A farm in Nagano Prefecture is working to save a Japanese horse breed called the Kiso horse, with only about 140 such horses remaining in the country. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/16/japan/preserving-kiso-horse/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #horses #animals #kiso #nagano
Lisa Melton
boosted
With only about 1,000 Dosanko Japanese horses to be found in Japan, a horse park in Osaka Prefecture is protecting and raising the breed while letting visitors experience riding them. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/08/japan/horse-park-protection/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #osaka #animals #horses #hokkaido
Alex Akselrod
and 1 other
boosted
#CentralAsia’s #fruit and #nut #forests: the real Garden of Eden?
Birthplaces of some of the world’s most beloved snacks
by Monica Evans
17 December 2020
"Millions of years ago, in the temperate montane forests of a little-known region in Central Asia, some of the world’s best-loved fruit and nut trees began to grow. #Apples, #apricots, #cherries, #plums, #grapes, #figs, #peaches, #pomegranates, #pears, #almonds, #pistachios and #walnuts all originated in the hills and valleys of the #TianShan mountain range, which stretches from #Uzbekistan in the west to #China and #Mongolia in the east.
"The area is volcanic and geologically tumultuous, but fertile – scientists have hypothesized that in a place prone to frequent eruptions, earthquakes and landslides, shorter-lived tree species that could disperse their seeds widely by making themselves palatable to large mammals had a better shot at survival than long-lived, slow-maturing trees.
"And that tasty survival strategy has served these species well. For residents of the region, the foods represent both security and social currency. 'From the taxi drivers to the ministers to the local people, almost everyone carries some #DriedFruit or #Nuts with them,' says Paola Agostini, a lead natural resources specialist for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank. 'It’s like this safety net, and it’s also a lovely gift: something to share with others that is always appreciated.'
"Central Asian marketplaces offer a cornucopia of colors, flavors, textures and varieties – many more than those most of us are accustomed to finding in our local supermarket’s produce aisle. 'I was always astonished that people in the region could so easily tell which country a particular dried apricot came from,' says Agostini. 'Their knowledge of these products is just so deep.'
"Procuring and sharing these energy-dense treats is an ancient practice in the area. Fruit and nuts were major commodities on the Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes that tracked through the heart of Central Asia, linking Europe, the Middle East and Asia, from the first century BC through to the mid-1400s. Over centuries of trade and travel – and lots of munching by humans, camels and horses along the way – prized fruit and nut species spread their seeds wider and wider, and new hybrid varieties were created, many of which are now supermarket and home-orchard staples, cultivated enthusiastically in temperate regions across the globe.
"Narratives of plant domestication often tend to overstate the role of humans, but newer science suggests that 'evolution in parallel' with the plants we love is often a more accurate way of framing this process. 'It’s very unlikely that when somebody took an apple from #Kazakhstan and carried it across an entire continent, they were thinking that they could cross it with another variety and end up with something better,' says #RobertSpengler, a paleo-ethnobotanist at the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany. 'They were more likely just carrying the seeds to plant somewhere else. And in doing so, they inadvertently set off a chain reaction of hybridization events.'
"According to Spengler’s research into the origins of apples, humans were not the first mammals to participate in that process of dispersal and co-evolution, either. In the late #Miocene, which spanned the period from 11.63 to 5.33 million years ago, large mammals such as #mammoths and #horses played critical roles in dispersing apple seeds and facilitating their evolutionary process into the large, sweet, flavor-rich fruits we enjoy today."
#SolarPunkSunday #Ethnobotany #PlantHistory #SaveTheForests #SaveTheTrees #FruitTrees #NutTrees
#CentralAsia’s #fruit and #nut #forests: the real Garden of Eden?
Birthplaces of some of the world’s most beloved snacks
by Monica Evans
17 December 2020
"Millions of years ago, in the temperate montane forests of a little-known region in Central Asia, some of the world’s best-loved fruit and nut trees began to grow. #Apples, #apricots, #cherries, #plums, #grapes, #figs, #peaches, #pomegranates, #pears, #almonds, #pistachios and #walnuts all originated in the hills and valleys of the #TianShan mountain range, which stretches from #Uzbekistan in the west to #China and #Mongolia in the east.
"The area is volcanic and geologically tumultuous, but fertile – scientists have hypothesized that in a place prone to frequent eruptions, earthquakes and landslides, shorter-lived tree species that could disperse their seeds widely by making themselves palatable to large mammals had a better shot at survival than long-lived, slow-maturing trees.
"And that tasty survival strategy has served these species well. For residents of the region, the foods represent both security and social currency. 'From the taxi drivers to the ministers to the local people, almost everyone carries some #DriedFruit or #Nuts with them,' says Paola Agostini, a lead natural resources specialist for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank. 'It’s like this safety net, and it’s also a lovely gift: something to share with others that is always appreciated.'
"Central Asian marketplaces offer a cornucopia of colors, flavors, textures and varieties – many more than those most of us are accustomed to finding in our local supermarket’s produce aisle. 'I was always astonished that people in the region could so easily tell which country a particular dried apricot came from,' says Agostini. 'Their knowledge of these products is just so deep.'
