The Tokara is a native of Japan. It is used for riding and light draft. It stands
12 h.h.
Early in 1950, Dr. Shigeyuki Hayashida found a group of small horses living in the
south side of the Tokara Islands and named they Tokara ponies. According to this man,
around 1897 people from Kitaiga Island brought about ten native horses to Takara (not
Tokara). They were used for farming, transportation of heavy objects, and in processing
sugarcane grown in the area. In 1943, at the height of their popularity, the breed
reached 100 head, but after World War II their numbers were reduced drastically.
Kagoshima Prefecture declared the ponies a prefectural national monument and sent
them to the mainland for a time because of the difficult living conditions on the
island. Today Kagoshima University, Iriki ranch, Kaimon National Park, and Nakano
Island in the Tokara Islands are the centers for breeding and preservation of the
Tokara pony. As of December 1988, a total of eighty-eight purebred animals remained.
Population Status: Rare
References
Hendricks, Bonnie L., International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds, Univ of Oklahoma
Press, 1995.