Formation of the American Bashkir Curly Breed
Fortunately, the development of the modern Bashkir Curly
much more is clearly known. The modern day history of American Bashkir
Curly dates to 1898, when young Peter Damele (Duh-mel'ly) and his father
were riding the Peter Hanson mountain range in the remote high country of
Central Nevada, near Austin. Peter, who passed away in 1981 at age 90,
could vividly recall the strange sight they saw of three horses with tight
curly ringlets over their entire bodies. It was intriguing to both father
and son as to where these horses had come from and just why they were
there, questions that as you can see are still not answered. However, from
that day to this, there have always been curly-coated horses on the Damele
range, and Peter's son, Benny Damele, continued to breed them for his
ranch work. Many of the Bashkir Curly in the U.S. can be traced to the
Damele herd.
Establishing the American Bashkir Curly Registry in
1971, the founders set out to save these animals from extinction in the
U.S., as it was found that too many of them, through ignorance, were being
slaughtered. They then began the process of establishing breeding traits.
To accomplish this U.S owners were asked to list the characteristics
unique to the Bashkir Curly. These, when compiled, brought out several
interesting features of the breed. One especially odd feature of the breed
is the fact that they can completely shed out the mane hair (and sometimes
even the tail hair) each summer, to grow back during the winter. Even
though the mane hair is usually extremely fine and soft, it is quite
kinky, and this ability to shed the mane is perhaps nature's way of coping
with the corkscrew curls, as it would become quite impossible to manage if
it became matted through years of growth. Too, their body coat sheds out
in the summer and they become wavy or fairly straight on their body, with
their distinctive winter coat returning in late fall. Several winter coat
patterns have been observed, from crushed velvet effect, to a perfect
marble wave, to extremely tight ringlets over the entire body.
The Bashkir Curly transmits the curly characteristic to
its offspring about fifty percent of the time, even when mated to horses
without the curly coat. They also seem to be a hardy breed and able to
survive severe winter conditions. In the winter of 1951-52, the Curly
horses were the only ones to survive on the range of Nevada without
supplemental feeding.
Bashkir Curly's appear in all common horse colors
including Appaloosa and Pinto. Physically they are of medium size,
somewhat resembling the early day Morgan in conformation, and a number of
traits have been found in this unique breed that links them to primitive
horses. Many individuals have been found without ergots. Some have small,
soft chestnuts. Their eyes have the wide set eyes characteristic of
Oriental breeds. This is said to give them a wider range of vision. They
are described as having tough, black hoofs are almost perfectly round in
shape; an exceptionally high concentration of red blood cells; stout
round-bone cannon; straight legs that also move straight; flat knees;
strong hocks; short back which indicates five lumbar vertebrae; round rump
without crease or dimple; powerful rounded shoulders; V'd chest and round
barrel. The foals arrive with thick, crinkly coats, curls inside their
ears and curly eyelashes.
In recent years the
Bashkir Curly has performed well in a wide range of equestrian events
including Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, Western Riding, Reining, Gymkhana
Events, Hunter, Jumper, Roping, English Equitation, Western Pleasure,
Gaited Pleasure, Competitive and Endurance Trail Riding, Dressage and
Driving.
|
