Baku TV broadcast an investigative material titled “Golden Heritage” about Karabakh horses, one of the symbols of Azerbaijan.
The study reviews the history of the world-famous “yellow Köhlen” from the past to the present.
Experts also clarified the characteristics that distinguish Karabakh horses from other horse breeds, including their superior qualities and the peculiarity of the golden color of these horses. Karabakh horse expert Yashar Guluzadeh said the mentioned horses have their own unique characteristics, body sizes and colors. With these characteristics, it is possible to easily distinguish Karabakh horses.
Modern Karabakh horses have a height of 144 to 154 centimeters, a neck of medium length, a small head, a wide and deep chest and well-developed muscles. Horses belonging to this breed are distinguished by their precise, fast movements and harmonious body structures. Thanks to this, in folklore, Karabakh horses were compared to an ahu or a gazelle. Some Arab sources have information about the presence of golden horses on the territory of Azerbaijan in the 8th century. Written sources also mention that the Arab invaders took 60,000 gold horses from Azerbaijan to Arabia.
There is also an interesting point about the name of the Karabakh horse. The idea from Soviet times is that the horses in question were domesticated and bred by the khans of Karabakh. That’s why its name is the Karabakh horse. At this moment it seems that the breed in question appeared 250 years ago. But this is a fundamentally wrong idea.
Historian Pasha Hasanli said that after Russia occupied the northern territories of Azerbaijan, they wanted to take these horses to exhibitions in St. Petersburg, Paris and other European cities:
“The Russians coined the name “Karabakh horse” because the process took place on the territory of the Karabakh Khanate and the horses were transported to European cities from the territory of this Khanate. But all Russian and other famous authors mention horses from Karabakh in his writings about the 19th and 20th centuries that in his homeland these horses were called “kohlan” and among the people they were called “yellow”.
In the detailed plot:
Why are “yellow horses” the most valuable horse breed in the world?
