Przewalski’s horses are characterized by their large head, short neck, erected mane, and stocky body. Their typical measurements are five feet high, six feet long, and weighing a little over 650 pounds.

Przewalski’s horses are known as dun-colored with pale coloring around the eys, muzzle, and underside. Their mane, tail, and legs are always a shade of dark brown.

These horses will use their hooves and strong legs both for defense against predators and to search for food and water.

The Przewalski’s horse was originally found in the dry environments of Western Europe, Mongolia, and China; however, hunting and other factors led to their full extinction in the wild. Today, there is a sanctuary in Mongolia that houses over 1,000 of these horses!

These horses will spend most of their day foraging for different kinds of vegetation and eat 12-15 pounds of grass per day! Even though they eat a wide variety, the Przewalski’s horse prefers specific plants based on the seasons. During the winter when food is scarcer, these horses will go through hypodermis where their metabolic rate slows down so they won’t have to feed as much.

In Mongolia, the mating season for Przewalski’s horses is during the summer. The lead stallion will mate with several females in the group; however, if a stallion without a harem approaches an established herd, the stallions will fight for the right to mate. Mares will be pregnant for almost a full year and will give birth to a single foal. The foals are precocial, which means they are already mostly mature and mobile after birth.

They were named after Russian explorer Nikolai Przewalski but are also called the Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse.

There is disagreement in the scientific community on if the Przewalski’s horse is the only truly “wild” horse in history. Most people would consider popular horses like the mustang or the brumby to be wild; however, they are descended from domesticated animals that adapted to life in the wild. Early DNA sequencing showed several genetic differences between the Przewalski’s horse and domesticated horses but there could’ve also been a divergence of the species leaving some domesticated and some wild.

Przewalski’s horses live in smaller groups led by one dominant stallion and a harem of mares. The group will use their excellent sense of smell and hearing to detect predators; the main predator being wolves. If faced with danger, these horses will use their teeth and powerful legs for self-defense. The Przewalski’s horses also have an incredibly complex communication system that involves vocalizations, snorting, scent marking, and body language signals that can help alert the herd.