Today’s rare breed for the week comes from the island of Majorca off the southern coast of Spain. Unfortunately very few formal records have been kept on the Balearic Horse, they were geographically isolated & poorly managed.
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Horse Basics Category
Baixadeiro – Rare Breed of the Week
The rare breed for this fine Monday morning comes from beautiful Brazil. The BaixadeiroHorse is a small horse inhabiting the heavy marshlands of Brazil & is presently the recipient of a conservation program in an attempt to save them from extinction.
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Auxois – Rare Horse Breed of the Week
The rare breed for this week comes from France & they are absolutely enormous (& literally bred for huge). The Asturcón Pony – Rare Horse Breed of the Week
The rare breed for this Monday comes from the Northwest of Spain. The Asturcón Pony (or Asturian Pony) possesses a natural ambling gait by which they alternate moving both legs on one side.
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Astrakhan – Rare Horse Breed of the Week
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
Moving Home
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
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