Home › Horse Breeds A–Z › Przewalski's Horse
Przewalski's Horse
Equus ferus przewalskii
The last truly wild horse — a stocky, dun steppe horse that was never domesticated and once went extinct in the wild.
How to spot it
A stocky, short-legged wild horse of about 12 to 14 hands (122 to 142 cm), dun-coloured with a pale belly, a dark dorsal stripe and a stiff, erect mane with no forelock. It carries 66 chromosomes to the domestic horse's 64.
Behaviour in the wild
It lives in small family bands of a stallion, mares and foals, grazing the open steppe and grassland of Central Asia. It is wary and defensive, never tamed into a riding animal.
Why it matters
Also called the takhi or Mongolian wild horse, it is the only living horse that was never domesticated — every other 'wild' horse, such as the Mustang, is a feral domestic animal.
Conservation
It was declared extinct in the wild around 1969 and survived only in zoos. Captive breeding and reintroduction have returned it to Mongolia, China and elsewhere; it remains endangered and strictly protected.
Lifespan
About 20 to 25 years. The whole living population descends from a small number of founders, so managing genetic diversity is the central task of its recovery.
Menu