Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Karabakh horses, graceful and majestic, are heritage of Azerbaijani people. An old saying that "A brave man is known by his horse" well describes the sense of pride and love of the Azerbaijani people for their horses.

Azerbaijani epic literature represents a number of legendary horses, such as Girat of national hero Koroghlu or Bozat of another hero, Gachag Nabi, which throughout history came to the rescue of their masters, keeping them away from danger.

The breed’s largest and purebred herds, living in the dense forests of Sheki region, are considered one of rare species in the world and the oldest one in Asia and the Caucasus.

President Ilham Aliyev signed an order for preservation and development of breeding core of Karabakh breed, allocating two million manats ($1.1 million) from the Reserve Fund of the President to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Under the Order, the ministry should also complete measures for creating necessary conditions for scientifically selective breeding and constructing equestrian complex of the Agdam Equestrian Farm under the Azerbaijan Scientific-Research Institute of Livestock.

The Karabakh horses are valued for their resistance in mountainous terrain, mild temper and dense chestnut color.

Unfortunately, the number of Karabakh horses began to decline in the backdrop of the civil and ethnic wars in the Caucasus and Karabakh region. At the beginning of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, horses constantly moved from one place to another, and it was one of the reasons for the dramatic population declines of these amazing creatures.

In 2007, the Agriculture Ministry developed a program for the conservation and growing of the breed for the next 15 years.

The Karabakh horse takes a pride place in various international competitions and contests, winning various prizes and medals.

Karabakh breed horses were repeatedly presented at the celebration of the anniversary of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II reign in 2012. Before, the English queen received a golden horse of Karabakh as a gift in 1956.

Last year 15 Azerbaijani Karabakh breed horses and a team of national dancers performed at the final night of the Royal Windsor Horse Show to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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