About Namib Desert HorsesNamib Desert


Namib Desert Horses are a rare horse found in the Namib Desert, of Namibia, Africa. They are most likely the only feral herd of horses residing in Africa. Today, approximately 150 horses now live in 350 square kilometres of the Namib Desert. The origin of these animals is unclear, though several theories have been put forward. Genetic tests have been performed, although none to date have completely verified their origin.

Horses are not native to Sub-Saharan Africa. The first horses in sub-Saharan Africa were brought by the Dutch to the area of the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th century. One theory says that a ship with horses on board was run aground; the strongest horses were able to swim ashore to the mouth of the Orange Ri ...



Namib Desert  - Horses Breeds

About Nangchen HorsesNangchen


Nangchen horses are a small breed of horse native to the Kham region of northern Tibet. They are thought to have been bred pure since the 9th century. They became known to the western world in 1994 due to the exploration of French anthropologist Michel Peissel.

They are said to contain no ancestry from any of the common sources for most other Tibetan pony breeds, neither Mongolian horse, Arabian nor any type of Turkish blood. They are powerful and fast; and have many of the characteristics of a modern racehorse. They have refined features, are pony-sized, but tall for ponies, swift and agile. Their unique characteristics include adaptations to the very high altitude of the region, including enlarged lungs.  

In ...



Nangchen  - Horses Breeds

About Napoletano HorsesNapoletano


Napoletano, or Neapolitan, Horses originated on the plains between Naples and Caserta, in the Campania region of Italy, but may have been bred throughout the Kingdom of Naples. Neapolitan horses were frequently mentioned in literature from the 16th to the 19th century and noted for their quality. Corte wrote in 1562: ‘in Italy the horses of the Kingdom of Naples are greatly esteemed; [there] many fine coursers are born ... suitable for use in war and in the manège and for every service that the rider may require.’ The decline of the breed was noted in the early 20th century by Mascheroni (1903) and Fogliata (1908). Some sources state that by 1950, the original Neapolitan horse was deemed extinct, but its lines were incorporated in ...



Napoletano  - Horses Breeds

About Narragansett Pacer HorsesNarragansett Pacer


Narragansett Pacers were the first horse breed developed in the United States, but is now extinct. This breed was developed in the United States during the 18th century and associated closely with the state of Rhode Island, and it had become extinct during the late 19th century. The Pacer was developed from a mix of English and Spanish breeds, although the exact breeds are unknown, and they were known to and owned by many famous personages of the day, including George Washington. Sales to the Caribbean and cross-breeding diminished the breed to the point of extinction, and the last known Pacer died around 1880.

Narragansett horses possibly could have been an ambling horse, rather than a true pacing breed. The pacer was k ...



Narragansett Pacer  - Horses Breeds

About Narym HorsesNarym


Narym, or Narymskaya, horses are from Russia. Russian horses are varied and have developed over a period of thousands of years. They have evolved to live in harsh climates--cold and desolate. There is often little forage for survival, however, the Russian breeds are hardy.  

Narym Ponies are similar to Ob ponies and originated near the same area in the central of the region near the Ob River of Western Siberia. The two breeds live under much the same ecological and economical conditions, and may be considered two groups or types of the same breed of northern forest horse. It stands between 13 and 14 hands high.  

Narym Ponies are larger than the Ob pony and is crossed with draft horses and trotters in th ...



Narym  - Horses Breeds

About National Show HorsesNational Show


National Show Horses originated as a part-Arabian cross between an American Saddlebred and an Arabian horse. They are now established as a separate breed, since the founding of a breed registry in 1981.

National Show Horses combine the refinement of Arabian Horses with the animation of Saddlebred horse. The resulting horse has the high-set, upright, long, swan-like neck of the Saddlebred. The neck should not have a pronounced crest. The head is usually refined and small, with small ears and either a straight or concave profile. The horses are close-coupled with a level topline and have a very deep, laid back shoulder. The tail carriage is high.

National Show Horses may be a variety of colors, including the traditional ...



