Horse

Horse Breeds Glossary K

KABARDA HORSE

The Kabarda breed is typically used as a saddle horse, with an average hieght of about 150 cm. They have a solid, clean build with a moderate mane and thick tail. Their legs might hve feathers, and the predominant color is cherry bay, with some Kabarda's bay brown in color, and just a few black. Kabarda horses are placed in taboons and then moved to mountain pastures in the summer, and foothills in winter. They are considered to be the best of the mountain horse breeds, as they are well suited for stoney and mountainous terrain. In shows, the Kabarda wins in speed and endurance events.

The Kabardo breed is in need of protection, as the purebred population has dropped greatly due to the decline of pedigree nucleus stock. Main breeding of Karbada horses takes place in the Malkinski stud and Malokarachaevski stud breeding centers.

KARABAIR HORSE

Of the most ancient breeds in Central Asia is the Karabair. The breed was established with the influence of several southern and steppe breeds in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The build of the Karabair is that of a typical saddle and harness horse.

The Karabair breed resembles the Persian, Turkmenian and Arabian horses, with their medium sized head and straight profile. They have wide, well muscled loins and medium shoulders. Most are bay colored, chesnut or grey, with some black. The average height of Karabair's, as recorded in the studbook is 156 cm at the withers.

Karabair has good endurance and quite versatile working abilities. They're used in show and eventing for both short and long distance speed, and in equestrian sports like kok-par. They are of sound health, average longevity and have normal fertility of about 75 foals for every 100 mare Karabair's.

KARABAKH HORSE

An ancient mountain saddle breed, the Karabakh was developed in Azerbaijan. Karabakh were used before the 19th century in improving horse breeds for horses in neighboring countries. The Karabakh is the result of cross breeding of the native Azerbaijan with Arabs, Turkmenians and Persians. Most pronounced is the influence of the Arabian type, with similarities in appearance.

The karabakh horses are not large, and they feature well defined tendons and well developed muscles. The breed has small and clean cut heads, with alert eyes. The hair of Karabakh shines and is soft, while the mane and tail is thin. Most are chestnut colored, with some bay with a golden tint. Average height at withers is 150 cm.

The number of Karabkh horses is small, although there is a current effort to revive the breed.

KAZAKH HORSE

Influenced by a number of breeds, including the Mongolian, Arabian, Karabair and Akhal-Teke, the Kazakh horses were improved in the 20th century by Thoroughbred and Orlov Trotter.

Kazakh horses are typically kept in the pasture aroudn the year, with most in western Kazakhstan.

The average height of Kazakh horses are 144 cm at the withers, which makes them a fairly small horse. The horses are used for milk and meat as they fatten quickly and some mares yield as much as 20 kg of milk with hand-milking.

Kazakh horses are not known for their performance- they have short strides that are jolting and unstrong. However, the breed is hardy.

KERRY BOG PONY

Found in Ireland, the Kerry Bog Pony is almost estinct with only about 20 ponies left in all of Ireland. Similar in size to a Shetland Pony, the Kerry Bog Pony is about 10 or 11 hands in height, and has a face that looks like an Arab. The colors are chestnut with black manes, or sometimes grey or bay.

The small ponies were used for bringing peat and turf out of the bogs in Ireland, with the original technique of using baskets placed on slides (without wheels). The horses would then pull these slides out of the bogs. Later, little carts with wheels were created in the less boggy areas, and the turf was transported by the ponies by basket and brought for use as fuel for houses.

About the Author
Phillipe Wiskell is a writer for HorseClicks.com, popular classifieds of horses for sale,