page_title: Mongolian horse
section_title: Characteristics
hierarchical_section_title: Mongolian horse / Characteristics
caption_attribution_description: English: Mongolian horse
context_page_description: The Mongol horse is the native horse breed of Mongolia. The breed is purported to be largely unchanged since the time of Genghis Khan. Nomads living in the traditional Mongol fashion still hold more than 3 million animals, which outnumber the country's human population. In Mongolia, the horses live outdoors all year, dealing with temperatures from 30 °C in summer down to −40 °C in winter, and they graze and search for food on their own. The mare's milk is processed into the national beverage airag. Some animals are slaughtered for meat. Other than that, they serve as riding and transport animals; they are used both for the daily work of the nomads and in horse racing.
  Mongol horses were a key factor supporting the 13th-century conquests of the Mongol Empire.
context_section_description: Mongol horses are of a stocky build, with relatively short but strong legs and a large head. They weigh about 500 to 600 lbs. and range in size from 12 to 14 hands (48 to 56 inches, 122 to 142 cm) high. Their cannon bone external circumference is about 8 inches (200 mm). They have a slight resemblance to Przewalski's horse and were once believed to have originated from that subspecies.  However, that theory was disproven in 2011 by genetic testing. Przewalski's horse has been conclusively shown not to be an ancestor of any domestic horse, though it can interbreed with domesticated horses to hybridize and produce fertile offspring. Of the caballine equines, E. ferus,  only E. ferus ferus, also known as the European wild horse or "tarpan," shares ancestry with the modern domestic horse.
  The mane and tail of the Mongol horse are very long. Their strands are often used for braiding ropes; the tail hair can be used for violin bows. Mongolian horses have great stamina; although they have small bodies, they can gallop for 10 km without a break. When pulling a cart, a team of four Mongol horses can draw a load of 4400 lbs for 50–60 km a day. Because the horses are allowed to live much the same as wild horses, they require little in the way of hoof care. The hooves are left untrimmed and unshod, and few farriers are in the country. Mongol horses have hard, strong hooves and seldom have foot problems. Sometimes, horses will be branded.
  Horses from different regions of Mongolia are considered to have different traits.  Desert horses are said to have larger feet than average ("like camel's feet").  Mountain horses are short and particularly strong.  Steppe horses are the tallest, fastest variety of Mongol horses.  Specifically, the eastern Khentii Province and Sükhbaatar Province steppe provinces are widely considered to produce the fastest horses in the country.  Darkhad horses are known for their strength. A Darkhad horse weighing only 250 kg can carry a load of 300 kg—the equivalent of carrying another horse on its back.  On a broader level, some Mongolian provinces are considered to be more suitable for horse rearing than others.  The eastern steppe provinces are informally known as the "horse provinces" because of their suitability for horse breeding. The northern mountain provinces are considered "cow provinces", though horses are reared there, as well.
  A wide variety of horse colorations are seen.  People in the different regions of Mongolia favor different colors of horses and breed accordingly.  The Darkhad ethnic group prefers white horses, while the Nyamgavaa prefer dun, bay, or black horses and shun white-colored animals.  Some horses are bred for the preferences of foreign markets.  Elizabeth Kendall, travelling through southern Mongolia in 1911, wrote, "I was struck by the number of white and grey ponies, and was told that horses are bred chiefly for the market in China, and this is the Chinese preference."  She also observed that the northern Mongolian herds near Tuerin seemed to consist mainly of black and chestnut horses.
  Herdsmen breed horses primarily for color and speed, but also for conformation, disposition, and lineage.  In Mongolia, conformation is not stressed so strongly as it is in Western culture.  However, a few traits are preferred in a horse.  When walking, a horse should leave hind footprints that fall upon or outside the fore footprints.  A desirable animal should also have a large head, thick bones, a large barrel, thick legs, be tall (but not so tall as to impede winter survival), possess a thick coat for cold resistance, have a thick mane and tail, and a Roman nose; the latter is considered important because dish-faced horses are considered to have difficulty grazing.
  Giovanni de Carpini was one of the first Westerners to describe Mongol horses, observing, "...[they] are not very great in stature, but exceedingly strong, and maintained with little provender."
  Mongol horses are frugal, hardy, somewhat wily, and tread safely in rough terrain.  In Mongolia, most animals are kept roaming free, and onl
caption: Small, shaggy Mongol horse on the steppe where horses are allowed to roam free, browsing at will
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