Miyako-Pony

The Miyako Pony (Japanese宫 古 马, Miyako- uma ) is a pony breed from the island of Miyako, which belongs to the prefecture of Okinawa in Japan. It is one of eight endemic surviving horse breeds in addition to the Hokkaido, Kiso, Noma, Taishu, Misaki, Tokara and Yonaguni- Pony Japan.

Background information on the evaluation and breeding horses can be found at: exterior, interior and horse breeding.

Exterior

The Miyako Pony has a shoulder height of 142 cm and is usually brown or fallow color.

Breeding history

In the small originally present in Miyako pony stallions were bred from abroad in order to increase the size of the breed for agricultural work during the Second World War.

To 1944 there were about 10,000 Miyako ponies. Due to the motorization of agriculture it later became the brink of extinction and is now grown on two islands, namely Miyako and Aguni. In 1977, there were 15 animals of the breed, in 1985, it reached a low of 8 individuals, then took their number in 1993 to 25 in 2001, there were only 19 animals of the breed.

Swell

• Ken NOZAWA, Takayoshi SHOTAKE, Shin'ichi ITO and Yoshi KAWAMOTO: Phylogenetic Relationships among Japanese Native and Alien Horses Estimated by protein polymorphisms Journal of Equine Science Vol 9 (1998), no. 2 pp53 -69, ONLINE ISSN: 1347-7501. PRINT ISSN: 1340-3516 doi: 10.1294/jes.9.53
• " Country Report (For FAO State of the World 's Animal Genetic Resources Process) ," Editorial Committee Office of the Japanese Country Report, Animal Genetic Resources Laboratory, National Institute of Agro- Biological Sciences, Japan. (PDF file, 1.11 MB )
• Breeds of Livestock, Horses: Miyako 1995-2009 Oklahoma State University