National Show  - Horses Breeds

About Navarra HorsesNavarra


Navarra (also known as Navarran, Navarrais, Navarre, Caballo Espanol, or Subraza de Navarra) Ponies are a North Iberian Mountain Pony. They are bred in the Urbasa Nature Reserve. The province of Navarra, between the Pyrenees and the valley of the Ebro, in the region around Pamplona is their homeland. They live semi-wild in small herds.  

They stand 12 hand to 12.3 hands at the withers. They are generally dark brown without white markings. medium head, straight profile, small ears, mouse, muscular, wide neck, strong, deep body, sloping croup, short coupling, solid legs, hard, round hooves. They are forward moving and sure footed. They have an abundant mane and tail. These ponies are tough, easy keepers and healthy. The ...



Navarra  - Horses Breeds

About New Forest Pony HorsesNew Forest Pony


Photo supplied by the New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society (UK) Photo courtesy Anthony Reynolds © New Forest Ponies were named after a region in southern England, New Forest. Their exact origin is unknown but ponies have lived in the area for many centuries. During the 18th century the Thoroughbred stallion Marske, father of the famous race horse Eclipse, served New Forest mares. In the mid-19th century one of Queen Victoria''s Arabian stallions was allowed to run with the New Forest herd. Hackney blood was also introduced. The cross breeding added to the pony''s size but was harmful to the true pony element.

In order to correct the situation stallions of other native breeds including Dales, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Fell, Highland, and Welsh Mountain ponies were crossed with the New Forest. The result was a tough, sure foot ...



New Forest Pony  - Horses Breeds

About New Kirgiz HorsesNew Kirgiz


New Kirgiz, or Novokirgizskaya, horses were developed in the state and collective farms of Kirgiz, Russia, by crossing local horses with the Don and the Thoroughbred horses. New Kirgiz horses are well adapted to highland conditions. They are used for stock work and meat and milk production. They are short-legged and massive and they have a strong constitution. In type and conformation they closely resemble Don horses.  

The average measurements of stallions (in cm) are: height at withers 156, body length 158, chest girth 188, the cannon bone girth 20.5. Mares'' measurements are somewhat lower: 151,155, 180 and 19 respectively.  

New Kirgiz horses have a medium-sized clean-cut head with low neck, well-defi ...



New Kirgiz  - Horses Breeds

About Newfoundland HorsesNewfoundland


Source: The Newfoundland Pony Society (<a href=http://www.newfoundlandpony.com class=body> newfoundlandpony.com</a>) Newfoundland Pony are an “all purpose” pony known for its strength, courage, intelligence, obedience, and willingness. Newfoundland Ponies are hard workers and easy keepers.  

Newfoundland Ponies’s ancestors first arrived with the Newfoundland’s early settlers from the British Isles. Their ancestors were primarily, Exmoor, Dartmoor, and New Forest ponies and to a lesser extent, Welsh Mountain, Galloway, Highland, and Connemara ponies. They were hardy creatures who were already well adapted to the harsh climate of the islands of the North Atlantic. Isolated from the rest of the world, the ponies intermingled for hundreds of years, breeding in the seclusion of Newfoundland’s bays and coves to produce a sturdy pony uniqu ...



Newfoundland  - Horses Breeds

About Nez Perce HorsesNez Perce


Nez Perce Horses are spotted horses bred by the Nez Perce tribe of Idaho. The Nez Perce Horse Registry (NPHR) program began in 1995 in Lapwai, Idaho and is based on cross-breeding the old-line Appaloosa (Maamin - the Nez Perce word for Appaloosa) horses (the Wallowa herd - "old herd" mares from the Minam line in Wallowa, Oregon) with an ancient Central Asian breed called Akhal-Teke. This program seeks to re-establish the horse culture of the Nez Perce, a tradition of selective breeding of Appaloosa horses and horsemanship that was destroyed in the 19th century. The breeding program was financed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Nez Perce tribe and a nonprofit group called the First Nations Developme ...



