Kyrgyz Horse

The Kyrgyz Horse or Kirgiz Horse is a traditional breed of small horse from the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan).^[2] Kyrgyz people associate it with their nomadic past.^[4]: 12 During the Soviet era of Kyrgyz history, the Kyrgyz Horse was cross-bred with imported foreign breeds, including Don and Thoroughbred strains, to create a new and larger breed, the Novokirgiz or New Kirgiz.^[3]: 489

Kyrgyz Horse

A mare being milked in Suusamyr, Kyrgyzstan
Conservation status	FAO (2007): not at risk[1]: 81
Other names	Kirgiz[2] Kirgizskaya[2]
Country of origin	Kyrgyz Republic
Distribution	nation-wide
Use	riding horse harness horse meat milk
Traits
Height	130–142 cm[3]: 480
Colour	dark colours grey
Breed standards
Fondation Kyrgyz Ate
Equus ferus caballus

Kyrgyz Horse in 1894, illustration from Les races chevalines - avec une étude spéciale sur les chevaux russes

Kok-boru in Kyrgyzstan, circa 1872

History

In the late nineteenth century there were some two million Kyrgyz horses in the area that is now Kyrgyzstan.^[5] During the Soviet era, the traditional Kyrgyz horse was cross-bred with larger but weaker imported foreign breeds, including Don and Thoroughbred strains, to create a new breed, the Novokirgiz or New Kirgiz.^{[3]: 489 [5]} Numbers of the traditional native breed were greatly reduced,^[5] but have since shown some recovery.^[6] The population of the Kyrgyz breed was last reported to DAD-IS in 2002, when the total population was 78 300 head.^[2] In 2007 its conservation status was recorded by the FAO as "not at risk".^[1]: 74

An association for the protection of the Kyrgyz Horse, the Fondation Kyrgyz Ate, was set up in Bishkek in the early twenty-first century. A breed standard was drawn up, based partly on a description found in archives in Saint Petersburg, and was approved by the national ministry of agriculture.^[4]: 14

Characteristics

The Kyrgyz Horse is a small mountain horse. It is sure-footed and agile, with the necessary stamina and endurance for the mountain environment.^{[4]: 14 [7]} The coat may be dark or grey.^[3]: 480

Use

The Kyrgyz Horse is used as a riding horse, for horse-racing, and as a light harness horse. It is important for production of meat and milk.^[3]: 480 Horsemeat production in Kyrgyzstan in 2002 was 24 800 tonnes, about one eighth of the total meat produced in that year.^[8]: 14 The mare's milk is often fermented to make kumis.^[4]: 14

With traditional mounted games such as kok-boru (also known in Kyrgyzstan as ulak-tartysh), oodarysh (mounted wrestling) and kyz-kuumai (meaning roughly "chase the girl"), the Kyrgyz Horse may be perceived as a symbol of the pre-Soviet nomadic past of Kyrgyz people, and thus as an element of post-Soviet Kyrgyz culture and national identity.^{[4]: 14 [5][6]}

See also

• Horses in Kyrgyzstan