Connoisseurs and horse lovers know that the mouse horse is a very beautiful animal. It is impossible not to admire his appearance, because he looks just fabulous. No wonder this suit is reflected in the literature. Remember at least the fairy tale of Charles Perrault, Cinderella, beloved from childhood. Whom did the good fairy turn mice into? That's right, in beautiful horses it is a mouse color. Six smoky horses harnessed to a gilded carriage immediately rushed Cinderella to the palace.
And the famous hard worker Savraska from N. A. Nekrasov's poem "Frost, Red Nose"? He, too, was a mouse horse. You can find many examples when these magnificent animals are mentioned in Russian and Kazakh literature.
Mouse Horse Origins
Once this suit was called blue. The reason for this was the play of light on the backs of animals. In the bright rays of the sun, ashy wool actually casts a bluish tint. So what color is the mouse horse and how did these wonderful animals appear? Maybe they were bred in the course of complex breeding work? Or were they created by nature itself?
Specialists believe that the mouse horse is a direct descendant of the tarpans, who were the progenitors of all nowfamous horses. In the 19th 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 short in stature, with a large hook-nosed head, pointed ears, thick, short and slightly curly hair, which became longer in winter, and a curly mane. In summer, their coat was dyed black-brown, yellow-brown or dirty yellow, and lighter in winter. The color took on a mouse hue, and a wide dark stripe ran along the back.
The mane, legs and tail of the animals were also dark, with small zebroid markings. These wild horses “gave” their winter color, as well as a dark stripe along the ridge, to their descendants - mouse horses. The connection with wild ancestors is also confirmed by the fact that this breed is very difficult and almost impossible to breed. Horse breeders are well aware that purebred animals, as well as half-breeds, do not have a mouse color. To get such beauties artificially, breeders used representatives of the Polish Konik breed. These animals, more than others, were influenced by tarpan genes, which naturally affected their appearance.
Mouse suit of horses: features, description
The feature of these horses is a darker mane, legs and tail, as well as a distinctive black "strap" running down the back. Today in many publications on horse breedingyou can find a description of a mouse horse. The color of 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 not, then the ash-gray color is just a black suit.
In this case, there are no "wild" signs: "belt" on the back, zebroid. Compared to other types of horse color, mouse horse hair does not fade over time, but the shade changes depending on the season.
Classification
We hope that now you can easily answer the question: “What color is the mouse horse?” However, you may not know that the mouse suit has several varieties.
Dark
The color of the mane, tail and legs of these animals is dark. The "strap" is clearly visible on the back. The body is covered with dark gray fur.
Light mouse
These are light gray animals. Sometimes this shade is called cloudy 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.
Mukhortaya
This suit is quite rare. At the eyes, near the mouth, less often on the croup or in the groin, the horses have golden-red or yellow marks. Such an unusual combination of gold and silver looks very impressive.
People sometimes confuse two different suits: mouse and gray. The gray color comes from a combination of black and white hairs. murine horseshade is painted evenly in ashy color. If a gray horse can “gray” with age and become almost white, then an animal with a mouse color will remain so until the end of its days.
Breeds
In the herd, the mouse horse always stands out for its unusual color. More often than others, it is found in the Yakut and Mongolian breeds, which carry the gene for wild tarpans. This shade is also characteristic of the artificially bred breed - the Polish horse.
Experienced breeders are sure that the color does not affect the working qualities of animals. However, there is a nuance with nutrition. Horses with a grayish coat, for example, do not like buckwheat straw. Sometimes they even develop a rash on such food, reminiscent of an allergic one.
We present you two breeds, among which the mouse color is especially common.
Polish Konik
Animals are direct descendants of tarpans, so their description should be discussed in more detail. Small in size, but very hardy and strong horses were obtained by crossing wild tarpans with peasant horses. The breed is remarkable in that outwardly it is very reminiscent of an extinct wild ancestor.
Their hair is dyed mouse-gray, the tail and mane are dark, the same dark belt along the back. It is interesting that animals of this particular breed were used for selective restoration of tarpans. More precisely, with their help, horses were bred that were as close as possible to their ancestors in appearance. Today, wild populations of tarpanoidshorses can be found on the territory of Belarus and Poland.
Hutsulskaya
Another descendant of tarpans. The most common colors are mouse, bay, gray. Hutsul horses, like the Polish horse, have a dark mane, head and tail. A “tarpan-shaped” belt is clearly visible on the back, zebroid is often observed on the legs.
Hutsul horses are small in stature (no more than 145 cm at the withers). Animals have strong hooves that do not require forging. In addition to wild tarpans, the ancestors of the Hutsul breed were Hungarian and Mongolian horses, which are common in the steppe regions of Eastern Europe.
