Carolina Marsh Tacky
Carolina Marsh Tacky at Hilton Head
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| Other names | Marsh Tacky |
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| Country of origin | United States of America |
| Traits | |
| Distinguishing features | Small, sure-footed horse with gentle disposition, adept at work in marshland. |
| Breed standards | |
The Carolina Marsh Tacky or Marsh Tacky is a rare breed of horse, native to South Carolina. It is a member of the Colonial Spanish group of horse breeds, which also include the Florida Cracker Horse and the Banker horse of North Carolina. It is a small horse, well adapted for use in the lowland swamps of its native South Carolina. The Marsh Tacky developed from Spanish horses brought to the South Carolina coast by Spanish explorers, settlers and traders as early as the 16th century. The horses were used by the colonists during the American Revolution, and by South Carolinians for farm work, herding cattle and hunting throughout the breed's history.
The breed is considered to be critically endangered by both the and the Equus Survival Trust, and there are only around 275 Marsh Tackies in existence today. In 2006 and 2007, the two organizations worked together to complete DNA testing on the breed with the goals of mapping the Marsh Tacky's place among the horse breeds of the world and beginning a stud book. In 2007, an association was begun with the objective of preserving and promoting the Marsh Tacky; and in 2010 a closed stud book was created.
The Marsh Tacky generally stands between 14 and 14.2 hands (56 and 58 inches, 142 and 147 cm) high, although the acceptable range is between 13 and 15 hands (52 and 60 inches, 132 and 152 cm) high. Today, the breed comes in a wide variety of colors, including dun, bay, roan, chestnut, black and grullo. Historically, multi-colored patterns such as pinto were found, but they were not selected for when breeding, and today are not seen. The colors today are consistent with those of other Colonial Spanish horses. The profile of the breed's head is usually flat or somewhat concave, becoming slightly convex from the nasal region to the top of the muzzle. The forehead is wide and the eyes set well apart. The breed typically has a slight ewe neck, and the neck is attached low on the chest compared to many other breeds. The withers are pronounced, the back short and strong, and the croup steeply angled. The chest is deep but narrow and the shoulder long and angled. The legs have long, tapering muscling, with in general no feathering on the lower legs. The Marsh Tacky exhibits a four-beat ambling gait, most similar to the marcha batida of the Brazilian Mangalarga Marchador, another breed with Spanish heritage, although also compared to the fox trot of the Missouri Fox Trotter. However, the Marsh Tacky's gait shows a period of quadrupedal support where all four feet are planted and diagonal foot pairings, whereas the Fox Trotter shows tripedal support and the Mangalarga Marchador lacks the diagonal foot pairings.
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