Marijan Belčić: MEĐIMURSKI KONJ – MURAKÖZI LÓ – MEDJIMURJE HORSE

Međimurski (hladnokrvni) konj – autohtona hrvatska pasmina radnih konja uzgojena i pasminski stabilizirana u Međimurju od sredine XVIII. do kraja XIX. stoljeća. Na je listi kritično ugroženih pasmina autohtonih domaćih životinja Republike Hrvatske.
Međimurski hladnokrvni konj kulturno povijesna je baština Međimurja i Hrvatske, prva je kultivirana i najstarija je hrvatska autohtona pasmina konja, pa tako i prvozabilježena u hipološkoj europskoj i svjetskoj literaturi.
Udruga uzgajivača međimurskog konja »MEĐIMUREC«, osnovana je 2001. godine zbog očuvanja od izumiranja međimurskog konja i unaprijeđenja uzgoja te kritično ugrožene pasmine.

Međunarodno, međimurski je konj prepoznat pri Organizaciji za hranu i poljoprivredu Ujedinjenih nacija – FAO i međunarodnoj organizaciji za očuvanje domaćih pasmina životinja u podunavskoj regiji – Podunavskom savezu za zaštitu gena u životinjskim vrstama DAGENE (Danubian Alliance for Gene Conservation in Animal Species), koja je odlučila da isključivo pravo vođenja matičnih knjiga ima Republika Hrvatska, a na 61. godišnjem kongresu EAAP-a 2010. godine na Kreti (The European Association for Animal Production – Europski savez za stočarske proizvodnje osnovan 1949. u Parizu pod pokroviteljstvom FAO-a) međimurski konj označen je za međunarodnu svjetsku stručnu korespodenciju kao MEĐIMURSKI KONJ – MURAKÖZI LÓ – MEDJIMURJE HORSE, umjesto starog mađarskog naziva muraközi, te ostalih po zemljama bivšeg austrougraskog carstva – murinsulaner, muran, muransulan, insulaner itd.

MEĐIMURSKI KONJ – MURAKÖZI LÓ – MEDJIMURJE HORSE pasmina je koju su kultivirali Hrvati u Međimurju i u susjednoj mađarskoj regiji Zala, u vrijeme kad je pokrajina Međimurje bila pod mađarskom okupacijskom vlašću unutar Austrougarske monarhije.
U XVIII. stoljeću u “Požunskom leksikonu” tiskanom 1786. godine (Požun – danas Bratislava) opisuje se Međimurje kao posjed grofa Mihalja Althana. Grof Althan na svojim je ergelama – piše u leksikonu – uzgajao rasne konje. A čiji su to konji bili i kakvi desetak godina kasnije nalazimo (1797. godine) u “Putopisu” Dominika Telekya objavljenom u Budimpešti u kojem se Međimurje opisuje kao lijepa pokrajina s 46.000 stanovnika koji su Hrvati, marljivi poljodjelci, koji dobro zarađuju i prijevozom roba do Trsta i Rijeke, te u Peštu i Budim sa svojim vrlo dobrim i njegovanim konjima, rasno oplemenjenim u pastuharni Althan. To je podatak potvrđen iz dva izvora o početku kulture konjogojstva u Međimurju još u XVIII. stoljeću.

Pod imenom međimurski konj naš se konj tek prepoznaje nakon što je MONOSTORI KÁROLY – 1894. godine u knjižici feljtonu jednih budimpeštanskih novina naslova “Muraközi ló” opisao tog konja i naznačio odakle je porijeklom.
Monostori je sa svojim zapažanjima javnost upoznao nakon tri desetljeća sustavne brige o uzgoju međimurskog konja pod patronatom mađarske države, kasniji autori upoznaju nas s rasprostranjenošću međimurskog konja, pa i s podatkom da je na početku XX. stoljeća bilo više od dvjestotinjak tisuća pasminski čistih međimurskih konja rasprostranjaneih na širem području srednje Europe.
Nakon vrhunca u razvoju pasmine do početka XX. stoljeća sve što su službene statistike bilježile samo govori o nestajanju međimurskog konja (ni druge pasmine hladnokrvnih konja Europe nisu bile sretnije sudbine), kojem ni dva svjetska rata nisu toliko naštetila koliko industrijalizacija, razvoj sredstava transporta, te posebno pojava mehanizacije u poljoprivredi.

