How could we not like this picture. It provides us a snapshot into a fun afternoon frolic. This old girl has got all four feet off the ground & has almost achieved liftoff! She is a lovely animal & we wish we’d had front row seats at her frolic.
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The rare breed for this week comes from the horse infested land of Mongolia. The Astrakhan is also called the Kalmykskaya & Kalmyk. They are ancient & a member of the Mongolian equine group
The Astrakhan breed went to Russia from Dzungaria in the 17th century, brought by the Kalmyk people. The breed was described as plain, medium-sized animals that were very tough & possessed speedy gaits. They were hardy, useful animals & were traditionally bred in the territory along the Volga & Ural rivers. This continued until the mid 1940s when selective breeding in any official capacity ended. Read more
This is a really simple image, but there is something about the contrast & balance that we really like. Of course we do love a pretty palomino as much as the next horse lover too. While it may be simple, it’s clear as a bell & you have to love that little patch of white on his cheek.
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This week’s rare breed comes from Iran & they are a different kind of rare. The Asil horse is rare by design. Named for the region where they are bred in Khuzestan, the bloodlines of the Asil horse have traditionally been kept within local tribes & families.
The actual origins of this horse seems to have several theories & it seems that many of the western interpretations of their history are lost in translation. However rock carvings depicting animals similar to this fine Arabian strain have been found in the area that date back 5,000 years. Read more