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American Bashkir CurliesThe Horses With Designer Genes |
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American Bashkir CurliesThe Horses With Designer Genes |
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Bashkir Curlies are of medium size but they also come in pony and draft sizes too. They somewhat resemble the early day Morgan in conformation and a number of traits have been found in this unique breed that links them to the primitive horse. Many individuals have been found without ergots. Some have small, soft chestnuts. Their soft, calm looking eyes have an unusual Oriental slant to them, which gives them a sort of sleepy look, but which also tends to give them a larger range of vision to the rear. The sleepy look is very deceiving, as they have a proud carriage, and are very alert, not lazy and most move at a running walk or fox-trot. Their unusually tough, black hooves are almost perfectly round in shape and many Curlies with white legs will still have four black hooves. They have an exceptionally high concentration of red blood cells; stout round-bone cannon; straight legs that also move straight; flat knees; strong hocks; short back which indicates five lumbar vertabrae; round rump without crease or dimple; powerful rounded shoulders; V'd chest and round barrel, all of which contribute to their strength and endurance. The foals arrive with thick, krinkly coats almost resembling astrakhan fur, even inside their short broad ears, and also have beautiful curly eyelashes. they are born with an unusually affectionate disposition, and insist on being friendly. When excited or at play, the foals move at a bold trot with their tails absolutely straight in the air.
One especially odd feature of the breed is the fact that they sometimes can completely shed out the mane hair (and sometimes even the tail hair) each summer, to grow back during the winter. The mane hair is usually fine and soft. They have a double mane, which splits down the middle leaving curly ringlets hanging on both sides of the neck. Their body coat sheds out in the summer and they become wavy or fairly straight on their body, with their beautiful coat returning in the late fall. Several winter coat patterns have been observed, from a crushed velvet effect, to a perfect marcel wave, to extremely tight curls over the entire body. It has been tested and proved that flat hair is curly, yet when the hair of Curlies were tested it was found to be round. One other thing about their hair that should be mentioned is that a number of owners who are allergic to horses find that they are not allergic to their Curlies!
Outcrossing produces color and since Curlies have necessarily been crossed with other breeds due to their own scarcity, they come in all colors even with Appaloosa or Pinto markings. Their most cherished qualities are their calmness and extremely gentle disposition. Many people feel that this is one of their finest features. Curlies have been taken off the open range, even full-grown animals, and in a day or two, they are gentler than horses that have been handled for years. Nothing seems to ruffle them. They do not tend to resort to flight when frightened, which has been claimed to be the horse's greatest means of survival. Curlies, with their naturally curious nature, prefer to kick rather than run. Although they will struggle frantically when first roped or haltered, their inherent gentleness willingly responds to kindness and affection, but they cannot seen to cope with, or tolerate abuse. They will tend to freeze in a tight spot so they seldom get themselves hurt, even if caught in barbed wire. They delight in human companionship and love to be talked to.
Performance-wise, Curlies are a no-nonsense horse and have an uncanny ability to do all that is asked of them, since they are unusually intelligent, learn quickly and have a remarkable memory (for either good or bad experiences). They have won trophies in Arena events, such as: Western Riding, Reining, Gymkhana events, Hunter, Jumper, Roping, English Equitation, Western Pleasure, Gaited Pleasure, Dressage and Driving. They have won in Competitive and Endurance Trail Riding and are excellent mounts in the mountains, ranch work and an all-around pleasure horse. 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. It is still a mystery how the Curlies came to the U.S. Many theories have been advanced on this 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. Indian pictographs illustrating the "Winter Counts" have noted that in the winter of 1801-02 the Sioux had stolen some curly horses from the Crow. The American Bashkir Curly Registry was established in 1971 in Ely, Nevada by a handful of breeders with a deep love for these unique horses. Their sole purpose was to preserve, propagate and promote them. The registry has three divisions: The Full Curly, Half-Bashkir and Straight.
In the Full Curly Division, Curlies must have both the sire and dam registered with ABC. ABC Straight dams (with N. 374 and under) with curly foals will be eligible in the Full Curly Division when bred to ABC Full Curly Stallions. There are three categories in this division. Appendix (A-), horses under the age of two, this certificate has a Green Border with an expiration date so the certificate can be updated when the horse is older and placed in either the Tentative or Permanent category. Tentative (T-), Red Border certificate, is for Stallions and Mares. And the Permanent (P-), Blue Border Certificate, is for Geldings, Stallions with five registered Curly get, Mares with two registered Curly produce, and horses with both sire and dam in the Permanent category.
The Half-Bashkir Division (HB-) consists of any good curly-coated horse with known or unknown parentage, with one or neither sire registered with ABC. Their offspring, if curly, will also be accepted in this division and so on down the line until pedigree shows two generations of ABC registered Curlies (ABC sire and dam and ABC grand sires and dams) in which case that curly offspring will be eligible for Full Curly Division. The Straight Division (S-) consists of any straight horse with both Curly sire and Curly dam registered with ABC. Stallions are not eligible until gelded.
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© 1997-2007
NW Breyer Horse Club & Refiner of Gold Creations Equinealities in place since 1997, Section in place 2001, Updated 3/13/2007 |
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