- Banker Horse
Infobox Horse
name= Banker Horse
image_caption=Horses on Corolla Island
features =
altname=
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country=United States of America
group1=
std1= |The Banker Horse is a breed of
horse which has existed on the islands ofNorth Carolina 's Outer Banks for centuries. Thisferal horse survives by eating the marsh grass and by scratching through sand for water seepage.Characteristics
The typical Banker horse is of small stature, standing between 13.2 to 15.0 hands high (convert|54|in|cm to convert|60|in|cm) and weighing between convert|700|lb|kg and convert|900|lb|kg. cite web|url=http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/colonialspanish.html |title=Colonial Spanish Horse |accessdate=2008-10-08 |work=American Livestock Breeds Conservancy ] Several characteristics suggest that the Banker horse is descended from Spanish stock. The presence of the genetic marker Q-ac indicate shared ancestry 400 years ago with two other breeds descended from Spanish stock: the
Paso Fino and Pryor Mountain Mustang. [ cite web|url= http://www.shacklefordhorses.org/timeline.htm|title=History on Hooves: The Horses of Shackleford Banks |accessdate=2008-09-30 |last=Mason |first=Carolyn |date=1997-11-17 |work=The Foundation for Shackleford Horses ] Banker horses on Corolla Island,North Carolina also exhibit skeletal traits of colonial Spanish horses: lobed, rather than semi-circular, wings of atlas, [ cite web|url=http://www.horseweb.com/heritagebreedssouthwest/update.htm |title=North American Colonia Spanish Horse |accessdate=2008-10-12 |last=Sponenberg |first=Phillip |date=2005 ] and a fused spine at the 5th and 6th lumbar. [cite news | first=Vickie | last=Ives | coauthors= | title=Corolla and Shackleford Horse of the Americas Inspections | date=2007-02-25 | publisher=The Horse of the Americas | url =http://www.corollawildhorses.com/Images/HOA%20Report/hoa-report.pdf | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-10-08 | language = ] The coat of a Banker horse can be any color, but is typically brown, bay, dun, or chestnut.Breed history
The exact origin of the Banker Horse is not known, but they appear to be of Spanish stock as it was the Spanish explorers who first visited the island in the 1520s. In the 1580s, the island was briefly colonized by the English. Both were known to have brought stock over, though we are uncertain whether the stock escaped, were released or saved from shipwreck.
Notes
References
* Pickeral, Tamsin. "The Encyclopedia of Horses and Ponies". Barnes & Noble. 2003. ISBN: 0760734577.
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