"Procuring and sharing these energy-dense treats is an ancient practice in the area. Fruit and nuts were major commodities on the Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes that tracked through the heart of Central Asia, linking Europe, the Middle East and Asia, from the first century BC through to the mid-1400s. Over centuries of trade and travel – and lots of munching by humans, camels and horses along the way – prized fruit and nut species spread their seeds wider and wider, and new hybrid varieties were created, many of which are now supermarket and home-orchard staples, cultivated enthusiastically in temperate regions across the globe.
"Narratives of plant domestication often tend to overstate the role of humans, but newer science suggests that 'evolution in parallel' with the plants we love is often a more accurate way of framing this process. 'It’s very unlikely that when somebody took an apple from #Kazakhstan and carried it across an entire continent, they were thinking that they could cross it with another variety and end up with something better,' says #RobertSpengler, a paleo-ethnobotanist at the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany. 'They were more likely just carrying the seeds to plant somewhere else. And in doing so, they inadvertently set off a chain reaction of hybridization events.'
"According to Spengler’s research into the origins of apples, humans were not the first mammals to participate in that process of dispersal and co-evolution, either. In the late #Miocene, which spanned the period from 11.63 to 5.33 million years ago, large mammals such as #mammoths and #horses played critical roles in dispersing apple seeds and facilitating their evolutionary process into the large, sweet, flavor-rich fruits we enjoy today."
#SolarPunkSunday #Ethnobotany #PlantHistory #SaveTheForests #SaveTheTrees #FruitTrees #NutTrees
She got new shoes!!! And she's super shiny!
.
.
. #horse #horses #equine #photo #photography
impermanen_ 🕊️
boosted
2 media
Dane 🇮🇪🇺🇦🇻🇪🖖⚛️☮️☸️🕉️
boosted
New account, new #introduction:
I'm Elizabeth (she/her), a xennial cat mom, who joined Fedi during the Great Birdsite Migration™ of Nov. '22.
I support LGBTQ+ rights, am anti-racist, live in the central US & would hypothetically like to 🚀 the current president into the sun.
Interests include: cats, #horses, birds, all things #horror, #Taskmaster & #Qi, genre books, alt & goth #metal, #android modding, cognitive psych, #zoology & learning obscure info.
Awkward AF but trying to be kinder.
New account, new #introduction:
I'm Elizabeth (she/her), a xennial cat mom, who joined Fedi during the Great Birdsite Migration™ of Nov. '22.
I support LGBTQ+ rights, am anti-racist, live in the central US & would hypothetically like to 🚀 the current president into the sun.
Interests include: cats, #horses, birds, all things #horror, #Taskmaster & #Qi, genre books, alt & goth #metal, #android modding, cognitive psych, #zoology & learning obscure info.
Awkward AF but trying to be kinder.
Horses: AI progress is steady. Human equivalence is sudden
https://andyljones.com/posts/horses.html
#HackerNews #Horses #AI #progress #human #equivalence #technology #future
2 media
Angela Antunovic
boosted
🐴 📢 Wild #horses return to Spain’s Iberian highlands after 10,000 years.
For the first time in more than 10,000 years, wild horses once again roam Spain’s northwestern highlands. The 35 horses introduced by #Rewilding #Spain are bringing renewed resilience to the land.
In 2023, an initial 16 Przewalski’s horses (Equus ferus przewalskii), the world’s last fully wild horse, were introduced to the municipality of Villanueva de Alcorón in #Guadalajara, a sparsely populated province two hours from #Madrid
🐴 📢 Wild #horses return to Spain’s Iberian highlands after 10,000 years.
For the first time in more than 10,000 years, wild horses once again roam Spain’s northwestern highlands. The 35 horses introduced by #Rewilding #Spain are bringing renewed resilience to the land.
In 2023, an initial 16 Przewalski’s horses (Equus ferus przewalskii), the world’s last fully wild horse, were introduced to the municipality of Villanueva de Alcorón in #Guadalajara, a sparsely populated province two hours from #Madrid
Submission Call: A Year of Horse Fantasy
As the year turns into 2026, the Chinese zodiac changes and this upcoming year is the year of the horse. As an equestrian author I couldn't let this moment pass by without putting out a call for submissions for an upcoming fantasy anthology featuring stories w
https://kitauthor.com/submission-call-a-year-of-horse-fantasy/
#BookNews #WritingFantasy #WritingWithHorses #anthology #fantasy #HorseLit #HorseStories #horses #OpenAnthology #SubmissionCall
I don’t ride the old boy any more but we go for short hikes together. Got out this morning ahead of the weather. Good time had by all. #horses
Greg Lloyd
and 1 other
boosted
50 years ago today
Horses is the debut studio album by American proto-punk / punkrock musician Patti Smith, which was released on this day in 1975.
#punk #punks #protopunk #garagerock #womenofpunk #pattismith #horses #history #punkrockhistory #otd
