The Messara (also known as ''Cretan horse''Jasper Nissen: ''Enzyklopädie der Pferderassen''. Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 2003, (German)) is a light riding and draft

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 y ...

found on the island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

off the coast of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

History

The native mountain-type Messara pony has been on the Island of Crete for at least 1000 years. The name comes from the

Messara Plain The Messara Plain or simply Messara ( el, Μεσσαρά) is an alluvial plain in southern Crete, stretching about 50 km west-to-east and 7 km north-to-south, making it the largest plain in Crete. On a hill at its west end are the ruin ...

where they are usually found. Cretan horses were developed by crossing native and

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. ...

breeds imported during the Ottoman occupation in the 17th century.Hendricks, Bonnie. ''International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds''. University of Oklahoma Press, 1996, p. 283. It is now a rare breed with only around 100 representatives. Since 1994 there is a

studbook A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

and a conservation programme has been started.

Characteristics

The main coat colours found in the Messara are bay,

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

(a variation of bay),

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and

gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

. They usually stand between high. They retain some characteristics of their Arabian ancestors. Most Messara ponies have a natural pacing gait that is easy and comfortable to ride. They are very good at walking on rocky ground and uneven surfaces.

Uses

Messara horses are used for light farm work and for transportation, but more often are also being used for riding and racing. The stallions are often crossed with female

donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

s (Jennies) to produce hinnies.

References

{{Horse breeds of Greece Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Greece Messara Plain