bulls to know if it could influence the mobility of the animal during the show [27].

RA is a metabolic disease that settles in the rumen and is produced by the ruminal fermentation of large amounts of nonfibrous carbohydrates, such as starch and sugars, which lead to the production of high amounts of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and lactate, which accumulate in the rumen and cause an abnormal reduction in rumen pH [58]. Ruminal epithelial cells, not protected by mucus, are vulnerable to chemical acid damage [59], and this decrease in ruminal pH together with high concentrations of VFAs causes ruminitis, erosions, and ulcerations of the ruminal epithelium. In turn, abnormal thickening of the stratum corneum of the mucosa occurs due to accumulation of corneal cells with perturbations in their keratinization resulting in hyper and parakeratosis, observing partially pigmented ruminal

Among the works carried out on the feeding management of the Lidia bull, the one carried out by Bartolomé [26] stands out because he observes 66.2% of the animals studied with ruminal pH values compatible with RA, of which 41.5% chronically (pH = 6.2–5.6) according to the classification of González et al. [62]. In addition, 70.7% of animals presented parakeratosis in the mucosa, and in 26.9%

all have in common the septic character of the traumatic focus [54].

They evolve to contamination and abscess formation [55].

**5. Main pathologies**

poliencefalomalacia [52].

<sup>3</sup> *indulto* = situation when a bull that has been excellent in the fight and is not sacrificed to be incorporated into his home field as a stud.
