the hutsul pony is no pony

instead, it's a draft horse first mentioned in hippica (1606), originally from the area inhabited by the hutsul people in the carpathian mountains (there where bucovina, pokuttya and maramuresh meet). a draft horse is a large horse used for hard, heavy tasks; the hutsul pony possesses great endurance and hardiness. it's known as calm and used by hutsuls especially for riding and transporting timber in areas inaccessible by other means.

there are two theories on its origin, one telling that the hutsul pony is the direct descendant of the tarpan (eurasian wild horse) and the other saying the hutsul pony is the descendant of the horses depicted on monuments erected by roman emperors trajan and domitian as draft horses of the dacians.

austro-hungarian army used it, as bucovina was part of the empire from 1774 to 1918.

on some sites it states that the world population exceeds 1000, but i would estimate that number only for the area inhabited by the hutsul people.


the most important raising center is lucina (founded 1877), in the hutsul village sulitsa (in romanian moldova-suliţa), northwest of suceava county.

the other centers are: gładyszów, odrzechowa (poland), topoľčianky (slovakia), aggtelek (hungary), prague (czech rep).