Caspian

In 1957 an Iranian aristocrat, Narcy Firouz, and his American wife, Louise Laylin Firouz, moved to Iran and began teaching riding in Tehran. They could not find small, level-headed mounts for the children they taught, went looking on the strength of rumors about little horses in remote villages of the Elburz mountains, and in 1965 came back from an expedition near Amol with the breed. Louise named it the Caspian.

Between 1971 and 1976 the Firouzes exported 26 horses to Europe, and those animals founded the international population. The first Caspians in the US arrived from England in 1994. In Iran, the national stud farm Louise Firouz established, Persicus, still operates with government support.

The archaeology has since caught up: remains of the type found at Gohar Tappeh in Mazandaran province date to 3400 BCE. The Livestock Conservancy and academic researchers are still working out where the Caspian sits in equine history, and there is growing evidence it is one of the genetic foundations under several modern breeds.

The thing to understand first: a Caspian is proportioned like a horse, not like a pony, despite the size. It averages 11.2 hands, is not supposed to exceed 12.2, and weighs 400 to 600 pounds.

The head carries a vaulted forehead unlike other breeds, over a slim body, a high croup and a dense coat. The hooves are strong and rarely need shoes, and a Caspian reaches its adult height by 18 months. All colors occur except pinto patterns.

Docile and alert, by the Conservancy's rating, with a novice experience level. They are people-oriented horses, curious and good with children, which is what the Firouzes wanted them for in the first place.

They were found as village work animals and keep that practicality: hardy, sound, and sensible to handle.

Children's riding and light driving are the modern jobs, and the Conservancy notes they are very people oriented.

The other use is genetic. If the research holds, the Caspian is not a curiosity but a foundation: an ancestor type of several modern breeds, preserved alive.

Enough exercise. On that condition the Conservancy calls the Caspian a low-maintenance breed, and a tough one that adapts well to different environments.

Company matters too. The same source describes horses that love human company and form close bonds with people.

The Livestock Conservancy lists the Caspian as Critical. The international population is small and concentrated in England, with regional societies in Iran, the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden under the International Caspian Society.

At these numbers every animal counts, which makes breeding decisions, and the registration that documents them, part of the purchase.

Registration in the Americas runs through the Caspian Horse Society of the Americas, within the international registry structure. With a population this small, verify the papers before you bid; the breed's value is its documented ancestry.

Size the job to the horse. An eleven-hand animal of 500 pounds is a child's mount or a driving horse, however horse-like its proportions.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.