, country=

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

, group1= , std1= The Bosnian Mountain Horse ( Bosnian: Bosanski brdski konj / Босански брдски коњ) is the only indigenous

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of domestic

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 ...

, where it constitutes about 70% of the horse population. It is a small horse and is used both as a

pack animal A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft ani ...

and for riding. Breed numbers were severely reduced during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

of 1992–1995, and, unlike populations of other farm animals, continued to fall after the end of the war.

History

Selective breeding Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant ...

of the Bosnian Mountain Horse began at the stud of

Goražde Goražde ( cyrl, Горажде, ) is a city and the administrative center of Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Drina river. As of 2 ...

in 1908. The principal centres for the selection of the breed were the stud farms of

Borike Borika ( sr-cyrl, Борика) is a village in the Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 1991 census, the village is located in the municipality of Rogatica Rogatica ( sr-cyrl, Рогатица) is a town and municipality ...

, in the municipality of

Rogatica Rogatica ( sr-cyrl, Рогатица) is a town and municipality located in eastern Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 10,723 inhabitants, while the town of Rogatica has a population of 6, ...

, and

Han Pijesak Han Pijesak ( sr-cyrl, Хан Пијесак) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 3,530 inhabitants, while the town of Han Pijesak has a population of 2,0 ...

. Three stallion lines – Agan, Barut and Miško – and nine mare lines were established; the Agan line is lost, and the Barut and Miško lines heavily mixed.

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

stallions at the Borike stud were used to improve the Bosnian Mountain Horse. There are two types within the breed. The Glasinacki type has substantial Arab influence; it is named after the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

Glasinac Glasinac is a karst plateau, situated in the eastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Romanija mountain, in the middle of Dinaric Alps. The main feature of the plateau is the Glasinačko Polje (), a polje of 22 square kilometres, 7 km long ...

on the

Romanija Romanija ( sr-cyrl, Романија) is a mountain, karst plateau, and geographical region in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, including numerous villages and towns, such as Pale, Sokolac, Rogatica and Han Pijesak. Its highest point is Veliki ...

mountain, in the eastern part of the

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located ...

. A smaller type, the Podveleški, is found in

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

. During the Bosnian War of 1992–1995 horse populations, like those of other farm animals, suffered heavily. In the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of 10 autonomous cantons with their own gove ...

, the total number of horses fell from in 1990 to in 1995, and by 2002 had fallen further to , or about 15% of the pre-war number; in the Republika Srpska numbers also fell, though not so steeply. Overall, horse numbers in Bosnia and Herzegovina fell by 68% between 1990 and 2002. The breed has not been substantially affected by importations of foreign horses. It is in some areas the principal, or even the only, means of transportation.

References

{{reflist, refs= tate Veterinary Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina(s.d.). tp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1250e/annexes/CountryReports/BosniaHerzegovina.pdf Animal genetic resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina annex to: Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). tp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1250e/a1250e.pdf ''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture'' Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. {{ISBN, 9789251057629. Accessed October 2014. Maurizio Bongianni (1988)
''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Horses and Ponies''
Simon & Schuster, Inc., {{nobreak, p. 159. {{ISBN, 067166068-3 Breed data sheet: Bosnian Mountain/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed October 2014. Breed data sheet: Glasinacki/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed October 2014. Breed data sheet: Podveleski/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed October 2014. Waltraud Kugler, Hans-Peter Grunenfelder, Elli Broxham (2008)
''Donkey Breeds in Europe: Inventory, Description, Need for Action, Conservation; Report 2007/2008''
St. Gallen, Switzerland: Monitoring Institute for Rare Breeds and Seeds in Europe. Archived 2 September 2009. Fahrudin Hrasnica (1957). 'Die Auswertung der Erbtypen in der Zuchtung des bosnischen Gebirgpferdes'' Z. Fur tierzuzuchtungbiolog. Bd 70, Heft 2, Inc., {{nobreak, p. 163 - 174. Hamburg und Berlin 1957.

History

References

Further reading