The Skyrian Horse (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''αλογάκι της Σκύρου'') is a breed of miniature horse found on the

isle of

Skyros Skyros ( el, Σκύρος, ), in some historical contexts Latinized Scyros ( grc, Σκῦρος, ), is an island in Greece, the southernmost of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC and slightly later, the ...

Breed Characteristics

The Skyros breed generally stands between 9.1 and 11

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 " ...

(92 to 115 cm) high, and may be,

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 ...

, dun, brown or black. The small-bodied species of the Skyrian horse is one of the rarest horse breeds in the world. It is native to Greece, and in ancient times lived throughout the country, but now is only found in the wild in Skyros and in breeding and welfare farms on the island of Skyros. At the time of writing

009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...

there are 220 Skyrian horses in Greece, of which 152 live in Skyros. The Skyrian horse is a protected species. The Skyrian horses are friendly, social, robust and intelligent animals. The head is very handsome. The mane is long and thick and usually a hue darker than the skin colour. Their legs are slim, strong and wiry, with strong joints. The tail is low set. The hooves are small, compact and strong, usually black, and do not need shoeing. It is preferred by the breed standard to have very limited white markings eg a small star is acceptable . The Silva Project is currently working to promote the foundation of Skyros herds elsewhere in Greece and abroad. The Skyros Island Horse Trus

based in Skyros is running a highly successful breeding, conservation, education and welfare project with the Skyrian horses. Another key organisation working to protect the Skyrian horse is th
Skyrian horse society
which has created a stud book and is setting up a pedigree for the Skyrian horse. Also, another non-profit organisation Hippolytus est. 2010 (ελληνικά Ιππόλυτος) based in Falani Larissa is making efforts towards promoting the breed culturally and at the same time helping with its preservation.

History

The Skyros breed is believed to be descended from horses brought to the island of Skyros during the 5th to 8th centuries BCE by

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

colonists. It is possible that they were used by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

in his conquests, and also possible that they are the horses depicted in the friezes of the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...

. They developed mainly as semi-feral horses in the mountainous area on the southern part of the island, although individuals were caught and tamed by farmers for agricultural uses. The advances in agricultural mechanisation during the 1960s threatened the survival of the breed, as they were no longer needed for farm work and their numbers were already low. The prevalence of feral donkeys in the same area of Skyros is also a threat, as the two groups cross-breed and prevent pure breeding by the Skyros horses. During the 1970s, there was a short-lived breeding program focused on the Skyros breed. This program brought publicity to the breed and resulted in them being declared critically endangered in 1991.

Uses

The horses are often kept semi-wild, ranging the mountainous interior of the island until they are needed at the harvest for

threshing Threshing, or thrashing, is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain. History ...

grain. Skyroi are also used as pack horses, harness horses, and for riding.

References

External links

Katsarelias Simpson Project Blog
www.skyrosisalndhorsetrust.com
Silva Project homepage

Hippolytus homepage

Hippolytus blog

Area of Controlled Reproduction for the Preservation of Skyros Horse

The Skyrian Horse Society
{{Horse breeds of Greece Horse breeds Skyros Horse breeds originating in Greece