Martina Komárková

eto89@seznam.cz
 Horses breeds

 More than 700 breeds and types
 Can be divided according to:
- Country of origin (French breeds, English breeds ...)
- Geographic distribution (mountain, lowland...)
- Type of use (racing, coach, pack, draft; combinations ...)
- Size – body frame (small, medium, large)
- Craniology – shape of head (e.g. brachycephalic types – short
head, dolichocephal – long head)
- Phylogenetic origin (mongolian, oriental, occidental, nordic)
- Temperament (warmblood, coldblood, hotblood)
- Etc.
 Ponies

 At the withers usually not higher than 14.2 hh (147 cm)
BUT small horse ≠ pony
 Distinct pony characteristics – e.g. proportionaly short
legs in relation to the depth of the body
 Often distinguished by their phenotype, stocky body, dense
bone, round shape and well-sprung ribs
 Usually short head, large eyes and small ears; strong hooves,
heavier hair coat, thicker mane and tail
 Different movement (shrorter legs)
 Typical ponies: Mountain and Moorland breeds of Britain
and Ireland (Exmoor, Dartmoor)– extraordinary strength
in relation to their size
Arabian horse


www.flickriver.com

www.khartoonkhlassic.com
 Arabian horse (arab)

 Origin unclear: Arabian peninsula/Syria??

 Height: 14.1 – 15.1 hh (145 – 155 cm)

 Colour: chestnut, grey, bay and black
 Frequent facial and leg markings
 Short and wedge-shaped head, concave profile; broad forehead,
large eyes, large nostrils, small muzzle, small ears
 Deep chest, arched neck, high-set tail
 Well adapted to life in a harsh environment
 Extreme powers of endurance
 Fame for their stamina - rule the long-distance sport of endurance
 Different skeleton formation: 17 ribs (x 18), 5 lumbar
vertebrae (x 6), 16 tail vertebrae (x 18)
Andalusian horse


www.kobylky.estranky.cz www.animalsgallery.com
 Andalusian horse

 Origin: Iberian peninsula
 Height: 15 – 15.2 hh (150 – 157 cm)
 Predominantly grey and bay, (black, palomino, chestnut)
 Broad forehead and large eyes
 Long thick neck
 Long mane and tail
 Strongly built but elegant (one of the most elegant
horses)
 Willing nature
 Excels in dressage (haute école) and traditional Spanish
equestrian pursuits, such as bull fighting
 Thoroughbred


www.about-horses.net

http://valarian-warrior.deviantart.com/
 Thoroughbred

 In 17th and 18th century in England
 From Arabian, Barb and Turkoman breeds
 Height: variable, 14.2 – 17 hh (147 – 173 cm), average 16 hh (163
cm)
 Colours: variable; most common bay, chestnut and brown,
(grey, black, roan)
 Large eyes and nostrils
 Powerfull hindquarters and long limbs → “racing machine”
 Strongly built but elegant
 Contributed blood to many breeds (e.g. American
Quarter Horse)
 racing, hunting, jumping, dressage, polo, fox hunting ...
 Anglo-arab

 Crossbred (Thoroughbred + Arabian horse)
 H.: 15.2 – 16.3 hh (157–170 cm)
 C.: usually chestnut, bay or brown
 The best specimens: refinement, good bone, and
endurance of Arabian; speed and scope of Thoroughbred
 Riding and other competition

koniciftparticka.blog.cz
 Kladruby horse

 the oldest Czech horse breed (one of the www.animal-photography.com

world's oldest horse breeds)

 Based on Spanish and Italian horses + heavy
Czech breeds
 Developed for pulling of coach (ceremonies,
funerals)
 H.: 16.2 – 17 hh (170 to 170 cm)
 C.: black or white
 big eyes; Roman (convex) facial profile;
muscled neck
 calm nature, endurance, and relative speed;
longevity
 Black Kladrubers after 1st w.w. almost
eradicated
www.tumblr.com
Wild and feral horses

 Przewalski's horse

 The only surviving wild horse
 Origin: steppes of central Asia (Mongolia)
 H.: 12 – 14 hh (122 – 142 cm)
 C.: mostly dun with cream stomach and nose; dark dorsal stripe;
zebra markings on legs; dark mane
 Mane grows upright – shed every spring
 Primitive features: large head (high set eyes); thick neck; heavy
body
 Endure extreme temperatures
 Differs genetically – 66 chromosomes (x 64)
 At one time extinct in the wild (60ties) → reintroduction (90ties)
 Mustang

