American Curly Bashkir (horse)

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 22:49

The American bashkir curlies is an extraordinary horse breed with many amazing qualities. Its origin is not entirely clear, and there are several theories about its origin.

According to one such theory, this horse comes from Russian Bashkir horses, although upon closer examination this theory does not seem too plausible. Sheng Thomas, author of The Curly Horse in America - Myths and Secrets, corresponded and consulted with Russian scientists, the USSR Ministry of Agriculture, the Moscow Zoo and other experts, found out that Russian Bashkir horses do not have curly-haired lines. However, experts have confirmed that the Lokai horse found in Tajikistan has a characteristic curly coat. Could a Lokay be the prototype of an American Bashkir?

In fact, this is practically impossible, since not a single record of these horses has been preserved in the logbooks of the ships that ferried Russian emigrants to the west coast of America. In addition, horses were used to a limited extent in Russian agriculture in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Herd breeding was not very successful, and most of the settlers were forced to keep a limited number of horses. In 1817, the Russian emigrants had only 60 horses. Goods were ferried to Okhotsk, the main Russian port that traded with Alaska, by ships, not horses. At that time, the journey through Siberia to the port was very dangerous, and almost half of the horses died every year trying to overcome this path. In this region, Yakut horses were used, named after the local population. Therefore, it is likely that any horse that came to America with emigrants was Yakut, and not Bashkir or Lokai, which originate from a region much south and west of Yakutia.

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Another theory about the origin of American Bashkirs claims that the ancestors of these horses could have crossed the ice isthmus to America during the Ice Age. However, there is no evidence to support the presence of horses on the American continent from the last Ice Age up to the invasion of the Spanish Conquistadors.

There are a number of other theories about the origin of the American Bashkirs, but upon closer examination, they are easily refuted or not supported by any facts at all. A DNA study was carried out on two hundred American Bashkirs to determine if this horse belongs to a separate breed. It turned out that this was not the case, and the development of this breed was influenced by a number of other breeds, for example, the American Quarter and the Morgan.

Fortunately, the modern history of the development of this breed is known to us. It begins in 1898, when a young Peter Damel and his father rode horseback through the mountainous countryside near Austin, Central Nevada. Father and son spotted three strange horses with steep curls all over their bodies. They became interested in these horses, they were especially worried about the question where they came from, the answer to which has not yet been given. In 1936, a very harsh winter stood out and by the spring only the curly mustangs survived. In 1942, an extremely cold winter came out again, and then the Damels seriously decided to start breeding curly horses. The founder was a two-year-old curly-haired stallion of auburn color. They named him Copper.

Since then, only curly horses have been bred at Damel's ranch, and Peter's son, Benny Damel, continues to breed them at his ranch to this day. Many American Bashkirs in America can be traced back to Damel's herd.

The breed was officially registered in 1971 and is very popular today. These are unusually stubborn and hardy horses that can survive in the most adverse climatic conditions.

Horses chosen from wild herds are easy enough to drive around and train, and those that grow up next to people have an unusually friendly and docile nature. They are great for agricultural work and sports, with excellent results in western and classic English competitions, show jumping, dressage, hippotherapy and horse shows. American curly horses are great for beginners.

One of the amazing features of this breed is that these horses are capable of completely shedding hair on the mane (and sometimes on the tail) in the summer and growing new hair for the winter. In addition, they shed their hair all over their bodies in summer, which grows back in winter. Winter coat in terms of curliness ranges from light waves to steep curls. The stronger the cold, the longer the coat will grow (from 2.5 to 10 cm).

Some purebred American Bashkirs have no curls at all and are called smooth-haired Bashkirs. These horses have double manes, they are not combed (so as not to spoil the curl), but trimmed. The tails of the Bashkirs are looked after in the same way as the tails of ordinary horses. It is not recommended to feed these horses with grain.

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American curly horses are very smart. For example, entangled in a barbed fence, they will not try to escape, but will stand and wait for them to be released. These horses are also trained quite quickly. Stallions easily get along with mares and foals.

Interestingly, people who are allergic to horse hair do not experience allergic attacks in the presence of curly-haired Bashkirs. The gene for curliness is quite dominant, therefore, the descendants of American Bashkir horses, crossed with smooth-haired horses, give curly offspring.

The height of the American curly-haired Bashkir is from 147.5 to 150 cm. Any color, but most often auburn. Body structure: rather heavy head, often with oriental-type eyes and a very wide forehead, rather short and muscular neck, well-proportioned body, muscular. In general, these are beautiful horses with active movements.