Horse
Breed Description:
The Curly breed of horse (also called the American Curly or the American Bashkir Curly) is a relatively rare horse with a curly winter coat. The curl can range from a crushed velvet effect to a very tight microcurl. A Curly may be curly all over or only on certain areas of its body. The Curly breed of horse's manes and forelocks likewise can be corkscrew, ringlet, or dreadlock, and their ear hair, eyelashes, fetlocks, and whiskers are also wavy to curly. In the spring, Curlies shed out to straight or wavy short coats for the summer. Some horses also shed their mane and tail hairs, growing them back in the autumn. The curly-haired trait is genetically dominant, and the Curly breed of horse transmits the curly characteristic to its offspring about fifty percent of the time, even when mated to horses without the curly coat. Curly foals arrive with the curly coats, curls inside their ears, and curly eyelashes. The Curly breed of horse comes in all common horse colors, including Appaloosa and Pinto. They are medium-sized horses, with wide set eyes, notably round hard black hooves, straight legs, and strong hocks. Curlies have pleasantly smooth lateral gaits. They have been found to have an exceptionally high concentration of red blood cells. Traits linking them to primitive horses include the fact that many individuals lack ergots (the hard knots at the point of the fetlock) and some have small, soft chestnuts (the horny protuberances found on the inside of the horse's forelegs and sometimes hind legs). The Curly breed of horse is quite versatile, performing well in ranch work pleasure, trail, and endurance riding, hunting, jumping and roping events, as well as dressage and barrel racing. They make good all-purpose and family horses. Curlies are said to be hypoallergenic, but this has not been proven.
Temperament:
The Curly breed of horse has a calm disposition, and is easy train, making them ideal for beginners.
Height:
The Curly breed of horse typically stands 14.3 to 15.2 hands high.
Weight:
The Curly breed of horse weighs between 950 and 1,100 pounds.
Health Problems:
The Curly breed of horse is resilient and hardy, with no known breed-specific health problems.
Living Conditions:
The Curly breed of horse is hardy and does very well living outside. Curlies are usually easy keepers. They can survive harsh winter conditions without a lot of extra care.
Grooming:
The Curly breed of horse requires normal grooming care. They can often do without shoes, and do not need winter blanketing. Curlies typically are not clipped in the winter, except perhaps for hardworking horses to enable faster cooling. Curlies are usually left their ear hairs, whiskers, and fetlock hairs. The Curly breed of horse can be ideal for people who prefer natural horsekeeping; they do well with good basic natural care.
Origin:
The origin of the Curly breed of horse is unclear. At one time, it was believed to have originated from the ancient Bashkir breed of Russia, but this is almost certainly untrue. First, the Lokais is the Russian breed with a curly coat. Second, it has not been proven that any curly-coated horses were shipped from Siberia to Alaska. Finally, even if such horses were exported to the Alaskan settlements, it is unlikely that they made their way to Nevada. Thus, the origin of the Curly breed of horse remains a mystery.
The Curly breed of horse was originally discovered by white men in the mustang herds of eastern Nevada, in the late 1800s. These Curlies were rounded up, along with other mustangs, and trained to be ranch horses. They proved in many cases to be easier and faster to train than the other mustangs and were capable of surviving even the harshest winters. The ranchers began breeding from the Curlies to improve their ranch stock. Many of today's Curly breed of horse come from these Western Curlies. The feral mustang herds still include Curly horses.
