The Mongolian horse (also known as the Адуу/Aduu or Mori) is Mongolia’s native horse breed and one of Central Asia’s indigenous breeds. It is one of over 200 recognized horse breeds and has been gaining popularity outside of Mongolia, especially since the creation of the Mongol Derby in 2009. This animal is among the oldest horse breeds and has ancient bloodlines, as evidenced by having the highest known genetic diversity compared to Thoroughbreds, Arabians, and the Przewalski’s horse, or Takhi, as well as having among the highest variation of mtDNA D-loop sequences.

Quick Facts About Mongolian Horses

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Species Name: Equus ferus caballus

Family: Equidae

Care Level: Independent; while it can survive with minimal attention compared to other horse breeds, it still requires the same basic care (access to forage, water, shelter, and freedom of movement)

Temperament: Tough, willing, friendly, patient, loyal

Color Form: Almost all known equine colors—Red (Sorrel/Chestnut), Black, Bay, Palomino, Buckskin, Dun, including variations such as Dunskin/Dun and Buckskin, Dunalino/Dun and Palomino, and Grullo/Dun and Black], Gray, Roan, Double-Dilutes (Cremello, Perlino, and Smokey Cream), and assorted white/spotting patterns, including Tobiano and Leopard Complex.

Lifespan: 20–40 years

Size: Adult height ranges from 48–56 inches (12–14 hands) tall. Weight is typically 500–800 pounds.

Diet: Mostly forage (grass and hay), occasionally grain; water.

Enclosure Size: Minimum of 400ft² per horse in “dry” lots, or 1/2 to 2 acres of pasture, depending on climate. Maximum is as much space as can be provided.

Mongolian Horse Overview The Mongolian horse has remained unchanged since before Chinggis Khan’s time; nomads of the Central Asian Steppes have been riding horses since at least 2000 BCE and domesticated them sometime between 8000–3000 BCE. Historically, these horses allowed for the Mongol conquest of approximately 56.76% of the “known world”— around 12 million square miles of the Eurasian landmass and 21.14 million square miles of Northern African landmass. This is partly due to the abundant grass and water available to them, paired with their long-distance endurance. The Mongolian horse was used to develop or influence other breeds all over Asia and Europe—including genetic links to native Japanese, Scandinavian (like the Norwegian Fjord and Nordlandshest), the Icelandic, and British Isles breeds. Today, Mongolian horses serve as a source of food. Each mare produces roughly 662 pounds of milk per year and an average-sized 600-pound horse yields approximately 240 pounds of meat. This breed is also used in horse racing, and transporting animals, especially by the nomadic herders. They are also valuable for their mane and tail hair. The Mongolian people revere both the wild horses, or Takhi, and the domestic horses. The first foal born of the year, thought to represent the strength of that year’s foal crop, will have a blue khadag (a long silk scarf; the blue color being symbolic of Tengri, the Eternal Blue Sky) tied around its neck. The family’s sacred horse will also have a blue khadag tied around the neck and may only be ridden on rare occasions by the head of the family. Tserendeleg, the president of the Mongolian Association for Conservation of Nature and the Environment, says, “It is not possible to imagine Mongolian history without horses. I think it is not possible to view the future of Mongolia without horses as well; Mongolia is not Mongolia without horses.”

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How Much Do Mongolian Horses Cost? A Mongolian horse can cost between roughly $100 (₮300,000) and $1,650 (₮5,000,000), depending on its coloration, conformation, disposition, lineage, racing ability, and gaiting ability; some amble and-or pace in addition to the “usual” three gaits of walk, trot, and canter found in other horse breeds. The horses with the joroo (pacing) gait are the most highly regarded; it is said of horses with this gait that they “glide as though on ice, so smoothly that one can ride along on one holding a full cup and not spill any of the contents.” Mongolian horses carry the most prestige out of all livestock types that are raised. The more horses a nomadic family has, the wealthier they are considered. Exporting a Mongolian horse from Mongolia is expensive for almost any country that is not immediately bordering it due to the need for a chartered plane capable of transporting horses out of a landlocked country. The vast majority of Mongolian horses living outside of Mongolia are located in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Typical Behavior & Temperament Mongolian horses are well-known for their strength, reliability, and patience. They are alert, intelligent, and highly loyal to their owners. Allowing the Aduu to live in a herd in natural settings is what leads to them having an easygoing and calm disposition. Moving with their herd allows for young animals to learn the skills they need to navigate backcountry areas, including rocky passes, river crossings, etc. They can be independent and think their way through the safest routes, allowing for their rider to focus on other tasks, such as archery or utilizing a catch-pole. They can be defensive when cornered, as they live and grow alongside natural predators such as wolves.

