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
Use
Trekking animals
Beasts of burden
Riding horses
Meat
More Images
