Also Known By: Nanfan, Khetsyui (Russian)

The Hequ is found in the Qinghai Province of China and is used as a pack and draft animal as well as for riding and racing. Hequ means “river zig”. The breed originated in the border area of Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces where the Yellow River makes a large “zig”. Prior to 1954 the breed was known as Nanfan which is often misapplied to the Tibetan horse. During the T’ang dynasty the Hequ horse was a favored spoil of war in the region.

During the T’ang dynasty (618-917) the emperor established a large horse facility to develop the calvary. To do so he imported large numbers of horses from western Asian countries to use on the local Tibetan stock. Read the rest of this entry »