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Appearance & Varieties The Mongolian horse has a unique appearance, somewhat similar to the Przewalski’s Horse/Takhi. It is of a small, stocky build. Its legs are relatively short and thick, with an average cannon bone circumference between 7–8”, and it has a short neck and large head. The average stallion is between 12.3 and 13 hands tall (51.5” or 131.5 centimeters) and weighs around 790 pounds (360 kilograms) The average mare is 12.2 hands tall (50” or 126.5 centimeters) and weighs approximately 660 pounds (300 kilograms). The Mongolian horse grows a thick double-coat in winter, and has a very long mane and tail while the stallions’ manes are considered sacred and must never be cut, the manes of the mares and geldings will be shorn with scissors at the end of the winter season and the resulting hairs are used for braiding rope. The tail hair is used to create the strings and bows of the Morin Khuur, or Horse-Head Fiddle: 130 hairs from stallions’ tails for the “male” string, typically tuned to B-flat, and 105 hairs from mares for the “female” string, typically tuned to F. The Aduu comes in almost every known equine color, and there are over five hundred words for horse colors and markings in the Mongolian language. This is due to how the people in different regions of Mongolia have different color preferences; the Darkhad people prefer the white-appearing gray and double-dilute horses, while the preference of the Nyamgavaa is for darker dun, bay, or black horses. White-appearing horses are also preferred by the Chinese market in Inner Mongolia. Mongolian horses have immense stamina and are able to gallop for about 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) without stopping. They can also pull a load in excess of 4,000 pounds for 30–38 miles (50–60 kilometers) per day when hitched in teams of four. The vast majority of these horses are left unshod, as their hooves are naturally strong, and require little to no trimming. While there are few farriers in the country, older horsemen and veterinarians have knowledge on hoof health. There are four main types of Mongolian horses. The desert variety is said to be light and have larger feet, like a camel. The steppe horses, especially those in the eastern Khentii and Sükhbaatar Provinces, are the tallest and fastest. The mountain variety is shorter, heavier, and stronger than the steppe variety, though not as strong as the Darkhad. The Darkhad, or ‘forest’, variety is the strongest. While this breed only weighs around 550 pounds (250 kilograms), the average individual can carry around 220–330 pounds (100–150 kilograms) on its back, and the exceptional ones can carry a load of 660 pounds (300 kilograms).

How to Take Care of Mongolian Horses Enclosure In locations where wood supply is abundant, horses are kept in corrals for at least part of the time and can be kept in round pens as well. In locations where wood is scarce, they are tied to a picket line, also known as a morinii uya, or hitched to a single wooden post, or tied to a large rock. Horses that are not removed from the herd to be ridden or milked are generally allowed to roam freely, though they can and will return to their corrals at will. Bedding Bedding is not required when horses are kept either out in large swathes of pasture or steppe grasslands or in well-draining corrals. If stalled stables, horses should be supplied with either straw or wood shavings: care must be taken to ensure the wood for shavings is sourced from non-toxic species of trees or that straw selected is a “beardless” variety (lacking the awns, or seed-heads, that can otherwise cause irritation to horses’ skin.) Climate Due to their thick winter coats, Mongolian horses can withstand winter storms and temperatures that drop down to -40º F (-40º C) with minimal shelter by grouping together and turning their backs to the wind; however, stacks of hay, wooden structures, or natural dips and valleys will also be utilized by the horses as windbreaks. Sick horses or cold foals may be brought into the ger, or family’s dwelling, while being cared for. Do Mongolian Horses Get Along with Other Animals? The Mongolian horse should be kept with other horses, as they are a highly social species. To introduce your Mongolian horse to other members of your horse herd, make sure each animal is healthy and cannot spread disease to the others, and that all are used to the same diet. Then, release them all into a large enough space for all the animals to move away and give each other space while working out their herd hierarchy. The Mongolian horse is traditionally herded with other types of livestock, such as sheep, goats, cattle, and-or camels, too. If properly introduced to livestock dogs, they can coexist peaceably. They are able to learn how to differentiate between the protective dog and the predatory wolf.

