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.
Today this ancient breed is often used as a pack animals or trail horse for trekking. Their robust nature & sure feet make them perfect for mountainous trails.
Pure Strain
While there may have been new blood introduced over the years (which is strictly controlled), there is always a portion of the breed 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 their ancestral qualities.
Learning More
Be sure to check out our own Altai page – we couldn’t find any official sites for this breed (in English anyway).
Have Pictures?
As of now we have very few images of the Altai for our informative page on them. If you have images (or information about the breed – including an official website) you’d be interested in sharing, please get in touch today.