The Bashkir or Bashkort ( ba, Башҡорт аты, ''Bašǩort aty'') is the

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of the Bashkir people. It is raised mainly within

Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик� ...

, formerly known as Bashkiria, a republic within the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

which lies to the west of the southern

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

and extends to the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

. The principal centre of breeding is the capital,

Ufa Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...

History

The origins of the Bashkir horse are not known. In the nineteenth century its economic value was recognised, and steps were taken to increase both its working abilities and its traditional qualities as a producer of milk and meat. Breeding centres were set up in 1845. The Bashkir horse has been crossed with other breeds of the former USSR such as the Russian Heavy Draught; experimental crosses with Kazakh and Yakut horses have also been made. Bashkortostan has the third-highest horse population of the federal subjects of Russia, after the

Altai Krai Altai Krai (russian: Алта́йский край, r=Altaysky kray, p=ɐlˈtajskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai). It borders clockwise from the west, Kazakhstan (East Kazakhstan Region and Pavlodar ...

and the

Sakha Republic Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far Eas ...

. In 2003 the population of Bashkir horses was reported as 94,470; by early 2011 it had risen to almost 137,000.

Characteristics

The Bashkir is a small horse, standing about at the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

. It is wide in the body and deep-chested, with a thoracic circumference (girth) averaging about ; it has a large head and a short neck, low

and a flat

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...

. The legs are short with heavy bone;

cannon bone Good conformation in the limbs leads to improved movement and decreased likelihood of injuries. Large differences in bone structure and size can be found in horses used for different activities, but correct conformation remains relatively simil ...

measurement may reach . The most common coat colours are

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

, mouse grey and roan. The mane and tail are thick and the coat is also thick and often curly. A two-year study published in 1990 found it unlikely that the North American

Curly Horse A Curly is a breed of horse. Curlies, also called Bashkir Curlies, American Bashkir Curlies, and North American Curly Horses, come in all sizes, colors, and body types but all carry a gene for a unique curly coat of hair. Traits The Curlies ...

, which also has a curly coat and may be called "American Bashkir Curly", descends from the Bashkir breed. There are two distinct types: a smaller, lighter mountain type used mainly for riding, and a somewhat heavier steppe type. The horses are remarkably hardy. Herds may be managed extensively, and remain in the open in winter in snow and blizzard conditions where temperatures may reach

Use

The Bashkir is used for riding and for pack, harness, draught and farm work. It shows remarkable endurance; there are reports of these horses drawing troikas, three-horse sleighs, over distances of per day. Mares are abundant producers of milk. Average yield per year is 1500 or in a

lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The proces ...

of 240 days, with the best mares reaching . Much of the milk is made into

kumis ''Kumis'' (also spelled ''kumiss'' or ''koumiss'' or ''kumys'', see other transliterations and cognate words below under terminology and etymology – otk, airag kk, қымыз, ''qymyz'') mn, айраг, ''ääryg'') is a fermented dairy p ...

; kumis-making is a national activity of the Bashkiri people. Hair combed from the thick winter coat can be woven into cloth. File:Лорд 0151-1.jpg, Horses at Tra-Tau Mountain in

Ishimbaysky District Ishimbaysky District (russian: Ишимба́йский райо́н; ba, Ишембай районы, İşembay rayonı) is an administrativeConstitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Article 64 and municipalLaw #126-z district (raion), ...

File:Лошади на Банном.jpg, Horses in

Abzelilovsky District Abzelilovsky District (russian: Абзели́ловский райо́н; ba, Әбйәлил районы, ''Äbyälil rayonı'') is an administrativeConstitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Article 64 and municipalLaw #126-z district ...

File:Bashkort.jpg, Bashkir horseman, by

Aleksander Orłowski Aleksander Orłowski (9 March 1777 – 13 March 1832) was a Polish painter and sketch artist, and a pioneer of lithography in the Russian Empire. Life Orłowski was born in 1777 in Warsaw into an impoverished noble family, his father was a ta ...

File:Башкирский всадник.jpg, Bashkir horseman

References

{{Horse breeds of the Russian Federation Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Russia