The Batak pony, also called the Deli pony, is a

pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

breed from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. Originating in Central

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

, it is thought to have descended from

Mongolian Horse The Mongol horse ( Mongolian Адуу, ''aduu'': "horse" or ''mori''; or as a herd, ''ado'') is the native horse breed of Mongolia. The breed is purported to be largely unchanged since the time of Genghis Khan. Nomads living in the traditio ...

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 Plat ...

blood, and has continually been infused with additional Arabian blood to improve its quality. The Batak is selectively breed by the Indonesians, and is often used to upgrade the quality of the horses and ponies on nearby islands.

Characteristics

The ponies are slender, but still strong and sturdy. In general, they are well-conformed, and most of their faults are partly to blame on the poor forage to which they have access. The only other breed of the country which is of better quality is the Sandalwood Pony. The ponies have a fine head with a straight or slightly convex profile. The neck is short and thin, the withers are prominent. The chest and frame are narrow, the back is usually long, and the quarters sloping. The tail is set and carried quite high. The Batak pony is considered a very willing breed, and is quite hardy. They usually average about but may stand up to , and are generally brown, but can be any

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

. The Batak pony was once used as sacrificial animals for the gods, but is now employed in a less-gruesome occupation as a riding pony. The Arabian blood makes it spirited when needed, but the pony is generally quiet enough for children to ride, with an excellent temperament. Their speed also makes them popular for

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

among the local population.

Origin

Horses were introduced to Nusantara archipelago in unknown date, they are descended from Tibetan or Mongol-type horses. It is possible that ancient stocks were brought to Indonesia by the Chinese

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

in the 7th century, recorded as being given to Dja-va (

Kalingga kingdom Kalingga ( jv, Karajan Kalingga; 訶陵 ''Hēlíng'' or 闍婆 ''She-pó / She-bó'' in Chinese sources) was a 6th-century Indianized kingdom on the north coast of Central Java, Indonesia. It was the earliest Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Centr ...

), Dva-ha-la, and Dva-pa-tan (Bali). Mongolian horses are probably captured during the

Mongol invasion of Java The Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan attempted in 1292 to invade Java, an island in modern Indonesia, with 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers. This was intended as a punitive expedition against Kertanegara of Singhasari, who had refused to pay tribute ...

(1293). If this true, the Nusantaran ponies would owe much of its roots to the

Mongolian horse The Mongol horse ( Mongolian Адуу, ''aduu'': "horse" or ''mori''; or as a herd, ''ado'') is the native horse breed of Mongolia. The breed is purported to be largely unchanged since the time of Genghis Khan. Nomads living in the traditio ...

as well as horses obtained from other areas of western Asia like India and Turkmenistan.Groeneveldt, Willem Pieter (1876).
Notes on the Malay Archipelago and Malacca, Compiled from Chinese Sources
. Batavia: W. Bruining.

References

External links

FAO DAD-IS Domestic Animal Diversity Information System data on the Batak
Batak Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Indonesia {{Horse-breed-stub

Characteristics

Origin

See also

References

External links