The Karacabey horse is a now-

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

horse breed. It was a light riding horse that originated in Turkey.

History

After the establishment of Turkey as an independent nation, the Turks bred horses they called Karacabey at the Karacabey Stud. They were developed by crossing a Turkish strain of

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

s bred specifically for racing with the native

Anadolu Anadolu (from Ancient Greek , 'east') is the Turkish form of Anatolia, which refers to a region of the world that is now part of the nation of Turkey, also known as Asia Minor (Medieval and Modern Greek). Anadolu may also refer to: Education ...

breeds.Hendricks, Bonnie. ''International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds'', University of Oklahoma Press, 1996, p. 248. Bongianni, Maurizio. ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Horses and Ponies''. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1988, pg. 67. High quality show jumpers began to be imported from France and Germany, and the Karacabey breed was forgotten in favor of the exotic breeds. Another reason for its decline was competition from motor vehicles; the government decided there was no longer a need for this horse. The Karacabey Stud ceased all breeding of the Karacabey horse in 1980, and approximately 3,000 horses were sold at auction to the public. In a short time, crossed with other Turkish breeds, the Karacabey virtually disappeared, and today there are no Karacabey horses in Turkey. Ironically, almost as soon as the breed had vanished, the sport horse came to the fore as never before throughout the world, and Turkish officials deeply regretted the loss of this fine breed. Karacabey Stud now breeds the Arabian, Haflinger, and half-bred Halfinger.

Characteristics

The Karacabey was a very sound breed with good conformation, showing

influence but with more body mass. They usually stood at 15.1 to 16.1

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...

high, and were

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

, black, gray, roan, or

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

. They had a well-proportioned head with a straight profile, set on a slightly arched neck. They had pronounced withers, a wide, deep chest, sloping shoulders, a straight back, and a rounded, muscular croup. Their legs were strong and solid, with good joints and bone structure and well formed, tough hooves. The breed was said to be the only Turkish breed that displayed uniformity of type and consistent transmission of breed characteristics.

Related Types

The Karacabey Stud also bred a larger horse called the Karacabey-Nonius, now also extinct. The Karacabey-Nonius was bred as a harness horse and show jumper and was produced by crossing the Karacabey to the Nonius breeds. This breed easily jumped over five feet and averaged between 15 and 16 hands. Breeding the Karacabey-Nonius horses ceased entirely in 1970.

Uses

Karacabeys were used as a riding and pack horse, and for light draft and farm work. At one time, Turkey sent a fine Karacabey horse to England as a gift to Queen

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during h ...

, and this horse became a champion polo horse. The Karacabey was also a notable

jumper Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing *Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United State ...

References

{{equine Extinct horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Turkey Horse breeds