Echo leads awareness of unusual curly breed

Echo is a North American Curly horse, of which there about 3,000 in the world. These horses grow a very curly coat in the winter and most have very thick, long, curly manes. "They are very different in many ways," said Sarah.

"They are renowned for their quiet temperament and they also have hypo-allergenic qualities, which means that most allergy sufferers are fine with them or they suffer lesser reactions than they would with other horses."

When Sarah bought Echo as a four-year-old two years ago, she knew nothing about curly horses and ponies but she has become an enthusiastic ambassador for the breed.

"They are very quiet, they love people and they make very good children's ponies," said Sarah, who lives at Heslington near York. This weekend she and a group of fellow enthusiasts will be at Your Horse Live at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire where they are launching the new British Curly Horse and Pony Society and website

(www.bchps.com). They will be in the World Breeds Village at the event along with an American Bashkir Curly stallion, Warrior Lynx.

The Indians were among the first to value the curly horses and breed them. The first curly horse register was set up in 1971, the American Bashkir Curly Registry, which was followed by the North American Curly Horse Registry and the Curly SporthorseInternational Registry.

The reason why they are allergy friendly appears to be because there are other protein types in the skin and hair of curly horses, as well as smaller amounts of the allergen protein than in regular horses.

They come in all sizes and types, although the most common height is about 14.3hh and they can be used in a variety of disciplines.

A curly horse has been Dressage Horse of the Year in America. "I have been doing riding club events and a bit of hunting and I'm hoping to do some Trec with Echo," said Sarah, whose 13-year-old daughter Charlotte also rides him.

Sarah says she does attract some comments when she is riding out in the winter because the horse's coat is so unusual.

As with all horses, curlies shed their coats in the spring and most have quite a smooth summer coat but their manes and tails remain curly all the year round.

The first curly horses came to Europe in 1992 when some were imported to Sweden. Norway, Denmark, France and Germany followed this lead and in 2005 the first curlies arrived in Scotland. A stud in Hampshire then had a stallion and two mares and most recently, the Trevor Hall Stud in Wales is breeding curly horses and ponies.

The small group of enthusiasts who have formed the British Curly Horse and Pony Society hope that numbers will increase within the next couple of years. They plan to start inspections and gradings and would like to see the breed being exhibited and competed.

"I hope we gets lots of people coming to see us this weekend so we can raise awareness about them," said Sarah. "We just want people to know how much fun and how fantastic these horses are."

Other rare breeds that will be on show at Your Horse Live include the Paso Fino, Friesian, Quarter horses, mules and the Australian stock horse. There will also be parades in one of the arenas when an expert will commentate on the different breeds.

For more information go to www.yourhorselive.co.uk

For information about curly horses for England contact

[email protected]; Scotland, [email protected]; Wales, [email protected].

The British Curly Horse and Pony Society, tel. 01330 850342; www.bchaps.com.