Altai Pony

The Altai is a breed originally from Siberia in Russia.  Used for riding and as a packhorse, the breed is especially suited to mountain areas and the cold, harsh climate.  Its withers are between 137-140 centimeters, and its colors are usually brown, chestnut, black, gray, and spotted.  Altai ponies are primitive and rugged and have evolved over the centuries to produce a horse that could handle the harsh climate of Siberia and the Altai Mountains, lying in Mongolia.

There is nothing written down about this breed’s history, but its most likely origin is from a wild Przewalski horse caught in Mongolia, which was then crossed with the Arabian Thoroughbred, Donhastar and Russian Heavy Draft.  They must have originated from large herds that bred throughout the year in order for the breed to become resistant to blizzards and temperatures that could fall well below minus 40 degrees.
In 1917, after the Russian Revolution, the Altai pony was crossed with heavy harness horses from Lithuania, their domestic workhorses, in hopes of getting a meaty horse to provide cheap food for the people.  But the attempts failed and the Altai pony continued to be bred as a mountain and pack horse for the nomads in the mountains.

During the 1990s there were some attempts to cross Altai ponies with English and Arabic Thoroughbreds in order to produce a nobler and larger variant more suitable for riding.  The influence of Arabian Thoroughbred horses can clearly be seen in the Altai, as it is quite narrow and has a small head that looks quite noble, particularly for a horse from the Siberian Mountains.  The head is of medium width and proportionate, sometimes with clearly Arabic features.
Nomads and mountain people depended on a sure-footed, hardy horse, with strong bones and a healthy heart and lungs.  The Altai is a perfect example of such a horse.  It is a good mountain horse that fulfills the nomadic people’s demands.