The Foutanké or Fouta is a breed or type of light

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

from

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

. It results from the

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

of a Fleuve stallion with an M'Bayar mare; its conformation is similar to that of the Fleuve. It is one of the four recognised Senegalese horse breeds – the others being the M'Bayar, the Fleuve and the M'Par – and is highly valued for

horse-racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

History

The origins of the horse in Senegal are not documented. In 1996, Senegal had a horse population of about 400,000 head, the largest of any West African country. This was a substantial increase from the 216,000 reported in 1978, and a much greater increase from the population after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, estimated at barely 30,000. Population numbers for the Foutanké are not reported. In 2007 the FAO did not have data from which to estimate the conservation status of the breed.

References

Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Senegal {{horse-breed-stub