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To: My2Cents
This is too funny. My daughter and I were just on the phone. She rides and was wondering if our troops are trained riders. I thought they weren't. I imagine those horses are not exactly high powered thourghbreds.
5 posted on 11/18/2001 4:15:38 PM PST by UB355
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To: UB355
Shaggy mountain ponies, I imagine, because they have to be able to take the cold and they need stamina more than speed. If that kind of horse was good enough for the Mongols, it should be good enough for the Special Forces.
13 posted on 11/18/2001 4:58:08 PM PST by Cicero
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To: UB355
<< I imagine those horses are not exactly high powered thourghbreds.>>

Actually, they're pretty interesting horses. They are members of very old breeds. They have a strong Arab influence (unsurprisingly) which means that, like Thoroughbreds, they are considered hot-blooded, though they have less refinement and a less-elegant way of going than pure Arabs. Kazakh and Karabair horses are tough, intelligent, and fast, with amazing endurance and the ability to subsist on small amounts of forage. You can see from looking at the photos that they're not big horses, but they can accomplish a lot. One horse of this general type, an Akhal-Teke, was an Olympic dressage competitor several years ago, if I'm not entirely mistaken (and someone on the list please correct me if I am).

14 posted on 11/18/2001 5:08:50 PM PST by Capriole
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