What to Feed Your Mongolian Horse Mongolian horses get the majority of their diet by foraging for grass; this includes pawing through the snow in winter. Depending on how severe the winter was, a horse can lose anywhere from 15–30% of its weight by the time spring grass starts to regrow; due to this, it’s increasingly common for their diet to be supplemented with mineral-salt, hay, or grain, such as oats and bran, especially for horses that are expected to be riding-fit by the time the snow has melted. They can live off little water in comparison to most other breeds, sometimes only drinking once per day, and can fulfill their daily intake by breaking through ice in rivers or streams and by eating snow. Image Credit: Koń mongolski w Parku Narodowym Gorchi-Tereldż 10, Marcin Konsek, Wikimedia Commons CC 4.0 International Keeping Your Mongolian Horse Healthy Mongolian horses require the same basic care as other breeds of horses, regardless of how self-sufficient they can be. They should have their coats brushed out during spring shedding and before being ridden. Their teeth should be examined and floated by a veterinarian as needed; this may be as frequently as every six months for very young and very old horses, or as far apart as every three years for mature animals. Hoof trimming is also performed as needed. A Mongolian horse’s normal movement over large amounts of varied terrain tends to keep their hoof growth in check better than that of most other domestic breeds being kept in confinement. They rarely experience health or hoof issues, such as thrush. Certain chicken, cattle, and swine feeds can be highly toxic to horses due to the addition of monensin, and can cause colic or heart failure, among other symptoms. If you have any of these other animal species, make sure to keep their feed locked up and away from horses. Breeding Traditional breeding of Mongolian horses is managed by the men of the herding families, who choose the stallions that will be the “father of the herd” that they are placed with. Breeding herds consist of the stallion, mares, foals, and sometimes geldings. The horses generally have a breeding season of spring through fall, similar to other semi-feral, feral, and wild groups of horses. There is little human intervention; the chosen stallions will sire foals with the mares they are grouped with, and mares will foal without assistance. One or more members of the family that owns the herd will help the mares watch the young foals at night to guard against predator attacks. There is modern crossbreeding occurring by top racehorse owners and trainers, with the goal of producing a Mongolian Sport Horse breed that consists of 75% Mongolian blood and 25% Arabian or Thoroughbred blood so as to maintain the Mongolian horse’s hardiness and endurance while also adding the increased speed and height of foreign breeds. This percentage of cross is deemed most suitable for the project at this time, as pureblooded foreign horses and first-generation crosses of them with the Mongolian horse are too fragile to withstand Mongolia’s climate extremes year-round. A major issue that can crop up when crossing Mongolian mares to foreign or half-foreign stallions is that the resulting foals are larger, and most breeders have little to no experience with needing to assist a foaling mare.