Nez Perce  - Horses Breeds

About Nivernais HorsesNivernais


Nivernais are endangered black heavy draught horses from the Nievre region of central France. They stand about 165 to 175 centimetres at the withers, occasionally up to 180 cm, and weigh 800–1000 kg. They were created in 1872 by the Comte de Bouille by crossing black Percheron stallions with local Cheval du Morvan mares. A stud book was opened in 1880, and from that time the breed largely supplanted the Cheval du Morvan. Their population declined from the 1950s following the mechanisation of agriculture, and in 1966 the stud-book was merged with that of the Percheron. Since the 1980s various efforts have been made to preserve the breed. Without official recognition in France, it is listed in DAD-IS by the FAO.



Nivernais  - Horses Breeds

About Nokota HorsesNokota


Nokota horses are feral and semi-feral horses located in the badlands of southwestern North Dakota in the United States. They get their name from the Nokota Indian tribe that inhabited North and South Dakota.

Nakota horses are often blue roan, which is a color rare in other breeds, although black and gray are also common. Other, less common, colors include red roan, bay, chestnut, dun, grullo and palomino. Pinto patterns such as overo and sabino occur occasionally.  
They have an angular frame with prominent withers, a sloped croup, and a low set tail.

There are two general types of Nokota horses. The first is the traditional Nokota, known by the registry as the National Park Traditional type. They tend ...



Nokota  - Horses Breeds

About Noma HorsesNoma


Photo by motofumi Noma Horses (Noma Uma in Japanese) come from the Noma region of Imabari in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. They originated in the 17th century from Mongolian stock, they are the smallest of the native Japanese horse breeds. They are valued for their gentle personality and strength. In the past they were used for riding, light draft work, and as packhorses on the steep mountainsides in the rough Noma region. Today, they are mostly used as riding horses for children and as study subjects in local schools.  

It is believed that in the early 17th century, Lord Hisamatsu of Matsuyama Han charged local farmers with breeding his warhorses, and the breed grew in popularity until the Russo-Japanese war in 1904, when the Japanese arm ...



Noma  - Horses Breeds

About Nonius HorsesNonius


Nonius, or Noniusz, horses were developed at the Imperial Stud at Mezohegyes, Hungary by careful linebreeding. Originally they were bred to serve as a light draft and utility horse for Hungary''s military; but they became a useful agricultural horse during the 20th century. Today they are bred by preservationists and are used in agriculture, leisure riding, and competitive driving sports. The largest numbers of Nonius horses are still found at the Mezohegyes stud ranch, with representatives in other eastern European nations as well.  

Horse-breeding has been an important facet of Hungarian culture since its settlement, due largely to its geographic location and open plains. The Ottoman Conquest, beginning in 1526, saw ...



Nonius  - Horses Breeds

About Nooitgedacht HorsesNooitgedacht


Nooitgedacht Ponies are one of the few indigenous breeds in South Africa, and the only true descendant of the better-known Basuto Pony. Nooigedachts are a rare horse breed, with only about 400 purebreds in existence.  

Their development began in 1951 when the South African Department of Agriculture brought a group of Basuto-type ponies. In 1952 a breeding project began on the Nooitgedacht Research Station. This was done primarily to save the famous Basuto horses from extinction but also because South Africa needed an indigenous farm and riding horse adapted to conditions of the region.  

Due to large-scale inbreeding in the past, the breeders at Nooitgedacht had to use extreme care. For this reason, a Bo ...



Nooitgedacht  - Horses Breeds

About Nordlandshest / Lyngshest HorsesNordlandshest / Lyngshest


Nordlandshest / Lyngshest horses, also known as the Northlands horse or Northlands pony, originated in Norway. They are the smallest of the three Norwegian national horse breeds. They originated in Lyngen, but were given the name Nordlandshest in 1968 by breeders in that area. The name change was hotly disputed by breeders in Lyngen and surrounding areas, but a compromise was later reached, and today their official name is both Nordlandshest and Lyngshest.