 Feral horses of North America (from horses brought to
the America by the Spanish)
 All colours
 Since 1900 many killed (pet food) or used as draught, to
army → huge decrease → introduction (1971), protected
by law..pest animal
 Domesticated – riding horse – endurance rides

www.tumblr.com drobertfranz.photoshelter.com
 Brumby

 Feral horse in Australia
 Sergeant James Brumby left for Tasmania in 1804
 An Aboriginal word baroomby meaning "wild"
 Brumby

 Horses first arrived in Australia in 1788 with the
First Fleet.
 1800: only about 200 horses are thought to have
reached Australia.
 3,500 horses in 1820, 160,000 by 1850
 The first report of an escaped horse 1804, most
Australian horses became feral because of releasing
(no war, machines)
 400,000 horses roaming the continent
 Population increases of 20 percent per year
 Brumby use

 Research
 Training
 Tourist attraction
 Horse meat (30% of export, sold in Europe)
 Competitions (“rodeo“)]
 Brumby problem

 First described as pests in Australia in the 1860s.
 Soil loss
 Compaction - water penetration resistance over 15 times higher
than that in areas without horses
 Erosion
 Trampling of vegetation - aquatic fauna: crab densities are higher,
increasing the propensity for predation on fish. As a result, fish
densities decline as the removal of vegetation renders them more
susceptible to predation
 Reduction in the vastness of plants
 Increased tree deaths by chewing on bark
 Damage to bog habitats and waterholes;
 Spreading of invasive weeds
 Various detrimental effects on population of native species
(macropods)
 Brumby management

 Pest or not? (S. Australia x Queensland)
 Protection or not?
 Aboriginal people: horses belong to the country x
they are not feral x culling x relocation)
 Conservationist groups
 Brumby management

 Fertility control, ground and helicopter shooting, and
mustering and trapping
 Level of suffering, costs
 Fertility control is non-lethal method , „most human“ (+/-)
 Shooting by trained marksmen most practical method, no
stresses
 Mustering labour-intensive : slaughter for sale, or
relocation
 Assisted by feed-luring: bales of hay to attract horse
 Low demand for the captured horses
 Namib horses

 Feral population living in the Namib desert
 Afro-turkic/Oriental origin
 Specialization to arid environment in short while (100 y)
 The low genetic variation
 Small number of founders of the population (<100)
 Population maintained at a low number of individuals
due to the harsh environmental conditions

 Predator: spotted hyena

 Horses of Africa

• Afro-Turkic origin
• Domesticated in Asia
Minor and
mediteranean area
• Based on Equus caballus
pumpelli: oriental horse

- About 5 millions in
whole Africa, mainly in
Sub-Saharan region
- Small, fair hairs,
intelligent
Berber horse - barb


horsebreedsinfo.com

www.lonelyplanet.com
 Berber horse - barb

 Origin: North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia)
 Height: 14.2 – 15.2 hh (147 – 157 cm)
 Predominantly grey, bay, brown and black
 Narrow head with convex profile
 Arched neck; low-set tail
 Slender, strong limbs with small, round hooves
 Tough and enduring
 Important role in evolution of many breeds
(Thoroughbred, Andalusian...) – from N Africa to Europe
 Nigerian horse +
Dongola

 Based on Berber horse
 Strong shoulder concave profile
 Dongola: Namibia, Cameroon
 Fulani

 Complex of central african breeds
 Fulani in Cameroon (Fulani people nomadic)
 Colour variable
 Hard
 African ponies

 Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon,
Madagascar
 War, aggression…slaves
 Horses of Asia

 Many breeds and types
 Mongolian horse – native in Mongolia, small (12 –
14
hh); riding, pack horse, milk production (fermented
milk = kumis)

commons.wikimedia.org
 Akhal-teke
= TURKMEN
 www.shahzadehakhaltekes.com

 O.: Turkmenistan
 H.: 15.1 – 15.2 hh
 C.: bay, chestnaut; often with
golden sheen
 Raised in tough conditions (hot
days, cold nights)
 Fast paces, stamina, hardiness
 Used for developing new
breeds
 Riding horse, racing, jumping,
dressage...
www.lovakvslovasok.eoldal.hu
 Marwari

 India
 War, endurance, ceremonies
 The Marwari horses are native
to Marwar region of Rajsthan
province
 The present population less than
3000
 Indian ponies

 Zanskari, Spiti, Bhutia, Manipuri
 small-sized animals with compact
bodies and strong legs
 Hardiness and well adapted to
work at high altitude areas
 The Manipuri ponies original polo
ponies.
 Evolved from ponies from Tibet
around 1200 years ago
 All these Indian horse breeds
have been listed as threatened
breed
Horses of Latin America