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Are Mongolian Horses Suitable for You? Owning a domestic horse requires one to learn a large amount of information and skills to provide proper care. However, the Mongolian horse’s care is generally not as hands-on as other breeds when kept in a more traditional environment. The main concerns in caring for them lie in providing adequate sources of food, water, shelter from both weather and predators, healthcare, and exercise. The difficulty of exporting a Mongolian horse to a non-neighboring country comes from multiple factors. Mongolia is a land-locked country with only one international airport, and there are a number of documents required to verify the horses are healthy and legally sourced prior to being exported, which makes for an expensive and time-consuming project. This alone makes them unsuitable for the vast majority of prospective owners outside of Mongolia. If you are planning a trip to Mongolia, the Mongolian horse is the only readily-available breed in the country, and therefore suitability comes down to your horse-handling experience and the individual horse’s experience with being ridden. Sources

http://afs.okstate.edu/breeds/horses http://afs.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/mongolian/index.html http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/papers/horses/Genetic%20Variation%20in%20Przewalski%27s%20horses,%20with%20special%20focus%20on%20the%20last%20wild%20caught%20mare,%20231%20Or.pdf https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/94/5/374/2187357 http://www.bionet.nsc.ru/meeting/bgrs2002/thesis/BGRS_4Volume.pdf https://www.whatcomcd.org/sites/default/files/farm_assist/smallfarm/bmps/ConfinementArea.pdf https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/mongols https://web.archive.org/web/20140821052504/http://www.berea.edu/art/files/2012/07/horse-in-japan-gallery-guide.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3CzDfGW5VE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV13VybE0Mw https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2074&context=isp_collection https://stonehorsemongolia.com/about-horse-riding-in-mongolia/horses/ https://stonehorsemongolia.com/2018/12/horse-care-in-mongolia/ https://www.bhs.org.uk/advice-and-information/horse-care/bedding/bedding-types https://web.archive.org/web/20161021224106/http://mongol.undesten.mn/wiki/show/name/%D0%9C%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%BB+%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%83%D1%83%D0%BD%D1%8B+%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3 http://rcin.org.pl/Content/22467/WA308_34845_PIII348_CONFRONTATION-BETWEE_I.pdf “Precious Steppe: Mongolian Nomadic Pastoralists in Pursuit of the Market” by Ole Bruun, 2006 http://rcin.org.pl/Content/22467/WA308_34845_PIII348_CONFRONTATION-BETWEE_I.pdf https://www.google.com/books/edition/Living_with_Herds/X8K1kGee4XsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=the%20father%20of%20the%20herd – p. 82-86 http://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/148882/WRIGHT-THESIS-2013.pdf https://www.globetrotting.com.au/horse-breed-mongol/ https://mongoliafaq.com/2018/10/25/how-did-mongol-soldiers-keep-track-of-their-horses-while-on-campaign/ http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/conquests/khans_horses.pdf https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1543&context=isp_collection https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2020/07/02/paolas-ride-peace-two-continents/ https://taletellerin.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/3-the-legend-of-khokhoo-namjil/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5750585/ https://www.vetpoultry.com/blogs/equestrian-horse-health-and-nutrition/what-you-should-know-about-horses-and-monensin-poisoning#:~:text=Horses%20are%20highly%20sensitive%20to,can%20be%20lethal%20for%20horses. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/thrush_in_horses https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190207142220.htm https://tahomavet.com/blog/4315-what-is-floating/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CFloating%E2%80%9D%20is%20the%20removal%20of,element%20of%20regular%20equine%20dentistry. https://horsesandpeople.com.au/managing-horses-in-family-groups-part-2/ https://www.amnh.org/explore/videos/biodiversity/wild-horse-mongolia/horse-mongolian-culture#:~:text=The%20horse%2C%20which%20is%20used,pride%20of%20a%20Mongolian%20herder https://web.archive.org/web/20150924091225/http://www.rimfakse.no/filer/file/Pamela%20Nolf%20beskyttet.pdf https://equestrianists.com/updates/mongolian-horses/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC125071/

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The Mongolian horse (also known as the Адуу/Aduu or Mori) is Mongolia’s native horse breed and one of Central Asia’s indigenous breeds. It is one of over 200 recognized horse breeds and has been gaining popularity outside of Mongolia, especially since the creation of the Mongol Derby in 2009.

