Mongolian Horse

Origin: Mongolia.

Height: 12.2-14hh.

Color: Usually black, brown, bay, dun.

Character: Enormously enduring.

Physique: Thick-set and compact. Heavy head vvith small eye and short,thick ears. Short, thick neck, deep chest, a short, strong back. Good quarters,and tail set fairly high and thick-haired at the roots. Strong legs with plentyof bone, and round, hard feet. Abundant mane and tail. Extremely hardy,they can — and generally do — survive on poor fare, and little of it.

The above description of the Mongolian pony should be taken only as arough generalisation, since ponies approximating to this pattern are foundall over Mongolia, Tibet and China and little effort is made by breeders toconform to type. Though stallions are usually selected, trouble is seldomtaken to regulate the quality of the mares they breed to.

These are working ponies, bred in large numbers by nomadic tribes,surviving as best they can on whatever they can forage. They are used fora broad range of work — for herding, riding, carting, in agriculture, as packponies; and when not suitable for these tasks, and sometimes even whenthey are, they supply meat or milk for their masters. The mares are milked forthree months after foaling, and the milk is made into cheese or fermented intokumiss on equine dairy farms. It is thought that yogurt was a Mongolinvention made originally from mares' milk.

In a region as vast as the one covered by the Mongolian pony it is naturalthat many variations have developed, some because of differences inclimate and fodder and some due to imported blood or selective breeding.Among them are:

Wuchumutsin, a more refined Mongolian type reared on rich grassland;Heilung Kiang, having a large head with a slightly convex face; Hailar, Sanho and Sanpeitze, which carry the blood of imported Russianstallions and stand 14-1 5hh; a Russian-Mongolian cross standing 14.2-15hh, useful as a riding andpack animal.

The Mongolian is one of the most antique of all pony types. Its influenceis apparent in breeds throughout Asia and its extent is due to the nomadicand warlike habits of the Mongols, who took vast herds of ponies on theirtravels as a remuda. Even today Outer Mongolia has more horses per headof human population than anywhere else in the world.