There are 30,000 working horses and ponies in Cambodia, many owned by working farmers who use them for agriculture work and transportation.
Others still earn their living carrying tourists around ruins like the magnificent Angkor Wat.
The life of a horse is not an easy one in Cambodia, regardless of where their paycheck comes from. Lucky for them the Cambodian Pony Welfare Organization is working hard to raise awareness and educate the Cambodian people about proper horse care.
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The horses in Burma are obviously used far more for business than pleasure. Whether it is for the tourist industry, work horses or transportation.
The Burmese pony is a breed local to the area. This breed is similar in confirmation to the Bhutia, Spiti and Manipuri ponies who collectively carry Mongolian and Arabian blood.
Due to a lack of strict breeding practices the lines of distinction between theses ponies have been blurred.
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It’s obvious from the pictures that life isn’t easy for all of the horses in Botswana. They are animals of prey in a place where there is prey large enough to be a danger to them.
However there is a Botswana Horse Society dedicated to organized horse riding. Many of the local horses are used for mounted safaris and tourist attraction during the day and often transportation to and from work as well.
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Bhutan is an interesting horse area, the animals are used in large part for work and agriculture.
In the late 1960’s & 70’s the Austrian government sent several small herds of Haflinger horses to Bhutan to work on a Swiss farm. However the Haflinger was found to be unsuitable for the local people, they were too large and not surefooted enough for the terrain.
More recently, in 2000 a small heard of Spiti horses were imported to begin a trial breeding program. The Spiti has similar characteristics to local animals and it is hoped they will be better suited to the needs of the locals.
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Andorra is located on the border of Spain and France in the Pyrenees Mountains. This gives them the luxury of access to some pretty amazing bloodlines and the Pyrenees produce hardy animals.
The horses in this area are clearly strong and able mountain horses used for both work and leisure. The jet black Ariegeois pony is native to the Pyrenees and small herds of fairly untouched bloodlines still exist in and around Andorra today.
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It was difficult to find much information about horses in Belize.
There was some information about horse racing traditions established early in the 20th century. However, these traditions stem from the people who came to Belize rather than those who are native there.
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Horses in Barbados are used in a wide variety of ways, namely depending upon the bank account size of their owners.
Not only are there a number of polo and racehorses to be found, there are also local animals used for tourism and transportation.
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Azerbaijan is a small country located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe.
This is an area rich horse history and is home to the karabakh breed which is named after a region of Azerbaijan which was developed as a war horse and carries Arabian blood.
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There are two horses indigenous to Albania, one a mountain horse and one from the plains. Although unregulated mixing of the blood has blurred the lines of distinction. These animals are thought to be of Tarpan Turkmene and Mongolian horse blood.
In the 1980’s there were measures taken to improve the horse stock and intensive breeding programs were established. Local animals were crossed with Arabians, Nonius and Haflingers to produce more robust animals for agriculture work.
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Horses are still very much used as work animals in Afghanistan, predominately for transportation. Because they are so widely used and adaptable they are a source of pride to their owners.
Many of these images show as much about life in Afghan culture as they do about horsemanship. Most of the images show fat, healthy looking horses who are clearly a source of pride (as well as labor) to their owners.
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There is an Estonian native breed one that retains many physical characteristics of the native northern horse. This particular breed has had little influence through the blood of other breeds.
This animal is also known for their kind disposition and robust frame – a stark contrast from the high strung light breeds of their neighboring Russia like the Akhal-Teke.
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I couldn’t find much information about horses in Armenia.