Welcome to the new and improved breeds section, have a look around and meet a breed or two.

Altai Horse

Country of Origin: Russia

Altai Horse

Intro

One of most ancient breeds of Siberia, the Altai has been shaped in large part by the harsh mountainous climate of their native land. This breed has had a close relationship with the tribesman of the region for centuries.

Origins

These animals take their name from the Altai mountains in Southern Siberia & like many breeds from unforgiving climates, they are robustly surefooted. They have always been relied on to carry people & other precious cargo over steep mountainous terrain or through fast moving rivers.

Pure Strain

Through their relative physical isolation, for many years their bloodlines remained fairly pure & new blood was never an accident. Until early in the 20th century, when different breeds were introduced to the Altai stock with the intention of creating larger animals with more capacity for work.

While there may have been new blood introduced over the years, there is always a portion of the breed that is kept pure to maintain a strain of their ancient gene pool. In fact, there are still small bands of aboriginal horses in some regions of the Upper Altai even today & their physical charactoristcs retain many of the qualities of their ancestors.

Features

Average height 13.2 – 13.3 hands
Perform well under adverse conditions
Surefooted & tough
Hardy & undemanding animals

Physique

Large, coarse head with small eyes
Short, fleshy neck
Long, dipped back
Legs are short & well-set
Feet and strong & sound

Traditional Colors

black | chestnut | grey | bay
Leopard pattern is rare

Temperament

Stable & sensible animals
Strong & true
Hard workers
Easy to care for

Altai Horse

Use

Trekking animals
Beasts of burden
Riding horses
Meat

Video

Do you have images or know more about the Altai breed? We’d love help completing this page, please contact us to get involved.

Country of Origin: Russia | Colors: , , , ,
Don't forget to subscribe now to get the latest. It's Free.
© 2010 The Equinest