Karabakh Horse

a mountain saddle horse of very ancient origin, raised between the Araks and Kura rivers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

In the course of breeding, the Karabakh horse has incorporated traits of ancient Iranian, Turkmen, and, later, Arabian horses. In turn, it has itself been used in breeding certain saddle horses of southern Russia and several countries of Western Europe, such as Poland and France. The Karabakh horse is medium-sized, with a height at the withers of 138–140 cm. It is well proportioned and sinewy. Its coat is chestnut, brown, dun, bay, or gray and lemon yellow with a golden or silvery cast. There are two types: a solid, massive, short-legged breed and a breed with longer legs and a lighter body. Karabakh horses are used chiefly as saddle horses. They have the endurance for long journeys and can reach a pace of 10 km/hr, in the mountains. Their record speed on a smooth 1, 600 m-track is 2 min 9 sec (1955). The Karabakh horse has been used to improve the local breeds of Transcaucasia. Breeding is conducted on the Agdam Stud Farm in the Azerbaijan SSR.