The Kiso

[pebbs]

Kiso History


The Kiso horse has inhabited Japan for about
one thousand years and has in the past been
an indispensable aid for farm use,
transportation, and power. Exact origin of the
Kiso and other ancient horse breeds of Japan
is uncertain.
They are believed to be descended from either
the plateau horses of Central Asia or the Mongolian
horses of the grasslands.
The existence of the Kiso breed is mainly due to a
single horse kept as a holy horse at a Shinto shrine
and therefore had not been castrated.
The horse, named Shinmei, and another Kiso mare named
Kayama gave birth to Dai-san
Haruyama in 1951.
This horse became the last of the pure Kiso. The present
Kiso breed is a back-bred breed among the descendants
of Dai-san Haruyama
and other Kiso descendants. There are some ranches
in Japan which specialize in Kiso or other Japanese
horses.
There are today 117 Kiso horses, which are often seen in processions in
local festivals. They are also used as riding horses.
Sourced from wikipedia.org

[/size][/color]