Opis vanjštine i proizvodne odlike:

Međimurski konj ubraja se u velike radne konje, hladnokrvne skupine. Jedina je pasmina konja na svijetu koja je kultivirana obrtnutim smjerom od uobičajenog: na kobile pretežno arapske provenijencije pripuštani su u početku ciljanog uzgoja radnog konja norički pastusi koje je dovodio grof Mihalj Althan na svoje ergele u Međimurju, a kasnije su za postiznje željenih karakteristika konja u uzgoj uvođeni peršeroni i belgijski hladnokrvnjaci, brabanti i flandijski konji. Objašnjenje pokrajina Međimurje bila je pokrivena konjima arpskog porijekla jer su grofovi Zrinski, vlasnici Međimurja prije grofova Althan, dovodili u Međimurje konje zarobljene i otete u stoljetnim borbama s Turcima, otud početno matično krdo (oko 8.500 kobila) arapske provenijencije, što punokrvnh što polukrvnih kobila. Nota bene: danas, kad se na arapsku kobilu pripusti međimurskog pastuha križanac je u pravuilu konj iznimnih karakteristika i posebno oijepog izgleda i držanja.

Standard pasmine međimurskog konja
Standard koji se u uzgoju želi zadržati, prema rekonstrukciji tjelesnog sandarda iz vremena kada je pasmina bila stabilizirana i kada se sustavnom državnom brigom poticao kvalitetni uzgoj, definira se slijedećim veličinama (mjereno vrpcom):
Pastusi su visine grebena od 173 do 180 cm (na štap min. 160 cm), opseg prsa min. 205 cm, opseg cjevanice 24,5 do 27 cm, a kobile visine grebena od 158 do 179 cm (na štap min. 150 cm), opseg prsa 184 do 210 cm, opseg cjevanice od 23 do 27 cm. Prema starim zapisima iz 1920. god. do 1934. godine težina kobila bila je minimalno 650 kg, a pastuha u punoj zrelosti iznad 850 kg.

Eksterijer
Međimurski konj relativno je male glave plemenitog izgleda, širokog čela i malih ušiju. Posebna oznaka glave su okrugle živahne, izražajne oči. Vrat je kratak, masivan, mišićav, vrlo izraženog luka, ima nizak i neizražen greben. Prsa su mu široka i duboka, visoko je zaobljenih rebara. Leđa su široka i kratka, sapi zaobljene i raskoljene, te dobro obrasle mišićjem. Konja krasi zbijenost i dobra pokrivenost tla. Ima snažne čvrste noge sa srednje masivnim zglobovima, pravilnih stavova i širokih strmih kopita, cjevanica čista, kičica skočnog zgloba skromno odlakana. Gledano sa strane greben, križa, prednje i zadnje noge u pravilnom stavu zatvorene su unutar kvadrata, dopušten nagib naprijed do rombolikog oblika u nagibu do 3 %. (kvadratična građa).
Korak mu je pravilan, siguran i izdašan.
Boje: svi dorati, vranac, te alati, u povijesti je zabilježena pojava samo tri šarena pastuha koji su isključeni iz uzgoja međimurskog konja i pretpostavlja se bili začetnici uzgoja šarenih hladnokrvnih konja u susjednoj pokrajini.

“Međimurec” (lokalni naziv) miran je i poslušan konj, mora biti dobroćudan, s visokim pragom tolerancije i mora pozitivno reagirati na rad. Sve što je oprečno navedenome mora se izlučiti iz uzgoja.

