Japanese horses are thought to derive from stock brought at several different times from various parts of the Asian mainland; the first such importations took place by the sixth century at the latest.[3] Horses were used for farming – as pack-animals although not for draught power; until the advent of firearms in the later sixteenth century, they were much used for warfare.[4]: 67 The horses were not large: remains of some 130 horses have been excavated from battlefields dating to the Kamakura period (1185–1333 AD); they ranged from 110 to 140 cminwithers height.[4]: 67
The breed was first identified in the historical record in 1697 when the Akizuki family of the Takanabe Clan rounded up feral horses and developed a pool of breeding stock.[citation needed]
The Misaki and the area in which it lives, Cape Toi, were declared a Natural Monument in 1953 (Shōwa28).[5]. The horses are a popular draw for tourists in the region.
In 2007, the Misaki was classified as "critical-maintained" by the FAO.[1]: 71 The population is approximately 120,[6][7]: 486 up from a low of 53 individuals recorded in 1973.[4]: 94
A genetic study of Japanese and Mongolian horse breeds in 2003 found the Misaki to be most closely related to the Noma, Tokara and Yonaguni breeds.[8]: 379 In 2011, twelve horses of the Misaki herd gave positive Coggins test results for equine infectious anaemia. From the blood of one of them, the whole viral genome was sequenced. It was found to be substantially different from the two equine infectious anaemia strains that had previously been completely sequenced.[9]: 363
^ abBreed data sheet: Misaki/Japan. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2017.
Horses