 Second voyage of Christopher Columbus, in 1493
 Population increased during the subsequent Spanish
and Portuguese colonization period
 70 horses on the first colony of La Espanola
(Dominican Republic and Haiti) by the year 1503
 By 1553 10,000 free-roaming horses in the area of
Queretaro (Mexico) that spread throughout North
and South America
 Horses of Latin America
- Basis of all breeds Criollo
(Crioulo)


CAMPOLINO - Brazil

www.wunderground.com
Criollo


www.about-horses.net
 Criollo

 Descended from Spanish, Barb and Portuguese horses owned
by Don Pedro Mendoza, founder of the city of Buenos Aires in
Argentina in the 1500s
 In the 19th century, the gaucho—the South American cowboy—
tamed the Criollo and used it to work with cattle.
 Endurance competitions: rides that can last for up to two weeks
 H.: 14 – 14 hh
 Usually dun with dark points and often with dorsal stripe
 Wide-set eyes, alert ears; muscular neck; short, strong limbs
 Low basal metabolism → after Arabian the best endurance
 Many years of selection in extreme climate of
pampas (hot summers, severe winters) → hardiness
and stamina
 Peruvian Horse


Related to the Spanish Jennet, a horse brought to the New World by the
Spaniards in the 1500s.
 Dveloped in Peru primarily during the 17th century
 Ttrail mount, show, parade and working ranch horse
 Easy gaits
 Brio: tendency to work for the rider with alertness and a willing attitude

 The chest is wide, and the back is strong and short to medium in length
 The head is medium-sized with a straight or slightly concave profile and a
small muzzle. The ears have fine, slightly inwardly curved tips. The neck is
gracefully arched at the crest

Height: 14.1 to 15.1 hands.
Colors: Bay, black, brown, buckskin, chestnut, dun, gray, grullo, palomino
and roan.
 Paso fino

 16. century, Puertorico
 Based on Andalusian horse
 „Fine walk“
 The back is strong and muscled. The croup is slightly
sloping, with rounded hips and strong hocks. The withers
are defined but not pronounced, and slope smoothly into
the back.
 The head is refined and has a straight profile. The ears are
comparatively short, set close together and curved inward
at the tips.
The neck is gracefully arched and medium in length.
 Mangalarga Marchador

 The Mangalarga Marchador’s origins can be traced back
to 1807,
 Developed exclusively by the king of Portugal
 National horse of Brazil
 Ability to perform the marcha picada and the marcha
batida (four-beat lateral gait)

 The head is triangular in shape with a broad, flat forehead

 Large eyes
 Height: Between 14.2 and 16 hands.
 Falabella

 The Falabella miniature horse is one of the smallest
breeds of horse in the world
 Argentina: from local horses of Criollo stock
 1868 with the breeding program of Patrick Newtall
 Son-in-law, Juan Falabella: aditional bloodlines,
including the Welsh Pony, Shetland pony, and small
Thoroughbreds
 Inbreeding
 Average size of under 100 cm in height
Breeds of donkeys

And their breeds
 Provence donkey

 Origin: France
 Developed by shepherds (15th century) - used
for transhumance → migration donkey
 Height: ♂ 120 – 135 cm, ♀ 117 – 130 cm
 Light gray to dark gray (sometimes pinkish hues)
 Black dorsal stripe + dark cross on shoulders cdn99.fansshare.com

 Sometimes stripes on the limbs

 Often white belly, inner part of limbs and around the eyes
 Solid bones; large feet (easy walking in rough terrain)
 Calm and patient temperament
 Since invention of automobiles sharp decline – now cca.
200 individuals
 Poitou donkey


breizh-poellrezh.eu

animaladay.blogspot.com
 Poitou donkey

 Origin: France (Poitou region)
 Height: 13.1 – 14.3 hh (135 – 150 cm)
 Weight: over 400 kg (the heaviest donkey in the world)
 One of the largest donkeys (selected for size)
 Coat - "cadanette" - hangs in long, ungroomed cords
 Yellow brown, dark brown or black coat
 White underbelly, nose
and rings around eyes
 No stripes and markings
 For production large working mules
 1977 – only 44 individuals – now ↑

www.inspirefusion.com
 Miniature donkey

www.minidonks.com

canwestminidonkeys.webs.com
 Miniature donkey

 Origin: Sicily and Sardinia
 Extensively bred in USA (cca. 10.000 individuals)
 Height: average 8.1 hh (84 cm); the smallest 6.2 hh
(66 cm)
 Selected for size
 Colour: variable; the most often grey, grey-dun with
the dorsal stripe and cross
 Friendly, tame
 Abysinian donkey

 Working breed in Etiopia
 Anatolian donkey

 Common in Turkey, primitive, traditional breed
 Zamorano-Leones

 Spanish donkey, robust, gives strong mules