Taishū horse
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| Other names |
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| Country of origin | Japan |
| Distribution | Tsushima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture |
| Use |
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| Traits | |
| Height | |
The Taishū (対州馬, taishū uma) or Tsushima (対馬馬, tsushima uma) is an endangered Japanese breed of small horse from Tsushima Island in the Korea Strait, in Nagasaki Prefecture of Japan.[2] It may be used for draught work, as a pack-horse or for riding; it was useful in the past for transport between remote villages in the mountains of the island, but is no longer so used.
History
The Taishū is a traditional breed of Tsushima Island in the Korea Strait, in Nagasaki Prefecture of Japan, which was formerly also known as Taishū. It was formerly numerous on the island, with approximately 4000 head counted in the 1920s.[3]: 506 By 1965 this number had fallen to 1182 head; it fell further, to 287 head in 1975 and to 75 head in 1985.[4]: 94 Registration of pedigrees of the horses was started in 1979 as part of a programme to preserve the breed from extinction.[3]: 506
In 1991 the conservation status of the breed was reported as "critical" at 89 head.[4] In 2007 it was listed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as "critical-maintained".[1]: 71 A population of 30 was reported in 2008, and no population data has been reported since then; in 2025 the conservation status of the breed was not known.[2]
Characteristics
The Taishū is small, with strong legs. Average height at the withers is variously reported to be 123 cm[2] or 127 cm.[3]: 506
Use
The horses may be used for draught work, as pack-horses or for riding.[3]: 506 In the past, they were much used for transport on the narrow paths between remote villages in the mountains of the island but in the twenty-first century are little used in this way.[2]
References
- ^ a b Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Tsushima / Japan (Horse). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ a b [Editorial Committee Office of the Japanese Country Report, Animal Genetic Resources Laboratory, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Japan] ([n.d.]). Country Report (For FAO State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources Process); annex to: Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 15 October 2012.