The Yili Horse was developed in the mountain basin grasslands of Yili-Kazakh Autonomous District in China. At the turn of the 20th century Russian immigrants brought stallions to the area to improve local Kazakh horses. Later in 1936 Don, Orlov Trotter & Anglo-Don animals were imported to further improve stock, however they didn’t achieve the desired results. By 1936 a suitable draft-riding type was achieved and careful interbreeding created the Yili Horse.
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The Yakut Horse comes from northern & central Siberia and they have developed in relative isolation, created by the harsh natural conditions that surround them. In fact, they reside further north than any other breed of equine.
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The Württemberger or Württemberg Horse comes from Württemberg Germany where it was developed in the middle of the 16th century as a heavy coach horse.
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The Wielkopolski, Poznan or Great Poland Horse is a light riding & driving horse that was created in the 19th century in Poland. In the beginning they were called the Poznan Horse, named for Great Poznan Country from which it comes.
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Also called the Darfur Pony, Gharkawi & Kordofani Western Sudan Pony comes from southern Darfur & southwestern Kordofan in Sudan. I could find no other information about them.
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The Virginia Highlander Horse is a relatively new breed, developed in Sugar Grove Virginia by a man named William Pugh whose intentions were to create a superior riding horse.
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The Ventasso Horse comes from the Ventasso Mountain in the province of Reggio Emilia in Italy. Known for their sturdy build and great heart the Italian army has long used them as mounts. The Ventasso’s of today possess English, Maremmanos and Lipizzan blood. These animals are incredibly rare.
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The Unmol is an incredibly rare breed that comes from the northwest Punjab in Pakistan. Their name translates to “priceless” which makes clear how important these animals were to the local people.
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Also called the Turk, Turkmene, Turkmen & Turkmenian, the ancient Turkoman breed is thought to be extinct in its pure form. Horses bred in Turkmenistan are still called by the same name, however the purest descendants of this ancient breed are the Barb, Akhal-Teke & Iomud. Of the three the Akhal-Teke (pictured above) breeding has been kept the purest and probably the closest to actual Turkoman blood.
However, sources tell me that relatively pure Turkoman horses do still exist in small pockets in Iran. Although, the Akhal-Teke in Pakistan comes from the Turkoman they developed as lighter animals used by archers on the battlefield. The Turkoman breed was a more robust animal built for carrying heavily armed soldiers into battle – this build remains in the breed of today.
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