Asturcón

The Asturcon Pony ( also called Asturian, Spanish Asturcón ) is an indigenous horse breed in the northern Spanish province of Asturias, where it is kept half wild in the mountains of the Sierra de Sueve. In addition, there are a number of studs who endeavor to preserve this breed. Outside the region asturcones are extremely rare. 2008 about 1750 copies were registered by the Asociación de Criadores de Ponis de Raza Asturcón ( ACPRA ), which distributes about 1500 in Asturias, plus several others in neighboring provinces, and a small number over the rest of Spain.

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

Exterior

The Asturcón is very fine-boned at a height at the withers 120-135 cm and is less like a mountain pony as an elegant little horse. The head is narrow, with a straight profile, large eyes and nostrils and well shaped, movable ears. The neck is slim, with good throatlatch, chest moderately broad and muscular, the croup narrow and sloping slightly, but never split. The Asturcón seems quite long-legged with its small Gurttiefe and tends to the square format. The joints seem less marked, the bonds will have no material hanging. The hooves are rearing according to well-formed, small and hard. The tail is long and dense. Asturcones were originally registered only as a black horse, but because time and again red cabbage and foxes were born, these colors are now recognized by the ACPRA and make up about 15 % in the total stock of. Badges are undesirable permitted a maximum of one small white star.

Interior

Asturcones are only of limited use as mounts for adults due to their light caliber, but brilliant with lots of movement and Esprit front of the carriage. By breeding in extremely steep and rocky terrain they are extremely sure-footed, agile and clever and to harder and stronger than her delicate bone structure suggests.

They are considered good-natured, strong nerves and easy to handle, and thus suitable as riding ponies for small children.

Breeding history

Asturian horses were already mentioned by the Romans, who valued as excellent Tölter. The Töltveranlagung have today asturcones unfortunately largely lost. Similarities of the head shape can kinship relations with the British Fell and Dales ponies guess probably go all three back to Celtic ponies.

A closer relationship was probably the Galician pony that is extinct today, however. The Asturcón was also threatened with extinction middle of the 20th century. Since 1977, however, the Breeders' Association Association de Criadores de Ponis de Raza Asturcón ( ACPRA ) cares about the preservation of this ancient race, which now has a solid base of fans.