Dosanko
{{short description|Japanese horse breed}}
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{use list-defined references|date=October 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox horse breed
|name= Dosanko
|image=Hokkaido_Pony.jpg
|image_width = 280px
|image_caption=
|features = Average height: 132 cm
|altname= Hokkaido Horse
Hokkaido Pony
|nickname=
|country=Japan
|group1=
|std1=
|note = Conservation status, FAO (2007): not at risk
}}
The {{nihongo|Dosanko|道産子}}, also known as the {{nihongo|Hokkaido Horse|北海道馬|Hokkaidō uma}} and {{nihongo|Hokkaido Pony|北海ポニー|Hokkaidō ponī}}, is one of the eight extant indigenous horse breeds of Japan, and the only one of the eight not critically endangered. It originated on the island of Hokkaido, in the far north of the country, and is found particularly along the Pacific (eastern) coast of the island. The people of Hokkaido may be nicknamed "Dosanko" after the horses.
History
The Dosanko is thought to derive from horses brought to the island from the Tōhoku region of north-eastern Honshu in the late Tokugawa period (1603–1868), and abandoned there.
Total numbers of the breed grew from 1180 animals in 1973 to almost 3000 head in the early 1990s, but by the year 2000 had fallen to 1950 horses. A herd book was established in 1979. Hokkaido University receives a grant to study conservation measures for the breed.
References
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{{Horse breeds of Japan |state=expanded}}