Tahki Horses

A couple of weeks ago I went to Hustai National Park to see the Tahki horses. They are a rare breed of horse and there is an ongoing debate about whether they are ancestors to the modern domesticated horse or a subspecies of the wild horse. They disappeared from the wild in 1966 and in 1985 were reintroduced into the wild in Mongolia. There are around 300 horses in Hustai and 1200 elsewhere in the world. All 1500 of these horses descend from 9 that were in captivity in 1945.

They do look different from other horse breeds, the description that Wikipedia gives is, "Przewalski's Horse is stockily built in comparison to domesticated horses, with shorter legs. Typical height is about 13 hands (1.32 m), length is about 2.1 m with a 90 cm tail. They weigh around 300 kilograms (660 lb). The coat is similar to dun coloration in domestic horses. It varies from dark brown around the mane (which stands erect) to pale brown on the flanks and yellowish-white on the belly. The legs of Przewalski's Horse are often faintly striped." They also have two extra chromosomes.

The day we went it poured, which put a bit of a damper on searching for the horses. Despite the rain we found some of the horses and hiked up to see them. Once we got close, each horse looked at us like we were absolutely insane to stand in the rain and look at horses. I must say, I kind of agree.