This animal is among the oldest horse breeds and has ancient bloodlines, as evidenced by having the highest known genetic diversity compared to Thoroughbreds, Arabians, and the Przewalski’s horse, or Takhi, as well as having among the highest variation of mtDNA D-loop sequences.

Quick Facts About Mongolian Horses

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Species Name: Equus ferus caballus

Family: Equidae

Care Level: Independent; while it can survive with minimal attention compared to other horse breeds, it still requires the same basic care (access to forage, water, shelter, and freedom of movement)

Temperament: Tough, willing, friendly, patient, loyal

Color Form: Almost all known equine colors—Red (Sorrel/Chestnut), Black, Bay, Palomino, Buckskin, Dun, including variations such as Dunskin/Dun and Buckskin, Dunalino/Dun and Palomino, and Grullo/Dun and Black], Gray, Roan, Double-Dilutes (Cremello, Perlino, and Smokey Cream), and assorted white/spotting patterns, including Tobiano and Leopard Complex.

Lifespan: 20–40 years

Size: Adult height ranges from 48–56 inches (12–14 hands) tall. Weight is typically 500–800 pounds.

Diet: Mostly forage (grass and hay), occasionally grain; water.

Enclosure Size: Minimum of 400ft² per horse in “dry” lots, or 1/2 to 2 acres of pasture, depending on climate. Maximum is as much space as can be provided.

Mongolian Horse Overview

The Mongolian horse has remained unchanged since before Chinggis Khan’s time; nomads of the Central Asian Steppes have been riding horses since at least 2000 BCE and domesticated them sometime between 8000–3000 BCE. Historically, these horses allowed for the Mongol conquest of approximately 56.76% of the “known world”— around 12 million square miles of the Eurasian landmass and 21.14 million square miles of Northern African landmass. This is partly due to the abundant grass and water available to them, paired with their long-distance endurance.

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Maximum is as much space as can be provided.

The Mongolian horse was used to develop or influence other breeds all over Asia and Europe—including genetic links to native Japanese, Scandinavian (like the Norwegian Fjord and Nordlandshest), the Icelandic, and British Isles breeds.

Today, Mongolian horses serve as a source of food. Each mare produces roughly 662 pounds of milk per year and an average-sized 600-pound horse yields approximately 240 pounds of meat. This breed is also used in horse racing, and transporting animals, especially by the nomadic herders. They are also valuable for their mane and tail hair.

The Mongolian people revere both the wild horses, or Takhi, and the domestic horses. The first foal born of the year, thought to represent the strength of that year’s foal crop, will have a blue khadag (a long silk scarf; the blue color being symbolic of Tengri, the Eternal Blue Sky) tied around its neck. The family’s sacred horse will also have a blue khadag tied around the neck and may only be ridden on rare occasions by the head of the family.

Tserendeleg, the president of the Mongolian Association for Conservation of Nature and the Environment, says, “It is not possible to imagine Mongolian history without horses. I think it is not possible to view the future of Mongolia without horses as well; Mongolia is not Mongolia without horses.”

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How Much Do Mongolian Horses Cost?

A Mongolian horse can cost between roughly $100 (₮300,000) and $1,650 (₮5,000,000), depending on its coloration, conformation, disposition, lineage, racing ability, and gaiting ability; some amble and-or pace in addition to the “usual” three gaits of walk, trot, and canter found in other horse breeds. The horses with the joroo (pacing) gait are the most highly regarded; it is said of horses with this gait that they “glide as though on ice, so smoothly that one can ride along on one holding a full cup and not spill any of the contents.”

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Mongolian horses carry the most prestige out of all livestock types that are raised. The more horses a nomadic family has, the wealthier they are considered.

Exporting a Mongolian horse from Mongolia is expensive for almost any country that is not immediately bordering it due to the need for a chartered plane capable of transporting horses out of a landlocked country. The vast majority of Mongolian horses living outside of Mongolia are located in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Typical Behavior & Temperament

Mongolian horses are well-known for their strength, reliability, and patience. They are alert, intelligent, and highly loyal to their owners.

