THE MALOPOLSKI – ELEGANT AND RESILIENT

Published: 2024-01-02 14:18:57 Categories: Guides

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THE MALOPOLSKI – ELEGANT AND RESILIENT

The Malopolski is a Polish horse breed that stands out with its powerful gaits. They are lighter and smaller than Wielkopolski. Often characterized by their elegance and resilience gained from their Arabian ancestors. This is one of the most popular horse breeds in Poland.

The Malopolski – history

The Malopolski, colloquially also called a Polish Anglo-Arabian, was bred from small primitive peasant horses (descendants of Polish Konik) at the beginning of the 18^th century. Then they were refined by crossbreeding them with oriental horses, mainly Arabians, but also Turkomen horses, and Turkish horses.

In the 19^th century, the crossbreeding expanded to other breeds from the Austro-Hungarian lineage (that is Amurath, Dahoman, Gazlan, Girdan, Furioso, and Shagya) as well as Arabians and Anglo-Arabians.

The Malopolski was even part of the Polish hussars. The name of the breed was finally chosen in 1962 and corresponds to the place of the studs (Malopolska – region in Poland).

In the 20^th century, Malopolski was bred with the Wielkopolski to increase the horse’s weight and height needed to meet the changing needs of riders and farmers. Thanks to this process, the Malopolski earned its nickname Polish Anglo-Arabian (Polish breeders mark these horses in passports as m.xo).

The Malopolski – anatomy and characteristics

The Malopolski combines primitive and fine traits. These horses have medium-sized, fine heads with big eyes and nostrils that resemble Arabian ones. Their legs are slim, sometimes too dry with small hooves. Confirmation defects are common.

The neck is nicely built, long, and often has a swan shape. The withers are prominent while the body is not too wide and quite long. The chest of a Malopolski horse is wide, just like in primitive horse breeds. The shoulders are often sloping, and frequently the musculature of the back is not that impressive.

The coat is fine, shiny, and soft to the touch.

Height: 158-165 cm

Weight: around 450 kg (1 thousand pounds)

Coat: all coats are possible (horses with bay and grey coats are most common) – roans are unacceptable.

The Malopolski – importance

The resilience, calmness, and friendliness of the Malopolski came from primitive breeds – for example, Polish Konik. At the same time, the oriental ancestors gave the breed its proudness, intelligence, lightness, and temperament.

This set of characteristics allows the Malopolski to be a horse perfect for recreational riding as well as sport. These horses thrive in endurance races (their results are almost as good as the ones of Arabians) but also do really great in show jumping as well as dressage. Their versatile nature makes them very popular in Poland.

What’s interesting, Malopolski horses can also excel at high-level competitions. One of the most known Malopolski horses is Artemor (bred in Janów Podlaski) ridden by Jan Kowalczyk. The pair won, among other successes, the individual gold medal, and the team silver medal during the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980. The pair also won 8 CSIO competitions and represented Poland in the World Cup eight times.

The Malopolski can also be a great eventer. One of such horses was Ramzes. During the Second World War, Ramzes was exported to Germany and successfully competed there. Later, as a stud proved its breeding value and was part of many other sport horses’ lineage.

The Malopolski – price

The price for a Malopolski horse depends on its age, skills, and pedigree. The price for most horses ranges between 15 thousand PLN (around 3 thousand Pounds) to 50 thousand PLN (around 10 thousand Pounds).

Summary

If you are looking for a versatile horse that will be great for horse riding adepts and recreational riders, then Malopolski is the perfect breed for you. The breed is gaining popularity, more and more frequently can these horses be seen in recreational stables and dressage, show jumping, as well as endurance race competitions.

Take care of your horse’s diet and check out our website: HORSE FEED AND SUPPLEMENTS

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