Asturcon pony
| Asturcon pony | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Important data | |
| Origin: | Spanish Atlantic coast |
| Main breeding area: | Asturias |
| Distribution: | rarely outside the breeding area |
| Stick measure : | 120-135 cm |
| Colors : | only black horses and foxes |
| Main application area: | Driving and children's riding pony |
The Asturcon pony (also called Asturians , Spanish Asturcón ) is an autochthonous breed of horse from the northern Spanish province of Asturias , which is kept semi-wild in the mountains of the Sierra de Sueve. There are also a number of stud farms that endeavor to preserve this breed. Outside the region, Asturcones are extremely rare. In 2008, around 1750 specimens were registered by the Asociación de Criadores de Ponis de Raza Asturcón (ACPRA), of which around 1500 were in Asturias, plus several more in the neighboring provinces, and a small number spread across the rest of Spain.
Background information on horse evaluation and breeding can be found under: Exterior , interior and horse breeding .
Exterior
With a height at the withers of 120 to 135 cm, the Asturcón is extremely fine-boned and resembles less a mountain pony than an elegant little horse . The head is narrow, with a straight profile, large eyes and nostrils, and well-formed, flexible ears. The neck is slender, with good freedom of gaiters, the chest moderately broad and muscled, the croup narrow and slightly sloping, but never split. The Asturcón looks rather long-legged with its low belt depth and tends towards the square format. The joints do not appear to be marked, the pasterns have no hangings worth mentioning. The hooves are well-formed, small and hard according to the rearing. The tail is long and dense. Asturcones were originally only registered as blacks, but since red and cabbage foxes were also born again and again, these colors are now also recognized by the ACPRA and make up about 15% of the total population. Badges are undesirable; a maximum of one small, white star is permitted.
interior
Due to their light caliber, Asturcones are only suitable to a limited extent as riding animals for adults, but they shine with a lot of movement and esprit in front of the carriage. Raised in extremely steep and stony terrain, they are extremely sure-footed, agile and skilful and also harder and stronger than their delicate bone structure suggests.
They are considered good-natured, strong-nerved and easy to handle, and therefore suitable as riding ponies for smaller children too.
Breeding history
Asturian horses were already mentioned by the Romans, who valued them as excellent tölter . Today's Asturcones have largely lost their tölt predisposition. Similarities in the shape of the head suggest a relationship to the British fur and Dales ponies , all three of which are believed to be based on Celtic ponies.
There was probably also a closer relationship to the Galician pony, which is now extinct. The Asturcón was also threatened with extinction in the mid-20th century. However, since 1977 the breed association Associatión de Criadores de Ponis de Raza Asturcón (ACPRA) has been taking care of the preservation of this old breed, which now has a solid base of lovers.
