This might well be it, friends..... The Bashkir Curly horse. The unique
gene that gives Curlies their curly hair (which is most obvious with their winter coat) can be expressed minimally (horse exhibits curly hair inside ears, at fetlocks, and a kinky mane and tail), maximally (horse exhibits curl all over body, has dreadlocked mane, and has curly eyelashes and guard hairs), and "Extreme" (very tight, extreme curls, but when they shed out for summer can shed entirely bald) or any variation in between. The coat in the summer shows a slight wave in it, but not as extreme as the winter curls.
It is said that Curly horses were documented in Asian artwork as early as 161 AD.
Darwin documented curly horses in South America in the early 19th century and the early
Sioux natives regarded curly horses as sacred mounts for chiefs and
shamans. Native American artwork shows Curlies carrying warriors in the
Battle of Little Bighorn. Curlies are usually chestnut, but can range through the whole colour spectrum, even roan, cremello, buckskin and appaloosa. How amazing is this horse??!! They are reputed to be hypoallergic, in a similar way to poodles. A non allergic horse!! Can you believe it? My early (& current) riding dreams were thwarted by such violent allergies as to make it virtually impossible. I live the dream a little through my little equestrian star, Rainey, but the thought that I might have a horse of my own one day, to which I am not allergic..... wowzers! AND there is a curly breeder nearby in Saskatchewan. Maybe one day I will ride off into the sunset. And not just in my imagination, but for real, with curls blowing in the wind....
I might require the above scarf...the Hermes Nuees Imaginaires. The teeny problem is that it retails in the ballpark of $350. Well, poo on that. So that's the thing I want. We shall move on from that.
