THEY ARE HERE!!!
Beamer and her daughter Gypsy
(Photos below are by Judith Kalisch)
*RR Black Magic Woman
aka - Beamer
*Moon's Magic Gypsy
aka - Gypsy
Gypsy's first day of life.
Beamer and Gypsy
Beamer's summer and winter coat. Look at those curls!
Bashkir Curly Horse
The exact origin of the
Bashkir Curly Horse is one of the greatest mysteries of the horse world.
Horses with curly coats are most certainly an ancient breed. They have been
depicted in art and statuary in early China as far back as 161 AD. There has
been evidence of their presence in South America and Europe. A photo of a curly
coated Bashkir horse from Russia was printed in the 1938 March issue of the
Nature magazine entitled "The Evolution of the Horses". The horse's picture was
later drawn by John Hix and featured in a cartoon called "Strange as it Seems".
The clipping had been saved in a scrapbook by the Damele (Duh-mel'ly) family
(early day curly horse breeders in Nevada). This information was one of the
factors that helped in determining the name of this unique breed, the American
Bashkir Curly Horse.
It is still a mystery how the Curlies came to the US. Many theories have been
advanced on the subject, but no factual proof has yet been found. But there is
evidence that Curlies have been in North America since the early 1800's. Many
Indian pictographs illustrating the "Winter Counts" have noted that in the
winter of 1801-1802 the Sioux had stolen some curly horses from the Crow. This
incident placed the tribes at the Standing Rock/Cheyenne River Reservation at
the mouth of the Grand River. A significant location of the Curlies today has
been traced to Indian Reservations in North and South Dakota. Many Curlies then
and now have been acquired from the wild horses that roam the lands of the
United States. They have been domesticated, bred and raised by ranchers
throughout the United States and Canada.
One theory why curly coated horses ended up roaming with the wild mustangs of
the West, was that the Russian Bashkir Curly horses, that were originally
shipped with the Russian colonist who tried to settle America’s Northwest
territory during the 1700’s, had set their remaining horses free after
abandoning their westward expansion. Unfortunately, through further research
including consultations with Russian scientists, the Moscow Zoo and the Ministry
of Agriculture, it was determined that there are no curly haired horses from the
Bashkir region.
Another theory is that the ancestor of the Bashkir Curly Horse might have
crossed the land bridge during the last Ice Age. But there is no fossil evidence
to support the existence of horses in the America's from the last Ice Age until
the reintroduction of horses to this hemisphere by the Spanish.
Formation of the American Bashkir Curly Horse Breed
Fortunately, more is known about the development of the modern Bashkir Curly Horse.
The modern day history of
American Bashkir Curly dates to 1898, when young Peter Damele and his father
were riding the Peter Hanson Mountains in the remote high country of Central
Nevada, near Austin. Peter recalled seeing three horses with tight curly
ringlets over their entire bodies. It was intriguing to both father and son as
to where these horses had come from and just why they were there, questions that
as you can see are still not answered. However, from that day to this, there
have always been curly-coated horses on the Damele range. Many of the Bashkir
Curly Horses in the U.S. can be traced back to the Damele herd.
Establishing The American Bashkir Curly Horse Registry in 1971, the founders set
out to save these animals from extinction in the U.S., as it was found that too
many of them, through ignorance, were being slaughtered. They then began the
process of establishing breeding traits. To accomplish this, owners were asked
to list the characteristics unique to the Bashkir Curly Horse. When compiled
these brought out several interesting features of the breed.
Contact -- Heather Ferry and Jason Seidel -- 979-421-2901 -- ferrytailpei@yahoo.com
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~ Designed by Heather Ferry of Sun and Star Farm ~
Last Update 12-20-07