The Lokai, a mountain horse bred in Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

, is used as a riding horse, a packhorse

Packhorse

.A packhorse or pack horse refers generally to an equid such as a horse, mule, donkey or pony used for carrying goods on their backs, usually carried in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. ...

, or even sometimes a light draft horse

Draft horse

A draft horse , draught horse or dray horse , less often called a work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...

. Although small, the breed is agile and hardy. The breed was developed by crossing native mountain horses with a mixture of Central Asian and European bloodlines.

History

The Lokai was developed in the mountainous areas of central and southern Tajikistan, where it was developed to be an agile, hardy pack and riding horse. The breed has been in development since the 16th century, when Uzbek Lokai tribesmen began improving the local horses with a mixture of Central Asian breeds, including contributions from the Iomud

Iomud

The Iomud is a light horse breed that developed in Turkmenistan as a natural descendant of the ancient Turkmene horses. It is used for riding and light draft work, and is known for its endurance and ability to withstand desert conditions.-Breed History:...

, Karabair

Karabair

The Karabair breed is a very old breed based on ancient stock that has been documented as being in the Uzbekistan area before the Christian era.-History:...

, Turkmene

Turkoman Horse

The Turkoman horse, or Turkmene, was an Oriental horse breed from the steppes of Central Asia, now extinct. Modern descendants include the Akhal-Teke and the Yamud horse breeds. Horses bred in Turkmenistan are still referred to as Turkoman, and have similar characteristics...

 and Akhal-Teke

Akhal-Teke

The Akhal-Teke is a horse breed from Turkmenistan, where they are a national emblem. They are noted for their speed and for endurance on long marches. These "golden-horses" are adapted to severe climatic conditions and are thought to be one of the oldest surviving horse breeds...

 breeds. Later, Arabian

Arabian horse

The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...

 stallions from Bukhara and Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 and Tersk horses were used to improve the breed..

Breed characteristics

The Lokai have well-proportioned heads with straight or slightly convex profiles, set on a long, well-formed neck and sloping, muscular shoulders. The withers

Withers

The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of a four-legged animal. In many species it is the tallest point of the body, and in horses and dogs it is the standard place to measure the animal's height .-Horses:The withers in horses are formed by the dorsal spinal processes of roughly the...

 are prominent, running into a straight, short back

Back (horse)

The back describes the area of horse anatomy where the saddle goes, and in popular usage extends to include the loin or lumbar region behind the thoracic vertebrae that also is crucial to a horse's weight-carrying ability. These two sections of the vertebral column beginning at the withers, the...

 and sloping croup

Rump (animal)

The rump or croup, in the external morphology of an animal, is the portion of the posterior dorsum that is posterior to the loins and anterior to the tail. Anatomically, the rump corresponds to the sacrum....

. The legs are solid, clean, and well-muscled. The Lokai generally stands between , and is usually chestnut

Chestnut (coat)

Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...

 (often with golden highlights), bay, or gray

Gray (horse)

Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...

, although they are occasionally black

Black (horse)

Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and novices frequently mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. However, some breeds of horses, such as the Friesian horse, Murgese and Ariegeois are almost exclusively black...

 or dun

Dun gene

The dun gene is a dilution gene that affects both red and black pigments in the coat color of a horse. The dun gene has the ability to affect the appearance of all black, bay, or chestnut -based horses to some degree by lightening the base body coat and suppressing the underlying base color to the...

. Some members of the breed exhibit a curly coat that can be traced to the stallion Farfor, used for breeding from 1955 to 1970. The breed tends to mature late, especially when raised in their native habitats. When bred and reared in good stable conditions, with improved feed

Equine nutrition

Equine nutrition is the feeding of horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, and other equines. Correct and balanced nutrition is a critical component of proper horse care....

 and management

Horse care

There are many aspects to horse care. Horses, ponies, mules, donkeys and other domesticated equids require attention from humans for optimal health and long life.-Living environment:...

, they mature faster and grow larger than their more native counterparts.

Currently, the Lokai is being crossed with Arabian and Thoroughbred horses to create a new type of saddle horse in Tajikistan.

Uses and purposes

Lokais have been used for a variety of purposes throughout the years. Theses horses provide transport over precipitous mountain country, they are raced, they are used in the game of kokpar, and they are often employed as a pack animal

Packhorse

.A packhorse or pack horse refers generally to an equid such as a horse, mule, donkey or pony used for carrying goods on their backs, usually carried in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. ...

. The Lokai horse is even sometimes used as a draft horse

Draft horse

A draft horse , draught horse or dray horse , less often called a work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...

.