Bosnian Pony
Encyclopedia
The Bosnian Pony is a member of the group of horses known as the Balkan breeds, and is thought to be descended from a cross between the Tarpan
and the Asian Wild Horse.
breeds of pony, and the triad is generally known collectively as the Balkan breeds. The breeds are all considered ancient, and the Bosnian Pony is thought to have developed through a cross between the Tarpan and the Asian Wild Horse, also known as the Przewalski horse.
It is thought that there were infusions of oriental stock by the Turks
during the Ottoman Empire
, after which more Tarpan blood was added to make the modern Bosnian Pony breed.
Beginning in the 1900's, the Bosnian Pony has been selectively bred through government-controlled breeding programs. The principle breeding center for many years was the Borike Stud in Bosnia. The state controlled all breeding stallions, while mares were privately owned. During the 1940s three stallions, Agan, Barat, and Misco, were used to improve the breed. Agan and Barat resembled the Asian Wild Horse type, while Misco was a lighter type.
Until the Bosnian War, there were strict standards, including performance tests, for stallions in order to assure the quality of the breed. This strict control resulted in a pony that was functional and had a variety of uses.
, gray
, chestnut
or palomino
in color. They have a heavy head with a straight profile, a short, muscular neck, fairly flat withers, long, sloping shoulders, and a deep chest. The back is straight and the quarters sloping. The legs are well-muscled, although short, with clean, broad joints and strong tendons.
The breed bears a strong resemblance to the Asian Wild Horse, although more refined due to the influence of oriental blood.
Tarpan
Tarpan is an extinct subspecies of wild horse. The last individual of this subspecies died in captivity in Russia in 1909....
and the Asian Wild Horse.
History
The Bosnian Pony bears many similarities to both the Hucul and the KonikKonik
The Konik or Polish primitive horse is a small horse, a kind of semi-feral horse, originating in Poland. The Polish word konik is the diminutive of koń, the Polish word for "horse" . However, the name "konik" or "Polish konik" is used to refer to certain specific breeds...
breeds of pony, and the triad is generally known collectively as the Balkan breeds. The breeds are all considered ancient, and the Bosnian Pony is thought to have developed through a cross between the Tarpan and the Asian Wild Horse, also known as the Przewalski horse.
It is thought that there were infusions of oriental stock by the Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
during the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, after which more Tarpan blood was added to make the modern Bosnian Pony breed.
Beginning in the 1900's, the Bosnian Pony has been selectively bred through government-controlled breeding programs. The principle breeding center for many years was the Borike Stud in Bosnia. The state controlled all breeding stallions, while mares were privately owned. During the 1940s three stallions, Agan, Barat, and Misco, were used to improve the breed. Agan and Barat resembled the Asian Wild Horse type, while Misco was a lighter type.
Until the Bosnian War, there were strict standards, including performance tests, for stallions in order to assure the quality of the breed. This strict control resulted in a pony that was functional and had a variety of uses.
Characteristics
The Bosnian Pony generally stands 12.1 to 14 hands high, and may be bay, brown, blackBlack (horse)
Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and novices frequently mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. However, some breeds of horses, such as the Friesian horse, Murgese and Ariegeois are almost exclusively black...
, gray
Gray (horse)
Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
, chestnut
Chestnut (coat)
Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
or palomino
Palomino
Palomino is a coat color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" base coat...
in color. They have a heavy head with a straight profile, a short, muscular neck, fairly flat withers, long, sloping shoulders, and a deep chest. The back is straight and the quarters sloping. The legs are well-muscled, although short, with clean, broad joints and strong tendons.
The breed bears a strong resemblance to the Asian Wild Horse, although more refined due to the influence of oriental blood.