Lokai

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,{{cite book | url-access = registration

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 are prominent, running into a straight, short back and sloping croup. The legs are solid, clean, and well-muscled. The Lokai generally stands between , and is usually chestnut (often with golden highlights), bay, or gray, although they are occasionally black or dun. Some of the horses have a curly coat. The breed tends to mature late, especially when raised in their native habitats. When bred and reared in good stable conditions, with improved feed and management, 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. These 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. The Lokai horse is even sometimes used as a draft horse.{{cite book

References

Annika Thomer, Maren Gottschalk, Anna Christmann, Fanny Naccache, Klaus Jung, Marion Hewicker-Trautwein, Ottmar Distl1, Julia Metzger (2018). An epistatic effect of KRT25 on SP6 is involved in curly coat in horses. Scientific Reports. 8: 6374. .