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The Mongolian horse (mongolian Мор, mor) is the favourite animal of the Mongols, and not only because Genghis Khan conquered half the world with its help. The traditionally living nomads still hold more than 3 million animals, outnumbering the country's human inhabitants. Despite the small size, Mongolians reject the term "ponies".
In Mongolia, the horses live outdoors all year (at 30°C in summer down to -40°C in winter) and search for food on their own. The mare's milk is processed into the national beverage Airag, and some animals are slaughtered for meat. Other than that, they serve as riding animals, both for the daily work of the nomads and in horse racing.
Appearance
Mongolian horses are of a stocky build, with relatively short legs and a large head. They have a certain resemblance to wild horses. The mane and tail are very long, and often get used for braiding ropes. Especially the tail hair can be found on almost any violin bow worldwide. The hooves are very robust, and very few animals are fitted with Horseshoes.
Behaviour
Mongolian horses are frugal, arduous, and tread safely in rough terrain. In Mongolia, most animals are kept roaming free, and only a small number of riding animals get caught and tethered. Once the animal has become familiarized with carrying a rider, it will be calm, friendly, and very reliable.
The Mongolian saddle is very tall, with a wooden frame. It only allows marginal control of the gait. In most situations, the horse will decide the gait on its own, while the rider is occupied with other tasks (such as herding cattle). Very often, a Mongolian horse will choose to canter.
Racing horses with a child in the saddle will run in full gallop over 35 km at a time. They are trained to keep running even after losing their riders. In such a case, they need to be stopped in the finish zone by aides waiting there especially for that purpose.
Breeding history
The exact origins of the breed are hard to determine. Riding horses are documented with the nomads of the central asian steppes since 2000 BC. Tests have shown, that among all horse breeds, mongolian horses feature the largest genetic variety, followed by the tuwinian horses. This indicates that it is a very archaic breed suffering little human induced selection. The data also indicate that many other breeds descent from the Mongolian horses.
See also: List of horse breeds, Przewalski's Horse
"Mongolian horse"