Saturday, September 25, 2010

The real Wild Horses I

I think I've made it fairly clear that American Mustangs aren’t actually wild horses and are actually feral horses descended from domesticated animals that escaped and adapted to life in the wild. There is a few known surviving wild hoses species today one of which is Przewalski's Horse. Unlike the American Mustangs, Przewalski's Horse has never been successfully domesticated and remains a truly wild animal to this day. Other wild equines, include three species of zebra and various subspecies of the African wild ass, onager and kiang.

Przewalski's Horse occupied the eastern Eurasian steppes, perhaps from the Urals to Mongolia, although the ancient border between Tarpan and Przewalski distributions has not been clearly defined. Przewalski's Horse was limited to Dzungaria and western Mongolia in the same period, became extinct in the wild during the 1960s, but was re-introduced in the late 1980s to two preserves in Mongolia. Although researchers such as Marija Gimbutas theorized that the horses of the Chalcolithic period were Przewalski's, more recent genetic studies indicate that Przewalski's Horse is not an ancestor to modern domesticated horses.Przewalski's Horse is still found today, though it is an endangered species and for a time was considered extinct in the wild. Roughly 1500 Przewalski's Horses are protected in zoos around the world.




A small breeding population has been reintroduced in Mongolia.As of 2005, a cooperative venture between the Zoological Society of London and Mongolian Scientists has resulted in a free-ranging population of 248 animals in the wild.Przewalski's Horse has some biological differences from the domestic horse; unlike domesticated horses and the Tarpan, which both have 64 chromosomes, Przewalski's Horse has 66 chromosomes due to a Robertsonian translocation. However, the offspring of Przewalski and domestic horses are fertile, possessing 65 chromosomes.




Conservation Staus:

Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)



Przewalski's Horse is stockily built in comparison to domesticated horses, with shorter legs. Typical height is about 13 hands (52 inches, 132 cm), length is about 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in). They weigh around 300 kilograms (660 lb). The coat is generally dun in color with pangare features, varying from dark brown around the mane (which stands erect) to pale brown on the flanks and yellowish-white on the belly and around the muzzle. The legs of Przewalski's Horse are often faintly striped, also typical of primitive markings. The tail is about 90 cm (35.43 in) long, with a longer dock and shorter hair than seen in domesticated horses.


Where are they? The world population of these horses are all descended from 9 of the 31 horses in captivity in 1945.These nine horses were mostly descended from approximately 15 captured around 1900. A cooperative venture between the Zoological Society of London and Mongolian scientists has resulted in successful reintroduction of these horses from zoos into their natural habitat in Mongolia; and as of 2005 there is a free-ranging population of 248 animals in the wild. The total number of these horses according to a 2005 census was about 1,500.


Other names for Przewalski's Horse:

Equus ferus przewalskii
Mongolian: Тахь
Takhi
simplified Chinese: 野马
traditional Chinese: 野馬
 Yěmǎ
Dzungarian Horse

Monday, September 13, 2010

Titan


The Livingstons recently adopted a rescue pony for their daughter. His name is Titan and he's ridiculously small! So far their daughter Riley Grace adores him and has been leading him around all over the place. It's pretty much like walking a dog for her.
Taught Titan to stand on the pedestal. Riley Grace is holding the end of the leadrope.


She's giving him a kiss in this picture.

To get the full impact of how small he is, compare to a full sized quarter horse. This horse is about 16 hands.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Final week of my summer job

This is my last week as a representative for the Mustang Heritage foundation (it was only a summer job). In fact this blog was set up as a requirement for that position. But I don't think I'm going to abandon it just yet... I've really enjoyed blogging and it has really motivated me to take pictures and document my experiences with Allegro and other mustangs. I've also met some wonderful people on this site with similar interests! So, in short, this will be my last official blog post as a Representative but the blog will live on!



Working Allegro on the lunge line. For him it's more of a challenge to hold back that energy and walk at a steady pace rather than building and keeping that speed. I suppose the name "Allegro" is kind of a tip off to that though...
Speaking of which I think I'll share where I got the name from!

al·le·gro (Music Definition) ADVERB & ADJECTIVE: Abbr. allo
In a quick, lively tempo, usually considered to be faster than allegretto but slower than presto. Used chiefly as a direction.


Allegro (Ballet Definition)
Meaning brisk, lively. A term applied to all bright, fast, or brisk movements. All steps of elevation such as the entrechat, cabriole, assemblé, jeté and so on, come under this classification. The majority of dances, both solo and group, are built on allegro. The most important qualities to aim at in allegro are lightness, smoothness and ballon (ballon means to bounce).

I had just taken him out of the pasture so he looks rather ungroomed of at least he would if the sun wasn't gleaming off him so brightly!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Highlights from past EMM!

October 22-24, 2010 is when the Extreme Mustang Makeover, Murfreesboro, TN will be!
It's sure to be an exciting weekend full of entertainment and adoption opportunities. There will be over 80 gentled mustangs available for adoption with 55 Adult and 25 Youth Trainers Selected for the makeover.

Here's a link to more information on where to go and how to buy tickets as well as rules and regulations:

http://www.extrememustangmakeover.com/emmtennessee.php

Here are some highlights from past Makeovers:











I'm definitely looking forward to going again!

I just recently had to start blanketing Allegro on the colder nights now it's fall. I have to say the Slinky/blanket combo is pretty much atrocious. The slinky has bright flames on it. The first time the neighbors saw it I'm pretty sure they thought it was some sort of ridiculous horse costume. I'll have to put up some pictures later...