... aka Siobhan's Horse Collection again :) I put pics of my collection in the Schleich section once, but I'm going to do it again because 1) these pics might be better because I didn't cram as many horses into them as last time 2) my collection has grown somewhat since I last showed it! Oh, and 3) I came up with a nice theme for presenting my collection.
The theme is: Schleich Horse Breeds Around the World. Ever since I learned to be a "horse girl" I got really interested in different breeds, and from which country each breed originates. One thing I like about the Schleich horses series is that it presents breeds from around the world – which is probably true for other brands too, but I just happen to focus on Schleich.
Enough babbling now. Ladies and gentlemen, make sure you have your reins firmly in your hands and your feet securely in your stirrups so you don't fall off when we head on for a trip around the horsey world...
As I, your tour guide, am Finnish, it's only natural to start from Northern Europe. Unfortunately we don't have a Finnhorse for you to see but we do have the Knabstrupper (from Denmark of course), the Norwegian Fjord Horse and the Icelandic horse! You gotta be a tough horse to survive up North where it's cold and dark
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Moving southwards. Next stop, Holland! There we have the majestic Friesian that is adored around the world, which is no surprise. These black horses were near extinction when horses were no longer needed to work in the farms, but luckily it survived!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The next country is Germany, which is home to so many remarkable breeds that they will be presented in two separate photos. First, take a look at the Hanoverians, which are one of the most popular sport horses everywhere.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]In addition to Hanoverians, we have here the rare Black Forest horse, and the Trakehner and the Holsteiner, which are also popular sport horses.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Bienvenue en France! France is home to many very different breeds, like these two: the massive Percheron and the small, hardy Camargue horse.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Moving eastwards, to Austria. Everyone who knows anything about horses knows, and adores, the white Lipizzaners who perform haute école in the Spanish Riding School of Vienna. Their neighbors, the Haflingers, are tough and sure-footed enough to travel through the Alps. Similarly to the Icelandic horse, you should be careful not to call the Haflinger a pony even though it's pony-sized.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The southernmost European breeds to introduce are the two Iberian breeds: the Lusitano from Portugal, and the Pura Raza Española, formerly known as the Andalusian horse, from Spain. These two breeds are so closely related that they used to be considered one and the same breed. These beauties are one of my personal favourites...
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Leaving the mainland, for... Great Britain! Again, there are so many British breeds to introduce that we will start with Scotland. Kind of nice, how one of the largest and one of the smallest breeds originate from the same country! I'm talking about the Clydesdale horse and the Shetland pony, of course.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Now you get to really see the diversity of breeds in England. The gentle, gigantic Shire horse; the enourmously fast, athletic English Thoroughbred; and the two cute and compact pony breeds, the Dartmoor pony and the riding pony, which isn't an actual breed but a
type[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The last European country and breed on this tour: Ireland and the Tinker horse, known by many other names such as the Irish Cob and the Gypsy Vanner. These are versatile horses that can do almost anything and be almost any colour.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Leaving Europe and heading to the exotic Orient. From the Arabian peninsula originates the Arabian horse, which is not only considered the most beautiful horse in the world, but also there are very few breeds in the world to whose development the Arabian hasn't contributed to at some point.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The Asian part of this tour is short, as there are only two breeds left to introduce, and as we only have one horse of each to show, they were put into the same picture. On the left there is the delicate-looking, but extremely adaptable Akhal-teke, from Turkmenistan, and on the right you can see the Przewalski's horse from Mongolia, the last true wild horse in the world.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Yeehaaw, we have arrived in the USA, where the cowboys live. America is famous for its "colour breeds", meaning that the breed is defined primarily by the horses' colour. Here you can see the the easily recognizable "colour breeds": the spotted Appaloosa, the golden Palomino and the piebald/skewbald Pinto.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]That wasn't all we have to show of American horse breeds. Meet the small and versatile Morgan, the wild Mustang, the Tennessee Walking Horse that is famous for its unusual gaits, and the Quarter horse, which is the true cowboy steed.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]One continent left to explore, which is South America. Argentina is where the tiny Falabella comes from. Despite their size, Falabellas are classified as horses because they do resemble horses rather than ponies proportion-wise – they just happen to be small!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Here are the last six horses whose breed is not defined. The third one from the right is the special model Satchmo!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]I sincerely thank you for participating on this tour, hope you enjoyed it and didn't get too exhausted as we travelled quite a distance