Horse Basics Category

Asil – Rare Breed of the Week

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.

Mysterious & Secretive

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 →

Arravani – Rare Horse Breed of the Week

This Week’s rare breed comes from Greece & like many native Greek breeds it’s dangerously rare & close to extinction. The Arravani breed only has a couple hundred members.

A Melting Pot

A wide variety of different breeds helped to develop this breed over the last couple of millennia, from Thessalian animals to the mighty Arabian. Originally they were bred as workhorses, which provides them a robust, surefooted foundation. Later outside influence (especially the Arabian) lent them a refinement that can still be seen today. Read more →

Ariègeois Pony – Rare Horse Breed of the Week

This Monday’s rare breed is known as the Merens or the Ariègeois pony. They are a rare mountain pony native to the Pyrenees and Ariègeois mountains of Northern Spain & Southern France.

Tough & Ancient

Thought to be of prehistoric ancestory, these rugged mountain ponies were originally domesticated for use in mines & for hauling timber. Physically they are very similar to Dales pony & the Friesian horse which probably shared an ancestor with them. It is believed that during the Muslim invasion local stock was also enhanced by Arabian blood. Read more →

Arenberg-Nordkirchener Pony – Rare Horse Breed of the Week

This week’s rare breed comes from Germany & sadly they are among the rarest equines on the planet. So rare, in fact that we can’t find any images or video of them to share with you. The Arenberg-Nordkirchener Pony is dangerously close to extinction & are listed as critically endangered with their numbers in the teens.

20th Century Breed

These animals are a fairly recent breed (during the 20th century) & originally come from wild horses of Munster, Westphalia crossed with Lithuanian broodmares. This was a semi-wild breeding program (similar to that of the Dulman pony). Read more →

Andravida – Rare Horse Breed of the Week

The rare breed for this week comes from Greece & come from incredibly ancient bloodlines. This breed is also called the Eleia, Ilia, or Greek, the Andravida are a rare & mysterious light draft breed found in the region of Ilia, Greece.

Robust Yet Refined

The Andravida ancestors were cavalry horses used by the Athenians in the fourth century BC. Later, in the seventh century BC the Greek cavalry again used the Andravida for war. Originally bred as a light riding draft breed they were a cross of local breeds with Anglo-Norman animals. During the 13th to 15th centuries Arabian blood was used to refine stock, which created a lighter animal. Read more →

American Cream Draft – Rare Breed of the Week

The rare breed for this Monday comes from the US & that means it’s a relatively recent addition to the breeds of the world. The handsome American Cream Draft horse began in 1905 in a small town in Iowa. The foundation of the breed was an old mare named Old Granny.

American Native

The first draft breed native to the US, the American Cream Draft is an incredibly rare sight in the 21st century. The replacement of farm animals with heavy equipment caused a sharp decline in their numbers & the first native draft breed in the US actually faced extinction. In 1982 a revival attempt was made & luckily today the numbers still increase. Read more →

Altwurttemberg – Rare Horse Breed of the Week

The rare breed for this week comes from Germany, although this breed is a rare sight even in it’s hometown. The Altwurttemberg breed was started by the Wurttemberg Prince House, although sadly they were created without an obligatory breed goal.

Careful Breeding

Although they had no real goal, the bloodlines used as their foundation were top notch. About thirty horses from Normandy were used between 1872 -1888, crossed with English Thoroughbreds, Holsteins & Oldenburgs. Through this careful breeding the Altwurttemberg horse was established. Read more →

Altai – Rare Breed of the Week

This Monday’s rare breed comes from Russia & it is one of most ancient breeds of Siberia. The Altai has been raised there for centuries & has always been indispensable to the nomad tribesmen of the area.

Dangerous Footing

This breed takes it’s name from the Altai mountains in Southern Siberia & like many breeds in unforgiving climates, they are built robustly surefooted. These animals have always been relied on to carry people & other precious cargo over mountainous terrain or through fast moving rivers, so their strength & tenacity was prized. Read more →

Aegidienberger – Rare Horse Breed of the Week

This week’s rare breed is from Germany & they are a relatively recent cross – contributing to their rareness. The Aegidienberger comes from a cross between the elegant Peruvian Paso & the incredibly pure blood of the hardy Icelandic horse.

A Goal in Mind

The underlying drive behind the cross was to create a larger gaited animal that is well suited to the colder climates of Germany. The handsome Paso contributes their size, smooth gait & refined Spanish ancestry. While the Icelandic horse contributes it’s sturdy build, heavy winter coat & robust constitution. The perfect cross should be 62.5% Icelandic & 37.5% Peruvian Paso. Read more →

Adaev – Rare Horse Breed of the Week

This Monday our rare breed is from Kazakhstan & is found within the Kazakh breed which dates back to the 5th century BC. The Adaev is a riding type horse that was bred to be adaptable for a wide range of uses.

Nature Knows Best

A pureblooded Adaev is a very rare thing these days. The breed is ancient & has been shaped by local geographical conditions in the Caspian Depression. During the 1980’s the breed was revived due to increased interest in preserving their bloodlines. Although intentions were good, this led to dilution of the Kazakh blood with a mix of Don, Thoroughbred & Orlov Trotter bloodlines. This was in an attempt to refine the animal & make them better for riding. Read more →

Abtenauer – Rare Horse Breed of the Week

This weeks horse is from Austria & they are so rare that you may not know of them. The Abtenauer is the smallest variation of the Noriker horse & like many of the European draft animals, their population numbers are very low in the 21st century.

Isolated & Pure

These animals come from & are named for the isolated valley of Abtenau in Austria. It is believed they may have originally come from Greek war mounts that were left in the region when no longer needed. Smaller in stature for a draft breed, the Abtenauer is beautifully built with excellent balance & a consistently sweet disposition. Read more →

Abaco Barb – Rare Horse Breed of the Week

The Abaco Barb has long been shrouded in mystery & until the late 1990’s not much notice was taken of them. The ancestors of these animals were believed to have come from the ships of Spanish explorers in the late 15th/ early 16th centuries & have inhabited the island since.

Preserving the Past

Due to their extreme geographical isolation, herd bloodlines have remained incredibly pure. This simple fact makes them an important link to the past as well as the history of horses in the Americas. In 2002, the herd was accepted by the Horse of America’s Registry as horses of Spanish Barb ancestry proven through DNA testing. Read more →