Connoisseurs and horse lovers know that a robust horse is a very beautiful animal. It is impossible not to admire his view, for he looks just fabulous. No wonder this suit is reflected in literature. Remember at least Charles Perrault's favorite fairy tale, Cinderella, from childhood. Who did the good fairy mice turn into? That's right, in the beautiful horses it is the mouse color. Six smoky horses harnessed to a gilded carriage instantly rushed Cinderella into the palace.
And the famous hard worker Savrask from the poem by N. A. Nekrasov "Frost, Red Nose"? He, too, was a muscle horse. You can find many examples when these magnificent animals are mentioned in Russian and Kazakh literature.
Mouse horse: origin
Once this suit was called blue. The reason for this was the play of light on the backs of animals. Under the bright rays of the sun, ashen wool actually casts a bluish tint. So what color is the horse and how did these wonderful animals come about? Maybe they were bred during complex breeding? Or was nature itself creating them?
Experts believe that the mouse horse is a direct descendant of the tarpans, who were the progenitors of all the horses that are now known. In the XIX century, they were widespread in the southern and southeastern parts of Russia and Western Siberia, in central Europe, in Kazakhstan.
There are two varieties of these animals: steppe and forest. The steppe tarpan was not very tall, with a large hunchbacked head, pointed ears, thick, short and slightly curly hair, which became longer in winter, and a curly mane. In summer, their hair was dyed black-brown, tan or dirty yellow, and in winter it was brightened. The color acquired a murine hue, and a wide dark strip passed along the back.
The mane, legs and tail of the animals were also dark, with small zebroid marks. These wild horses "gave" their winter color, as well as a dark strip along the ridge, to their descendants - muscle horses. Confirms the connection with wild ancestors and the fact that this breed is very difficult to almost impossible to breed. Horse breeders are well aware that purebred animals, as well as half-breeds, do not have a furry suit. To get such beauties artificially, breeders used representatives of the Polish conic breed. These animals more than others were affected by the tarpan genes, which naturally affected their appearance.
Mouse suit of horses: features, description
The peculiarity of these horses is a darker mane, legs and tail, as well as a characteristic black “strap” running along the back. Today, in many publications on horse breeding, you can find a description of a muscle horse. The color of the horses is characterized by the presence of a dark head, sometimes almost black. This color can be found in all breeds that have a wild gene. If it is not, then the ash gray color is just an apprentice of the black suit.
In this case, there are no "wild" signs: a "belt" on the back, zebroidity. If you compare with other types of horse color, the hair of horseback horses does not fade with time, but the shade changes depending on the season.
Classification
We hope that now you can easily answer the question: “The mouse horse is what color?” However, you may not know that the mouse suit has several varieties.
Dark
In these animals, the color of the mane, tail and legs is dark. A “strap” is clearly visible on the back. The body is covered with dark gray wool.
Light mouse
These animals are light gray in color. Sometimes this shade is called muddy white. The limbs and head are darker, may even be black. The belt along the back is slightly darker than the main color. The hairs on the mane and tail can be both dark and light, sometimes almost white.
Muhortaya
This suit is quite rare. At the eyes, near the mouth, less often on the croup or groin, the horses have golden-red or yellow marks. This unusual combination of gold and silver looks very impressive.
People sometimes confuse two different suits: mouse and gray. Gray color appears from a combination of black and white hairs. A horse of a murine hue is evenly colored in ashen color. If a gray horse can “turn gray” with age and become almost white, then the animal of a furry suit will remain so until the end of its days.
Breeds
In the herd, the mouse horse is always distinguished by its unusual color. More often than others, it is found in Yakut and Mongolian breeds that carry the wild tarpan gene. This shade is also characteristic of the breed artificially bred - Polish conic.
Experienced breeders are sure that the suit does not affect the working qualities of animals. However, there is a nuance with food. Horses with a grayish tint, for example, do not like buckwheat straw. Sometimes they even have a rash on such a food, reminiscent of an allergic one.
We present you two breeds, among which the mouse suit is especially common.
Polish conic
Animals are direct descendants of tarps, so their description should be discussed in more detail. Small in size, but very hardy and strong horses were obtained during the crossing of wild tarps with peasant horses. The breed is remarkable in that it looks very much like an extinct wild ancestor.
Their hair is colored mouse-gray, the tail and mane are dark, the same dark belt along the back. It is interesting that the animals of this breed were used for the selective restoration of tarpans. More precisely, with their help, horses were brought that were as close as possible to the ancestors externally. Today, wild populations of tarpan horses can be found in Belarus and Poland.
Hutsul
Another descendant of Tarpan. The most common colors are mousey, bay, gray. The Hutsul horses, like the Polish conic, have a dark mane, head and tail. A tarpan-like belt is clearly visible on the back; zebroidity is often observed on the legs.
Hutsul horses are small in height (not more than 145 cm at the withers). Animals have strong hooves that do not require forging. In addition to wild tarps, the ancestors of the Hutsul breed were Hungarian and Mongolian horses, which are common in the steppe regions of Eastern Europe.