Breed History
One of the biggest mysteries in the horse world is how the North American Curlies came to be among us. Many have theories and speculations on the breed but the truth is we don't know. While we can educate you on the many theories out there, we thought it would be best to list the facts, and disprove some of the myths that are out there. 
The earliest sighting of a Curly is in ancient Chinese art dating back as early as 161 A.D. No one seems to know any more information as to the subjects in the paintings and further investigation is needed. The next sighting of a curly is said to be at the Vienna Zoo in 1805, when Napoleon conquered Austria. He found what he described as a "poodle haired horse" at the zoo and had some transported back to Paris for his personal amusement. Charles Darwin mentions sightings of curly haired horses in South America in the early 1800's, in his book about evolution. After this, there is not talk of a Curly horse for many, many years until they appear in the America's.
The first report of Curly horses in North America comes from the Native American Sioux tribes as early as 1801 - 02. The Native American legend has it that the horses first appeared to the people as a "group of large, curly, red dogs". There was not a word in their language for horses at that time. It is said that these horses were always red in color, leading us to believe that the correct or natural color of a curly is a sorrel. Due to out crossing, the breed now comes in many colors and sizes.
The tribes called the Curly horses "the horse before there were horses" in the winter counts before the white man, indicating that the curly horse was there before the Spanish came. However, no fossil record to date have discovered horses to be on the Northern Continent before that time. It is believed by some that the Spanish brought the Curly gene over, and that the Portuguese had a Curly horse that has become extinct in the last 100 years. The Europeans make no mention of the Curly horses until a Jesuit priest described a curly-haired Sioux horse in the 17th Century.
The tribes also called them "Buffalo" horses. Not because of any deformation, but because of their curly coats. These Curly horses were considered medicine horses and were highly prized. They were thought of as mystical horses, there were never many of them, and were sacred and for the possession of chiefs. There were drawings made by Sioux Chief Red Cloud showing the curly haired horses in the 1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn. The Native American line is considered extremely rare. They appear to be the "purest" of Curlies.
In P.T. Barnums 1848 biography he mentions exhibiting a Curly horse. P.T. Barnum purchased a Curly horse in 1847 from an agent in Cincinnati. When the explorer Colonel John Fremont got lost in the Rocky Mountains, Barnum decided to promote his curly horse as a strange new camel/horse breed that the Colonel had discovered in the wilderness, even though this was not the case. In fact, the Colonel sued Barnum for this proclamation. The Curly horse was sighted in places in Canada like the Cypress Hills, as well as in many western United States.
The Curly horses that we know today owes its existence to the Damele family. In 1898, the Damele's had their first sighting of the curly horse in central Nevada. In 1931 they caught the first Curly and broke it to ride. In 1932, there was a rather harsh winter that killed most of the Damele's ranch stock. Most of the wild horses had also died. The Curlies, however, survived. It wasn't long before the Damele's recognized the hardiness of the Curly horses and began to breed the Curlies for their ranch work. They discovered the Curlies to be hardy, intelligent, more easily trained, and had an unmatched endurance.
The name Bashkir Curlies came from a cartoon that came out around the time that the Damele's discovered the breed. They seen the cartoon, kept it, and soon the horses began being called Bashkir Curlies. There is no correlation between the Bashkir horses of Russia and the Curly horses. The Bashkir's are not a curly breed, but unfortunately the name has stuck and the breed is now known as American Bashkir Curly horses. Many would like this changed to reflect to be more accurate, but at this time has not been agreed upon.
In 1971, the American Bashkir Curly Registration began with a total of 21 horses. There are now 3000 plus registered Curlies today. Many people were slaughtering their Curly foals born to straight haired parents. This is because many thought, erroneously, that the curly foals had Cushing's disease. While Cushing's disease is a disease that can cause a curly coat, this disease is caused by a pituitary problem. Horses with this disease will grow lots of long, curly , slow to shed hair that feels coarse and brittle to the touch, unlike a healthy Curly's fine, soft coat. Horses suffering from Cushing's disease also don't display secondary Curly characteristics.
