Ob Horse Breed Characteristics

There is very little information available on the Ob pony, usually known as the Priob or Priobskaya. This Western Siberian breed gets its name from the nearby Ob River, also called the Kalta or Omar. The Ob has many similarities to several other Russian breeds, to the point where differences are minute. It is unknown how many Obs are left in the world. There does not seem to be any organized breeding of Obs and there isn't any breed registry.

The most known about the Ob comes from information given to Bonnie Hendricks, author of "International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds" (University of Oklahoma Press; 1995). Unfortunately, there hasn't been any upgrade to this information. Obs may have been bred with other local breeds like the Yakut and Narym to the point where purebreds no longer exist. Hendricks notes that Priobs were renouned for working into their twenties.

General Description

The Ob is a large draft pony capable of doing a lot of work on very little feed. Horses in Russia generally are raised the traditional way in herds kept out of doors. They are not given supplemental grain or hay. They are usually left to fend for themselves and are caught as needed. The climate can be extreme here with mud and mosquitoes in the summer and deep snow and temperatures of -60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Obs only grow to be about 13 - 14 hands high but are very muscular and have the solid skeletons of a small draft horse. They tend to have shaggy coats, long, thick manes and tails and heavy feathering over the hooves. They have short legs, short, thick necks and Roman-nosed heads. The most common colors are bay, grullo and dun. Often, the Ob will show primitive markings such as a dark dorsal stripe and zebra-like striping on parts of the legs.

Brief History

It is unknown how old the Ob is, but native Siberian tribes were thought to have domesticated horses for thousands of years. Since the Ob River has been a major trade route in the area, the Ob is probably a result of numerous breeds crossed over time in order to get the desired result of a sturdy, long-lived pony that can survive the climate and little food.

The biggest influence was probably the now extinct Tundra horse, which was thought to be the main breed that influenced many other Arctic breeds. It was probably similar to a Mongolian horse, with short neck, short legs and an incredible amount of stamina. The main job of an Ob was to be a pack horse, but many were probably slaughtered for meat. Most nursing mares in Siberia are milked in order to make the fermented beverage kumiss.

Many Obs were crossed with the Estonian Native Horse, according to "Animal Genetic Resources of the USSR" (1989) Even then, the Ob was described as "disappearing."

References



"International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds." Bonnie Hendricks. University of Oklahoma Press; 1995.



"The Horse: A Complete Guide to Horse Breeds and Breeding." Jane Kidd. Tiger Books International; 1996.



"Animal Genetic Resources of the USSR." Nikolai Gergoyevitch Dmitriev, et al. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1989.



Equinest. "Ob Pony." http://www.theequinest.com/breeds/ob/