Nihon no uma

http://japanese.lingualift.com/blog/japanese-horse-breeds/

Most people believe that there are no horses in Japan or least horses that are native to Japan, but there are in fact eight breeds of horses native to Japan. Most those breeds are only ponies.

Historically, they were used for war, work, and pleasure just like other breeds around the world. Nowadays these breeds have become pretty rare. I suppose due to the fact that horses these days are mostly just used for pleasure. Thankfully for these breeds, there organizations fighting for there survival.

Kiso 

This is a breed that some people believe is indigenous to Japan.

This breed was originally used for military purposes like farming and war mounts. Now they are raised for riding in Nagano and Gifu.

Noma

This is the most known breed from the Noma region of Imabari in Ehime Prefecture. They were bred from Mongolian stock in the 17th century. The Noma Uma is the smallest of the Japanese breeds. It’s most valued for its gentle personality and strength. They were used for riding, light draft work, and as packhorses on the steep mountainsides in the rough Noma region. Now, they are mostly used as riding horses for children and as study subjects in local schools.

In the early 17th century, the breed grew in popularity when Lord Hisamatsu of Matsuyama Han charged local farmers with breeding his warhorses until the Russo-Japanese war in 1904, when the Japanese army were caught off guard by the much larger horses of their enemy. This led to a Japanese military breeding program and introduction of several breeds from abroad.

While this had many positive side effects, such as an increase of interest in breeding and racing horses, it also led to the near-extinction of native Japanese horse breeds. The newly formed Japanese Agency of Equine Affairs banned all breeding of small horses and by 1970 there were just six purebred animals remaining. It is thanks to the stubbornness of a handful of farmers who illegally kept native horses for farm work that we still have the Noma ponies today. As of 2008, there were 84 purebred ponies in existence.

Dosanko

Another popular breed is the Hokkaido Washu more commonly known as the Dosanko. The Dosanko were brought to Hokkaido by fishermen from Honshu during the Edo period. They were used for transportation, but were left in Hokkaido when the fishermen returned home in autumn. The ponies were expected to survive in very harsh weather, in a land with very little vegetation, covered with snow, which is how the Dosanko developed its exceptional enduring strength for which it is known today.

Unlike the Nanbu breed, of which the Dosanko is considered to be a descendant of, and which no longer exists, the Dosanko is the most plentiful of the remaining ancient Japanese ponies, numbering at around 2000. Today, it is still used for heavy transportation in the mountains unreachable by truck. Some ranchers in Hokkaido even continue to winter the horses in the mountains, maintaining the breed’s hardiness.

The Dosanko feed mainly on bamboo grass and wander around in the mountains in search of it till spring when they return to the ranches without assistance to escape bears as they awake from hibernation and start to prey on the foals.

Misaki

Misaki is of pony height, but it has horse characteristics and proportions. It was first identified in the historical record in 1697, when the Akizuki family of the Takanabe Clan rounded up feral horses and developed a pool of breeding stock. However, following the end of World War II, the Misaki were designated as a National Natural Treasure and nowadays they have returned to feral life, mainly in a designated National Monument on Cape Toi at the south end of the Miyazaki Prefecture, attracting many tourists to the region.

Miyako

Miyako uma originated from Miyako Island in Okinawa, a prefecture known as a horse breeding area for centuries. In 1055, population of the breed peaked at around 10,000. Unfortunately, the increase of motorization caused this number to decline, and by 1983, there were only seven head alive. The population grew to 25 horses by 1993, but had dropped back to 19 by 2001, despite the great efforts to preserve this breed of great antiquity. The Miyako resemble Mongolian horse and nowadays they are mainly used as riding ponies, and sometimes for light draft work.

Yonaguni

The Yonaguni uma is a breed native to the southwest of Japan, specifically the Yonaguni Island. In 1939, when all local breeds began to be improved to produce larger war horses, the Yonaguni on their remote island were excluded from the plan, and the breed has been preserved. Still, due to the mechanization of agriculture, their number progressively decreased. Today, fewer than 200 are known to live in Japan.

Taishu

Taishu uma , also known as Taisu, originated on the Tsu Island of Japan. It is an ancient breed, believed to date back to the eighth century. In 1920, there were more than 4000 of them, but only about 65 head remain. Due to their gentle nature and strong willingness to obey, Tiashu are often ridden by farmers’ wives and children. Nevertheless, they are also known for endurance and ability to survive on little food and in severe weather, and may even be used for light draft. While in 1920, there were over 4000 Taishu on the Tsu Islands, fewer than 70 of them remain today.

Tokara

Another horse breed believed to be indigenous to Japan is Tokara uma, raised in the Tokara Islands, a chain of Island in Kagoshima. They are known for their tolerance to heat and have been used for agriculture.

The pony were found in 1952 by Shigeyuki Hayashida, a professor of Kagoshima University. When the Professor checked first, there were 43 ponies kept, however this number gradually decreased because of agricultural mechanization. There are now 107 Tokara ponies, some of them on display at Hirakawa Zoo in Kagoshima.