China is home for almost all species of horses with its vast territory and diverse climate. In the Chinese ancient history, equestrian nations once created splendid achievements, so there is an inseparable relation between Chinese people and the horse. Generally, the Chinese horse species can be divided into two groups: the native varieties, such as Mongolianhorse, Kazakh horse,Hequhorse andYunnanhorse; and the cultivated varieties, such asSanhehorse ofInnerMongolia andIlihorseofXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Mongolian Horse
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| Mongolian horse (oil painting) |
Mongolian horse, mainly live on the Mongolian grassland, is a relatively immemorial horse family in China or even all over the world.
It isa typical grassland horse variety. With an average height of 120 cm to 135 cm and a weight of 267 kg to 370 kg, they are actually not large in physique, which are characterized by stout body, solid and mighty limbs, rough and robust constitution, big head and wide forehead, short legs, sturdy muscle tendon. Their bodies are heavily covered with hair of diversified colors. They have surprisingly strong vitality, enduring hardship and wintriness and surviving under rough and execrable condition. They can travel 60 km more or less in 8 hours. Being intrepid without comparison, the domesticated Mongolian horse is a favorite war-horse all through the ages.
Kazakh Horse
Kazakh horse, originated from Xinjiang, is also a kind of grassland horse variety. It mainly characterized by medium-sized head, comeliness, short ears, long and thin neck, upright mane, narrow chest, knife-shaped hind limbs.
During the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD), Emperor Wu sent the famous diplomat Zhang Qian to Turkestan (or the Western Region), today's Ili in Kazakstan,in search of well-bred horses, which may be the predecessor of Kazakh horse. In the Mid-Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Huihe tribe sold hundreds of thousands of horses to the Tang Dynasty annually, in which a great many are Kazakh horses. All this prove that most horse varieties in northwestern China have some blood relationship with theKazakh horse.
Hequ Horse
Hequ horse, usually an article of tribute in ancient china, is also an ancient and well-bred variety. They originated on the grassland adjoining Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan provinces in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. With an average height of 132 cm to 139 cm and a weight of 350 kg to 450 kg, they are endowed with the hugest physique among all local horse varieties in China. They have long and big head, ridgy nose bridge in the shape of a rabbit head, thick neck, deep and wide chest cage, and stout physique. With a load of 100 kg to 150 kg, they can travel 50 km per day. Hequ horse, with remarkable endurance, is docile and quick to recover from fatigue. Withallthese characteristics, they are often used in laborious farming work.
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