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The Anadolu is part of the larger Turkish breed of horses. A relatively small horse, it is most often found in Turkey and is generally used as a riding and pack horse.

Physical Characteristics

When you observe the Anadolu's well-shaped head, which tapers gracefully to a small muzzle, you can see its Arab and Turkmene ancestry. In keeping with its refined head, the Anadolu has a small mouth, flared nostrils, sloping croup as well as low withers and a narrow chest. Anadolu horses with convex and concave profiles are also more predominant than those with flat profile.

Typically, an Anadolu horse has a solid black, gray, or rich chestnut coat. And although it is not a superb racer, it is known for its great endurance in the harshest conditions.

Personality and Temperament

Like most pack horses that are native to mountainous and rugged terrain, the Anadolu is an undemanding animal. It is a hard-working horse. This hardy horse does not require much care and attention. It can survive extremely cold conditions since it has been bred and reared in the mountainous region of Anatolia.

History and Background

The Anadolu is the most common breed native to Turkey (roughly one million head of Anadolu in the country today). It also one of the oldest recognized horse breeds, with evidence that the Anadolu has been in existence for more than 10 centuries.

Locally known as the Anadolu Ati (or internationally as the Anatolian horse), it a result of extensive interbreeding, including traces of Turkoman, Akhal-Teke (the modern representative of the Turkmenistan breed), as well as the Persian horse. There is also evidence Arab, Mongolian, Karabakh, Deliboz, and Kabarda blood was introduced to create the modern Anadolu.

Although Turkish horses in the Anatolian region are known collectively as the Anadolu, professors Selâhattin Batu and M. Nurettin Aral (both which are experts in the veterianry medicine field) insist that there is a distinction in the breed, dependant on a horse’s actual location in the region.