- American Bashkir Curly -

An extraordinary breed with many unique qualities, the American Bashkir Curly is inordinately tough and enduring, and able to withstand the most extreme climatic conditions. There is some mystery concerning their origins and it wouldn't be exactly correct to list the United States as their country of origin. They have quite ancient origins and there are only two other breeds to have a curly coat similar to theirs, the Lokai and the Bashkir of the former U.S.S.R. Whatever their origins, the American Bashkir Curly was discovered in America in the Peter Hanson mountain range of Central Nevada in 1898. Two horseback riders spied three curly-coated horses living in the wild, and as of today many Curlys can be traced back to that original herd. In 1971 the American Bashkir Curly Registry was established in an effort to promote the breed; it worked and the breed is now enjoying increasing popularity.

Those horses that were captured from the wild herds are reasonably easy to tame and to train, and those raised in captivity are extraordinarily friendly and exhibit a tractable temperament. They perform in any area and give a powerful show in both Western and English classes, including jumping, dressage, pleasure riding, endurance riding, and all forms of ranch work.

Their most striking feature is their coat, which is very curly in the winter but less so in the summer. The curly gene is fairly dominant and even when Curlys are crossed with a flat-coated horse, a curly-coated horse is often produced. One unique factor about the American Bashkir Curly is that they shed their mane hair and often tail hair in the summer, growing it back for the winter. Also, many Curlys do not have ergots and they have very small, soft chestnuts. A perk to the Curlys is that in many cases people who are allergic to horse hair are not allergic to the Curly's coat. Curlys have a fairly heavy head, often with Oriental type eyes, and great width across the forehead. Their necks are short and muscular, and they are stoutly built and muscular throughout the body frame. Usually they are nicely proportioned and move with energetic action, sometimes having a natural foxtrot or running-walk gait. American Bashkir Curlys vary in height, but often stand between 14.3 and 15 hands high.

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