Article: A beauty from Argentina

Saturday June 6, 2009

By JOSEPHINE JALLEH

THE different breeds of horses on display at the National Horse Show in Penang include the Falabella, which is a rare Argentinian breed and is one of the smallest breeds of horses in the world.

The prestigious Falabella is world renowned and the name comes from the family who developed the breed in the middle of the 19th century.

Falabella horses are gentle, docile and possess strength far beyond their small proportions. Many Falabella horses are only 58cm in height and live long lives till 40 to 45 years.

Falabella:This is one of the smallest breeds of horses, only 58cm in height.

Another breed which will be on display is the Java Kelantan Pony, said to have descended from the Mongolian wild horse, which is a resident on Java island.

The breed has a heavy head with a straight profile, short neck, and is very muscular and has thick mane.

The pony is often used to pull 'sados', a type of horse-drawn taxi in Indonesia.

The Australian Pony is one of the most beautiful and versatile pony breeds in Australia.

The well-behaved pony breed is ideal for children, small adults and inexperienced riders.

Java Kelantan pony: It has a short neck and is very muscular

Another breed on display is the Thorough-bred, which originated from England, and descended from cross breeds between large English horses and Arabian or Turkish stallions.

The mares of this breed carry their foals for 11 months before giving birth.

This courageous breed is the fastest in the world and are bred as race horses in the United States, England and other countries.

They are trained to ride as yearlings and start racing at the age of two.

The donkey is herbivorous and among the smallest members of the horse family. Donkeys originated from the African desert.

There are three categories of donkeys miniatures are 91cm and below in height, standards are between 91cm and 137cm and the mammoths are over 137cm.

Donkeys can live up to 25 to 35 years old and a donkey's favourite pastime is rolling.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Metro: North , 6 June 2009