Karabakh Horse

The Karabakh is a horse from Azerbaijan.

There is a mountain horse that’s has a reputation for being very sure footed, and it makes it a popular riding horse. The Karabakh also used in traditional sports such as chavgan, a kind of horse polo and surpamakh, which is like a type basketball on horseback.

The breed has an almost a golden coat that is a legacy of the Akhal-teken breed of horse.

The Karabakh derived from the Karabakhbergen in Eurasia, where its predecessors were Wild Mountain and steppe horses. The Horse Breeders in the region took advantage of these horses, by developing their breed from some time in the 1800.

They had a natural talent in selecting horses which created a new and improved breed that were so sought after they made their way to countries several hundred miles away.

Therefore, the blood lines of these horses are compiled of several different strains of horse, which were accessible to the original breeders through the various trade routes.

The Karabakh has evolved from being a wild mountain horse to a riding horse through the influence of the Arabian horse, the Akhal-Teke, and the Turkoman horse which is a variety of desert horses that were closely related to the Arabic full-blood.

Another breed was developed producing a relative, another steppe horse called the Daliboz which is a variant of Karabakh.

In 2004 the timed speed record of the Karabakh horse when ran down a 1000 metre track was 1 minute and 9 seconds.

Attributes

The Karabakh horse has many similarities to both the Arab and the Akhal-teken. The horses are often quite noble, light in body and have good strong bone which produces good legs.

The Karabakh horse can have a conformation of the legs which would not be acceptable in other breeds, but it acceptable to the mountain breeds which can often be quite common.
The breed standards require that the horses are bold and easy to handle. The coat has a golden, metallic lustre.