- Baise -

The Baise is a small horse from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China. As the climate there is nice and mild, horse breeding has been a part of the culture for centuries. Horse riding has been included in marriage ceremonies as early as 20 B.C. The earliest records of this horse, found in the Xilin and Guixian Counties in the Guangxi region, where two buried bronze statues covered with gold. These statues, of horses and riders, were found in 1972 and 1980. It is common belief that they are cultural relics belonging to the period of 206 to 25 B.C. The body structure and conformation of the horse statues are exactly like those of the Baise Horse.

In the record of Tiandong County, supposedly in the Han dynasty there was a horse market in the town of Pingma, where a lively horse trade began. The records of the Tianxi County state that Song dynasty  horses were an important part of the marriage ceremony and receptions.

The Baise has a solid conformation. Their heads are heavy with a straight profile,  wide jaw, and small ears. The neck is average in length, withers fairly pronounced, rounded ribs, back is level, and the croup is sloped. Their shoulders tend to be short and straight, with well-developed tendons and joints. The legs are strong with good, solid hooves and thick mane and tails. Their hind legs may sometimes be sickle-hocked.

Good pasture animals, these horses are raised in the open mountains at a high altitude. They are caught when they are needed for work, and they get to roam freely through the mountains the rest of the time. During farming season, they are generally kept in barns. It is a light breed that stands fourteen hands or taller, and they are mainly bay with some gray, chestnut, and black individuals. This breed is strong and fast with a good, willing temperament for work. They are used for riding, pack horses, carriage horses, and draft animals for working.

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