One especially odd feature of the breed is the fact that some can completely shed out the mane hair (and sometimes even the tail hair) each summer, to grow back during the winter. The mane hair is usually fine and soft. They have a double mane, which splits down the middle leaving curly ringlets hanging on both sides of the neck. Their body coat sheds out in the summer and they become wavy or fairly straight on their body, with their beautiful coat returning in late fall. Several winter coat patterns have been observed, from a crushed velvet effect, to a perfect marcel wave, to extremely tight curls over the entire body. It has been tested and proved that flat hair is curly, yet when the hair of Curlies were tested it was found to be round. One other thing about their hair should be mentioned, is that a number of owners who are allergic to horses find that they are not allergic to their Curlies!
Outcrossing produces color - and since Curlies have necessarily been crossed with other breeds due to their own scarcity, they come in all colors - even with Appaloosa or Pinto markings.
Their most cherished quality is their calmness and extremely gentle disposition. We do feel that this is one of their finest features. Many have been taken off the open range, even full-grown animals, and in a day or two, they are gentler than horses that have been handled for years. Nothing seems to ruffle them. They do not tend to resort to fight when frightened, which has been claimed the horse's greatest means of survival. Curlies, with their naturally curious nature, prefer to face the unknown rather than run. Although they will struggle frantically when first roped or haltered, their inherent gentleness willingly responds to kindness and affection, but they cannot seem to cope with, or tolerate abuse. They will tend to freeze in a tight spot so seldom get themselves hurt, even if caught in barbed wire. They delight in human companionship and love to be talked to.
Although there is "dominant" curly gene that makes it possible to get curly-coated foals from curly-coated parents, there is also "recessive" gene that occasionally causes curly-coated foals to show up in the straight-coated breeds - from pony to draft horse! Strangely, the curly-coated foals, whether from "dominant" or "recessive" genes, all seem to carry most of the same basic traits. And many of these traits do not fit the norm for other breeds.
Performance-wise, Curlies are a no-nonsense horse and have an uncanny ability to do all that is asked of them, since they are unusually intelligent, learn quickly, and have a remarkable memory (for either good or bad experiences). They have won trophies in Arena events such as: Western Riding, Reining, Gymkhana events, Hunter, Jumper, Roping, English Equitation, Western Pleasure, Gaited Pleasure, Dressage, and Driving. They have won in Competitive and Endurance Trail riding and are excellent mounts in the mountains, ranch work, and an all-around pleasure horse.
Horses with Curly coats are most certainly an ancient breed. They have been depicted in art and statuary in early China as far back as 161 A.D. There has been evidence of their presence in South America and Europe. A photo of a curly-coated Bashkir horse from Russia was printed in the 1938 March issue of the nature magazine entitled, "The Evolution of the Horses". The horse's picture was later drawn by John Hix and featured in a cartoon called "Strange As It Seems". The clipping had been saved in a scrapbook by the Damele family, the early day curly horse breeders in Nevada. This information was one of the factors that helped in determining the name of this unique breed. Too, in Russia, the Lokia breed, which is known to have individuals with Appaloosa markings, also produce offspring with curly-coats.
It is still a mystery how the Curlies came to the US. Many theories have been advanced on this subject, but no factual proof has yet been found. But there is evidence that Curlies have been in North America since the early 1800's. Many Indian pictographs illustrating the "Winter Counts" have noted that in the winter of 1801-02 the Sioux had stolen some curly horses from the Crow. This incident placed the tribes at the Standing Rock/Cheyenne River Reservation at the mouth of the Grand River. A significant location of the Curlies today have been tracked to Indian Reservations in the North and South Dakota. Many Curlies then and now have been acquired from the wild horses that roam the lands of the United States. They have been domesticated, bred, and raised by ranchers through-out the United States and Canada.
The American Bashkir Curly Registry was established in 1971 in Ely, Nevada by a handful of breeders with a deep love for these unique horses. Their sole purpose was to preserve, propagate, and promote them.
The registry has 3 divisions: the full Curly, the Half-Bashkir, and the Straight. In the full Curly division Curlies must have both sire and dam registered with ABC. ABC Straight dams (with #374 and under) with Curly foals will be eligible in the full Curly division when bred to ABC full Curly stallions. There are 3 categories in this division: Appendix (A-) horses under the age of 2, this certificate has a green border with an expiration date so this certificate can be updated when the horse is older and placed either in the Tentative or Permanent category. Tentative (T-), red border certificate, is for stallions and mares. And the Permanent (P-), blue border certificate, is for geldings, stallions with 5 registered Curly get, mares with 2 registered Curly produce, and horses with both sire and dam in the Permanent category.
The Half-Bashkir Division (HB-) consists of any good curly-coated horse with unknown parentage, with one or neither sire and dam registered with ABC. Their offspring, if curly, will also be accepted in this division and so on down the line until pedigree shows 2 generations of ABC registered Curlies (ABC sire and dam and ABC grandsires and granddams) in which case that Curly offspring will be eligible for the Full Curly Division.
The Straight Division (S-) consists of any straight coated horse with both Curly sire and Curly dam registered with ABC. (Stallions are not eligible until gelded).
Information taken from the American Bashkir Curly Association
P.O. Box 246
Ely, Nv 89301
