Global Horse Culture

Manipuri Ponies get Protected Status

A friend of mine, Somi Roy, has been supporting the protection of the Manipuri pony in India. This breed is famous for being the original polo pony, but has been declining in numbers. Recently Somi sent some good news about the status of the ponies. With his permission, here are excerpts from his email:

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Dear friends:

It gives me great pleasure to inform you  - especially those of you who are lovers of Polo and horses - the state government of Manipur has agreed to establish a natural preserve for the homeless Manipuri Pony. Last month, the Chief Minister of Manipur gave 200 acres at Heingang Lake just below the Pony Shrine  for this. Heingang Lake is wet only during the monsoon but the animals like boggy wetlands and feed on water plants as well. The lake is covered with lotuses in the summer.

Not only that, the state has agreed to declare the Manipuri Pony a protected animal. We have reason for some optimism now that the Manipuri Pony, descendant of the great animals of the Mongols, and one of 5 equine breeds in India, will pull through and their number will rise from the perilous less-than-1000 that it has dwindled to today. We have also now established a Manipuri Pony Society so if you are on Facebook, do join. I am thinking I will get some Manipuri T-shirts made!

Wolves and reindeer and horses...and eagles! Oh my!!!

If you are in New York City don't miss the exhibit of photos by Hamid Sardar, which depict Mongolian nomads with their horses, reindeer, wolves (yes!) and eagles. The photos are astonishing, overwhelming, beautiful, and incredible. Need I say more? The exhibit is at Tibet House, on 15th street in Manhattan, from May 6 through July 9, 2010.

You can also see Mr. Sardar's work (including many of the photos in the exhibit) at his website.

The one that struck me most powerfully is of a man carrying an eagle while riding a gray horse, which is rearing on a mountainside. Another of a shaman hiking in the mountains with his tame wolves is also astonishing. Truly powerful stuff depicting a very ancient traditional way of life.

Plumed Ponies

These ponies - on second glance, those look an awful lot like mules! - in Nepal are wearing enormous woolly red and white plumes. The banners on their foreheads appear to have Buddhist religious symbols on them, as best I can see, which would probably be for good luck.

I notice they are all wearing muzzles - probably to prevent them eating while working.

This is an unusual and intriguing scene, posted by Bruce Diksas on flickr.

Mongolian Horse Racing Today

The New York Times has a great article about the resurgent popularity of traditional horse racing among modern urban Mongolians. Check it out here. Note the mention that some breeders are importing fast horses from other countries to crossbreed with the native Mongolian horses, but that the downside of this is that the exotic horses have trouble dealing with the harsh winters.

Pretty Chinese Pony

This is quite a pretty pony, from the area near Lugu Lake, in the Yunnan region of China. The area is home to an ethnic minority called the Mosou, most renowned for their unusual marriage practices.   

This dun-colored pony has the stocky build and low-set neck typical of the mountain ponies of the Himalayas and Mongolia. The cheerful red bridle and multicolored saddle cloths are delightful. Like other Himalayan area bridles, this one is made of woven fabric, not leather.

 

Photo: 尽在不言中 on flickr

Tibetan horse tail

This Tibetan horse's tail is adorned with yarn woven into the tail hair - it doesn't look likely to come out easily, but neither should it interfere much with the usefulness of the tail for swishing flies. The photographer notes that the yarn is used to indicate who owns the horse, thus it is meant to be left in for long periods of time.

Photo: o2ma on flickr