Allowing the Aduu to live in a herd in natural settings is what leads to them having an easygoing and calm disposition. Moving with their herd allows for young animals to learn the skills they need to navigate backcountry areas, including rocky passes, river crossings, etc.

They can be independent and think their way through the safest routes, allowing for their rider to focus on other tasks, such as archery or utilizing a catch-pole. They can be defensive when cornered, as they live and grow alongside natural predators such as wolves.

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Appearance & Varieties

The Mongolian horse has a unique appearance, somewhat similar to the Przewalski’s Horse/Takhi. It is of a small, stocky build. Its legs are relatively short and thick, with an average cannon bone circumference between 7–8”, and it has a short neck and large head. The average stallion is between 12.3 and 13 hands tall (51.5” or 131.5 centimeters) and weighs around 790 pounds (360 kilograms) The average mare is 12.2 hands tall (50” or 126.5 centimeters) and weighs approximately 660 pounds (300 kilograms).

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The Mongolian horse grows a thick double-coat in winter, and has a very long mane and tail while the stallions’ manes are considered sacred and must never be cut, the manes of the mares and geldings will be shorn with scissors at the end of the winter season and the resulting hairs are used for braiding rope. The tail hair is used to create the strings and bows of the Morin Khuur, or Horse-Head Fiddle: 130 hairs from stallions’ tails for the “male” string, typically tuned to B-flat, and 105 hairs from mares for the “female” string, typically tuned to F.

The Aduu comes in almost every known equine color, and there are over five hundred words for horse colors and markings in the Mongolian language. This is due to how the people in different regions of Mongolia have different color preferences; the Darkhad people prefer the white-appearing gray and double-dilute horses, while the preference of the Nyamgavaa is for darker dun, bay, or black horses. White-appearing horses are also preferred by the Chinese market in Inner Mongolia.

Mongolian horses have immense stamina and are able to gallop for about 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) without stopping. They can also pull a load in excess of 4,000 pounds for 30–38 miles (50–60 kilometers) per day when hitched in teams of four. The vast majority of these horses are left unshod, as their hooves are naturally strong, and require little to no trimming. While there are few farriers in the country, older horsemen and veterinarians have knowledge on hoof health.

There are four main types of Mongolian horses. The desert variety is said to be light and have larger feet, like a camel. The steppe horses, especially those in the eastern Khentii and Sükhbaatar Provinces, are the tallest and fastest. The mountain variety is shorter, heavier, and stronger than the steppe variety, though not as strong as the Darkhad. The Darkhad, or ‘forest’, variety is the strongest. While this breed only weighs around 550 pounds (250 kilograms), the average individual can carry around 220–330 pounds (100–150 kilograms) on its back, and the exceptional ones can carry a load of 660 pounds (300 kilograms).

How to Take Care of Mongolian Horses

Enclosure

In locations where wood supply is abundant, horses are kept in corrals for at least part of the time and can be kept in round pens as well.

In locations where wood is scarce, they are tied to a picket line, also known as a morinii uya, or hitched to a single wooden post, or tied to a large rock. Horses that are not removed from the herd to be ridden or milked are generally allowed to roam freely, though they can and will return to their corrals at will.

Bedding

Bedding is not required when horses are kept either out in large swathes of pasture or steppe grasslands or in well-draining corrals.

If stalled stables, horses should be supplied with either straw or wood shavings: care must be taken to ensure the wood for shavings is sourced from non-toxic species of trees or that straw selected is a “beardless” variety (lacking the awns, or seed-heads, that can otherwise cause irritation to horses’ skin.)

Climate

Due to their thick winter coats, Mongolian horses can withstand winter storms and temperatures that drop down to -40º F (-40º C) with minimal shelter by grouping together and turning their backs to the wind; however, stacks of hay, wooden structures, or natural dips and valleys will also be utilized by the horses as windbreaks.

Sick horses or cold foals may be brought into the ger, or family’s dwelling, while being cared for.

Do Mongolian Horses Get Along with Other Animals?