The first documentation of Nordlandshest / Lyngshest horses date back to 1898, in Lyngseidet, Troms. Organised breeding began in the 1930s, when most of the breed population lived in the northern counties of Norway. Many of them died and few were bred during World War ...



Nordlandshest / Lyngshest  - Horses Breeds

About Norfolk Trotter HorsesNorfolk Trotter


Norfolk Trotters, also known as Norfolk Roasdsters, are an extinct horse breed once native to East Anglia and Norfolk, England. They were claimed to be ‘a large-sized trotting harness horse originating in and around Norfolk’.

In 1542, King Henry the eighth required the rich citizens to keep a specific number of trotting-horse stallions. Norfolk Trotters were well praised in Norfolk, and later became known as the Norfolk Trotter.

Norfolk Trotters became the standard travel horse in England. In the city of Yorkshire, the same breed was known as the Yorkshire Trotter. Norfolk trotters were also known as roadsters. It is common to see the term Norfolk / Yorkshire Roadster / Trotter in breed-history books; regardle ...



Norfolk Trotter  - Horses Breeds

About Norico HorsesNorico


The Norico is a heavy draft-horse, coming originally from the Alpine valleys beween Austria and Italy.

The original horse was re-established by the Romans who undertook a breeding programme in their old province of Noricum. During the Renaissance the breed was improved with the introduction of strains from Neopolitan and Andalusian horses. Nowadays the Norico is to be found in some Alpine regions of Italy (Trentino and Alto Adige), as well as those of Austria and Germany.

It is a mountain breed and characteristically resistant to illness, strong, fertile and long-living.
A variety with a lighter build, known as the Pinzgauer, is raised in Bavaria.

The Norico is suitable for pulling heavy loads a ...



Norico  - Horses Breeds

About Norman Cob HorsesNorman Cob


Norman Cobs are descended from bidets, small horses that from Asia. They were brought by the Celts. They lived in Brittany and Normandy before the start of the Roman Empire. Eventually these horses reached Russia and were interbred to Mongolian Horses. Romans interbred these horses with their heavy pack mares. In the 10th century the Norman breeders were known for their war horses--large, strong with good endurance. In the 16th and 17th centuries Barb and Arabian blood was introduced. In 1665 the first royal stud farms were founded. Stallions were selected in 1730. In the 19th century the Norfolk Roadster was mixed in. English Thoroughbred blood was added along with English hunter stallions. The horse developed into the Anglo-Norma ...



Norman Cob  - Horses Breeds

About North Swedish HorsesNorth Swedish


North Swedish horses originated in Africa…just kidding they are from Sweden. They were developed from Scandinavian horse breeds. They have been used as pack horses, military mounts, and forestry work. They can be found in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia. They are smaller (about 15 hands tall) than some of the more powerful breeds, but do not let their size fool you; they are very strong, excellent workers. They are also very sweet, willing, tender, and easy to care for.  

They have a relatively small head, a crested neck, sloping shoulders, deeper body frame, and very rounded quarters. They also have a low set tail and a sweeping quarter. They have solid, round feet. They also have a low wither and a deep chest ...



North Swedish  - Horses Breeds

About Novokirghiz HorsesNovokirghiz


Novokirghiz, or Novokirgizskaya, horses were developed in the 1930s in Kirghizia (Kirghistan). They were developed by breeding Old Kirghiz horses with Thoroughbred, Russian Don, and Anglo-Don horses. They are used for harness, riding, and agricultural work, as well as pack horses in the mountains. They are able to cope with almost any type of terrain. The mares are usually used for milk, which locals ferment and turn into kumis, a major staple of their diet. The mares can give up to 20 kg of milk daily. Speed records of this breed are: 1600 m in 1 min 48 sec, and 2400 m in 2 min 44.2 sec.

In 1918, forty-eight Thoroughbreds were imported to the Issyk-Kul stud in Kirghizia (Kirghistan) and were bred with Old Kirghiz mares. ...



Novokirghiz  - Horses Breeds