The Međimurje horse (; hr, Međimurski konj, german: Murinsulaner, hu, Muraközi ló, sl, Medžimurski konj) is an

autochthonous Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to: Fiction * Autochthon (Atlantis), a character in Plato's myth of Atlantis * Autochthons, characters in the novel ''The Divine Invasion'' by Philip K. Dick * Autochthon, a Primordial in the ' ...

medium-heavy horse breed of

draught horse A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less o ...

originating from

Međimurje County Međimurje County (; hr, Međimurska županija ; hu, Muraköz megye) is a triangle-shaped county in the northernmost part of Croatia, roughly corresponding to the historical and geographical region of Međimurje. Despite being the smallest Cr ...

in northernmost part of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Characteristics

The typical Međimurje horse ranges from to high.

Stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

s can weigh up to . Compared with two other cold-blooded Croatian breeds, it is significantly taller and heavier than the Posavac horse (140–150 cm high) and closer in size to the Croatian Coldblood horse (150–160 cm). It has a relatively small head and small ears, short and strong neck, pronounced

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 ...

and powerful shoulders, well-developed chest and sturdy legs. The dominant 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, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

and

seal brown Seal brown is a rich dark brown color, resembling the color of the dyed fur from the fur seal. Usage The specifications for the U.S. Army Air Corps Type A-2 jacket (regulation summer flying jacket), adopted in 1931 and the most familiar among ...

, followed by

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, while the other ones are much more rare. The

temperament In psychology, temperament broadly refers to consistent individual differences in behavior that are biologically based and are relatively independent of learning, system of values and attitudes. Some researchers point to association of temperam ...

of the Međimurje horse is calm, even and affectionate, with good obedience and willingness to work, either to pull waggons or work in a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

. Following the introduction of machinery into

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

, the breed has lost its importance though, and is being used increasingly for

horsemeat Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Eurasia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3 million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early existen ...

production today. As for its pure-breeding, the genetical

analyses Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

were made recently, using samples of mitochondrial DNA of a significant number of both Croatian and Hungarian population of the breed, as well as related breeds ('' Posavac horse'', '' Croatian Coldblood horse'', ''

Noriker horse The Noriker horse, also called the Norico-Pinzgauer and historically known as the Pinzgauer horse, is a moderately heavy Austrian draught horse breed. The Noriker is considered indigenous to the central Alpine region of Europe, and is believ ...

'' etc.), and showed that Međimurje horse is an autochthonous breed with origin linked to some other, mostly neighbouring, cold-blooded horse breeds.

History

The beginning of the breed dates back to the end of the 18th or the beginning of the 19th century, when it was started to

crossbreed A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to mai ...

native mares (having

Anglo-Arabian The Anglo-Arabian or Anglo-Arab is a crossbred, part-Arabian horse that now also has its own status as a horse breed. It is the result of a Thoroughbred (hence, the prefix "Anglo") being crossed with an Arabian. The cross can be made b ...

characteristics) with imported stallions of

Noriker The Noriker horse, also called the Norico-Pinzgauer and historically known as the Pinzgauer horse, is a moderately heavy Austrian draught horse breed. The Noriker is considered indigenous to the central Alpine region of Europe, and is belie ...

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

Percheron The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well muscled, and ...

and

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Br ...

breeds. Since Međimurje County then administratively belonged to Hungarian

Zala County Zala ( hu, Zala megye, ; ; ) is an administrative county ( comitatus or ''megye'') in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia ( Koprivnica–Križevci and Međimurje Counties) and Slovenia ( Lend ...

(during the most of 19th century, except between 1848 and 1861), international professional literature frequently quoted that the Međimurje horse descended from Hungary. Once widely spread over parts of the Habsburg monarchy – mostly in northern Croatia (besides Međimurje, there were significant populations in Zagorje,

Podravina ''Podravina'' (in Croatian) or ''Podravje'' (in Slovenian) are Slavic names for the Drava river basin in Croatia and Slovenia. History Between 1929 and 1941 a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia known as the ''Drava Banovina'' (Drava province) ...

etc.), southwestern

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

, eastern

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

and eastern

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

– the breed is endangered today, with a remaining small population of only around 40 individuals in its original area in Croatia, and a larger one on the north side of the

Mura River The Mur () or Mura (; ; ; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Müra''Novak, Vilko. 2006. ''Slovar stare knjižne prekmurščine''. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU, pp. 262, 269. or ''Möra'') is a river in Central Europe rising in the Hohe Tauern national park of th ...

in southwestern Hungary, as well as in eastern Slovenia.

External links

Međimurje horse (with average height at the withers: 155-165 cm) in a brochure of State Institute for Nature Protection (''in Croatian'')

Međimurje horse (Murinsulaner) – one of the native horse breeds of Croatia

Exterior features of croatian autochthonous horse breeds (summary, in Croatian)

Medžimurje horse - one of transboundary breeds in Croatia, Slovenia and Austria (from the workshop „Sub-regional and transboundary challenges and opportunities for gene banking“

Phylogenetic analysis of Medjimurje horse

Mitochondrial DNA evidence made by Faculty of agriculture - Laboratory of conservation genetics at University of Zagreb on web-pages of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medimurje horse Horse breeds originating in Croatia Horse breeds Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy

Characteristics

History

See also

External links