The Mongolian horse should be kept with other horses, as they are a highly social species. To introduce your Mongolian horse to other members of your horse herd, make sure each animal is healthy and cannot spread disease to the others, and that all are used to the same diet. Then, release them all into a large enough space for all the animals to move away and give each other space while working out their herd hierarchy.

The Mongolian horse is traditionally herded with other types of livestock, such as sheep, goats, cattle, and-or camels, too. If properly introduced to livestock dogs, they can coexist peaceably. They are able to learn how to differentiate between the protective dog and the predatory wolf.

What to Feed Your Mongolian Horse

Mongolian horses get the majority of their diet by foraging for grass; this includes pawing through the snow in winter. Depending on how severe the winter was, a horse can lose anywhere from 15–30% of its weight by the time spring grass starts to regrow; due to this, it’s increasingly common for their diet to be supplemented with mineral-salt, hay, or grain, such as oats and bran, especially for horses that are expected to be riding-fit by the time the snow has melted.

They can live off little water in comparison to most other breeds, sometimes only drinking once per day, and can fulfill their daily intake by breaking through ice in rivers or streams and by eating snow.

Keeping Your Mongolian Horse Healthy

Mongolian horses require the same basic care as other breeds of horses, regardless of how self-sufficient they can be. They should have their coats brushed out during spring shedding and before being ridden. Their teeth should be examined and floated by a veterinarian as needed; this may be as frequently as every six months for very young and very old horses, or as far apart as every three years for mature animals. Hoof trimming is also performed as needed. A Mongolian horse’s normal movement over large amounts of varied terrain tends to keep their hoof growth in check better than that of most other domestic breeds being kept in confinement. They rarely experience health or hoof issues, such as thrush.

Certain chicken, cattle, and swine feeds can be highly toxic to horses due to the addition of monensin, and can cause colic or heart failure, among other symptoms. If you have any of these other animal species, make sure to keep their feed locked up and away from horses.

Breeding

Traditional breeding of Mongolian horses is managed by the men of the herding families, who choose the stallions that will be the “father of the herd” that they are placed with.

Breeding herds consist of the stallion, mares, foals, and sometimes geldings. The horses generally have a breeding season of spring through fall, similar to other semi-feral, feral, and wild groups of horses. There is little human intervention; the chosen stallions will sire foals with the mares they are grouped with, and mares will foal without assistance. One or more members of the family that owns the herd will help the mares watch the young foals at night to guard against predator attacks.

There is modern crossbreeding occurring by top racehorse owners and trainers, with the goal of producing a Mongolian Sport Horse breed that consists of 75% Mongolian blood and 25% Arabian or Thoroughbred blood so as to maintain the Mongolian horse’s hardiness and endurance while also adding the increased speed and height of foreign breeds. This percentage of cross is deemed most suitable for the project at this time, as pureblooded foreign horses and first-generation crosses of them with the Mongolian horse are too fragile to withstand Mongolia’s climate extremes year-round. A major issue that can crop up when crossing Mongolian mares to foreign or half-foreign stallions is that the resulting foals are larger, and most breeders have little to no experience with needing to assist a foaling mare.

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Are Mongolian Horses Suitable for You?

Owning a domestic horse requires one to learn a large amount of information and skills to provide proper care. However, the Mongolian horse’s care is generally not as hands-on as other breeds when kept in a more traditional environment. The main concerns in caring for them lie in providing adequate sources of food, water, shelter from both weather and predators, healthcare, and exercise.

The difficulty of exporting a Mongolian horse to a non-neighboring country comes from multiple factors. Mongolia is a land-locked country with only one international airport, and there are a number of documents required to verify the horses are healthy and legally sourced prior to being exported, which makes for an expensive and time-consuming project. This alone makes them unsuitable for the vast majority of prospective owners outside of Mongolia.

If you are planning a trip to Mongolia, the Mongolian horse is the only readily-available breed in the country, and therefore suitability comes down to your horse-handling experience and the individual horse’s experience with being ridden.

Sources

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