History

As Guizhou is a mountainous province, agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 was developed as early as 770 B.C. in the basin area of the province, and trade in horses and salt

Salt

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

 was of great importance. Some breeds from outside the country were introduced in the 1950s but did not bring beneficial results, so the Guizhou is still bred in pure form and is classified as a native breed.

Uses

In plantation

Plantation

A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

 areas the horses were used mainly for cultivation

Tillage

Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shovelling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking...

 and transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

. In hilly regions this breed has always been a good pack horse, somewhat smaller than the type used for agricultural purposes. The Guizhou horse is active and vigorous, good for travel in hilly regions, and can trot

Trot (horse gait)

The trot is a two-beat diagonal gait of the horse, where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time. There is a moment of suspension between each beat....

 at a steady speed for long distances. This breed is the main power source for the mountain farmers.

Characteristics

Approximately half of the Guizhou horses are bay or 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...

, others being 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...

, black

Black (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...

, and dun

Dun gene

The dun gene is a dilution gene that affects both red and black pigments in the coat color of a horse. The dun gene has the ability to affect the appearance of all black, bay, or chestnut -based horses to some degree by lightening the base body coat and suppressing the underlying base color to the...

. This horse is compact and short bodied with a solid build. The head has a straight profile, ears small and set up. In the riding type the neck tends to be sloped, while the pack type has a level neck. The withers are medium in height and length; the chest is of good width and depth; the rump is short and sloping but well muscled; the shoulder is short and tends to be straight. The forelegs have good posture while the hind legs are often sickled; the hoof is solid and tough and shoes

Horseshoe

A horseshoe, is a fabricated product, normally made of metal, although sometimes made partially or wholly of modern synthetic materials, designed to protect a horse's hoof from wear and tear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall...

are unnecessary even in the mountains. The skin is thin; mane and tail are think. Guizhou horses are willing and obedient and have a kind, patient temperament.