The M'Par or Mpar is a breed of small horse from the historic region of

Cayor Cayor ( wo, Kajoor; ar, كاجور) was the largest and most powerful kingdom (1549–1879) that split off from the Jolof Empire in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in northern and central Senegal, southeast of Walo, west of the kingdom ...

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 may for that reason be called the french: Cheval de Cayor, italic=no. It is the smallest of the four Senegalese horse breeds, the others being the M'Bayar, the Fleuve and the Foutanké.

History

The origins of the horse in Senegal are not documented. According to some authors, including Georges Doutressoulle, the M'Par may be an autochthonous breed with ancient origins in the area; others such as René Larrat see the horses of Senegal as descendants of

Barb Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

horses from the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

countries to the north. 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 M'Par are not reported. In 2007 the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

did not have data from which to estimate the conservation status of the M'Par breed. The M'Par is gradually being assimilated into the much larger M'Bayar population, and is at risk of extinction.

Characteristics

The M'Par is a small horse or

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 ...

. It is generally of poor conformation, heavy-headed, too long in the back, thin-legged, flat-chested and often with defective conformation of the legs. In compensation for these defects, it has exceptional qualities of endurance and rusticity.

Use

Horses play an important part in the social and economic life in Senegal. The M'Par is used as a light

draught horse A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less oft ...

. Because of its small size it is able to pull only light carts and fiacres.

References

{{Horse breeds of Africa Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Senegal