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About the North American Curly Horse
North American Curly Horses are a rare breed of horse, with an estimated 2,000 currently living in the United States and Canada,
and a small handful in Germany, France, Finland, Norway, Holland, Sweden, Austria and Australia. The Curly Horses most admired
feature is their distinctly people-oriented temperament, and kind, willing nature, gentle inquisitiveness, and bold, sensible demeanor.
The Hallmark of the breed is its unique Curly coat, which ranges from tight pincushion type curls to soft marcel waves, and a wide
range of curl types in between. Curly horses also exhibit curled up eyelashes, long curly fetlocks, a mane that ranges from light waves,
to double-split mane with long dredlocks, to no mane at all! I think the most interesting tidbit about the Curly horse is their
hypoallergenic qualities. Most allergy suffers find that they are not allergic to Curly horses ( although there can be a range of
symptoms exhibited from individualhorses), and at the very least their allergies are greatly diminished and tolerable.
Body
The Curly Horse is a durable, sturdy, horse generally 14.0 to 15.1 hh, although some taller Curlies are now being bred for
Sporthorse enthusiasts. The Curly is strong, with a short back, straight strong bone, and thick, healthy hooves. The Curly Horse
usually does not require shoes, but like any horse, requires regular farrier care. Curly Horses have a wide face, and wide set ears.
Their faces can be long and narrow, straight in profile, or roman nosed. They may have other primitive horse traits such as smaller
chestnuts or missing ergots. Curlies with thick manes are double maned (split). They are not required to be clipped when shown,
to display their unique Curly Horse traits. There has been some rumor that Curly horses don't require any care. Unfortunately,
that isn't true, and some horses have been neglected due to this misconception. A Curly Horse requires good, basic horsecare
including regular hoof trimming, dental care, decent quality hay, clean, fresh water, and a run-in shelter from the elements.
They do not, however, require pampering, i.e., shoes, blankets, stalls, etc.
Coat
The Curly Horse's winter coat is curly, and usually straight in summer, sometimes with some waves. It has a curly mane, forelock,
ear hair, eyelashes and fetlocks, and sometimes a wavy tail. The body coat can range from crushed velvet waves, tight ringlets,
or microcurls. Manes and forelocks look like corkscrew, ringlets or dreadlocks. Tails may have some wave or curl. The ear hair is curly,
and the whiskers, eyelashes, and fetlocks curly. In summer, Curlies shed out to a smooth coat, but sometimes you can still see a
slight wave. Some Curlies shed their manes and or tails during the spring and regrow them during the summer, and some shed only
once every 3 years or so, possibly as nature's way of keeping those Curly manes from getting all tangled up. There are even people
who spin Curly hair, and they swear it spins just like mohair! You can read more about spinning Curly hair on the Fiber page.
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