MEĐIMURSKI KONJ – MURAKÖZI LÓ – MEDJIMURJE HORSE

Medjimurje (cold-blooded) horse – native Croatian breed of work horse, cultivated in Međimurje since the mid-18th century to the end of XIX. century. It is on the list of critically endangered breeds of indigenous domestic animals of the Republic of Croatia.
The Međimurje cold-blooded horse is the cultural and historical heritage of Međimurje and Croatia, the first cultivated and oldest Croatian autochthonous breed of horses, and thus the first recorded in the hippological European literature.
The association of breeders of the Medjimurje horse “MEĐIMUREC” was founded in 2001 for the preservation from the extinction the Medjimurje horse and improvement of breeding this critically endangered breed.

Internationally, Medjimurje Horse is recognized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO and the International Organization for the Conservation of Domestic Breeds of Animals in the Danube Region – the Danube Alliance for Gene Conservation in Animal Species (DAGENE), which decided that the Republic of Croatia has exclusive rights to keep the registry, and at the 61st Annual EAAP Congress in Crete (The European Association for Animal Production, founded in 1949 in Paris under the auspices of the FAO) Medjmurje horse is marked for the international world expert correspondence as MEĐIMURSKI KONJ – MURAKÖZI LÓ – MEDJIMURJE HORSE, instead of the old Hungarian name Muraközi ló, and others by the countries of the former Austro – Hungarian empire – murinsulaner, muran, muransulan, insulaner etc.

MEĐIMURSKI KONJ – MURAKÖZI LÓ – MEDJIMURJE HORSE

Breed was cultivated by Croats in Međimurje and in the neighboring Hungarian Zala region, at the time when the province of Međimurje was under Hungarian occupation rule within the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.

In the XVIII. century in the “Požunski leksikon” printed in 1786 (Požun – today Bratislava) describes Međimurje as the possession of Count Mihalj Althan. Count Althan in his stud farms – claims lexicon – bred “ennobled” horses. And whose these horses were and what we can find about ten years later (in 1797) in “Putopis” by Dominik Teleky published in Budapest? Međimurje is described as a beautiful province with 46,000 inhabitants who are Croatians, diligent farmers, who make good money by transporting goods to Trieste and Rijeka, and to Pest and Buda with their very good and well-groomed horses, racially enriched in Count Althan’s stud farms. This is a fact confirmed by two sources what and where is the beginning of the culture of horse breeding in Međimurje since the 18th century.
Under the name of the Medjimurje horse, our horse is only recognized after MONOSTORI KÁROLY pblished (1894) in the booklet of the one of the Budapest newspapers manuscript titled “Muraközi ló” and describe that horse and indicated where it was its origin.

Monostori’s observations come after three decades of systematic worries about the breeding of the Medjimurje horses under the patronage of the Hungarian state, later authors familiarize us with the the prevalence of the Medjimurje horses, and also with the fact that in the beginning of the 20th century there were more than two hundred thousand of a thoroughbred breed Medjimurje horses spread in the wider area of ​​Central Europe.
After the culmination of the development of the breed until the beginning of the 20th century, all that official statistics recorded only spoke about the disappearance of the Medjimurje horses (not any other cold horse horses of Europe were happier) and especially after the emergence of mechanization in agriculture.

The Medjimurje horse is a large working horse, a cold-blooded group. The only breed of horses in the world that is cultivated in a reverse direction of all other breeds in the whole world: the mainly a thoroughbred and a half breed arabian mares were covered at the beginning by noriker stalions, which were brought by Count Mihalj Althan to his studs in Međimurje, and later in order to achieve the desired characteristics of horses, Belgian cold-blooded horses (Brabant and Vlaams) were introduced in breeding. Important explanation: province of Međimurje was covered with horses of arabic origin because the Counts of Zrinski, the owners of Međimurje before the Counts of Althan, brought to Međimurje horses trapped and abducted in centuries-old struggles with the Turks, hence the initial herd (about 8,500 horns) of Arab origin, a thoroughbred and a half breed. Note: today, when we when we cover with Međimurje stallion Arabian mare, offspring, the crossbreed is a horse of exceptional characteristics with a particularly beautiful appearance and attitude.

Characteristics of the breed
The standard that is to be maintained in breeding, according to the reconstruction of the standard from the time the breed was stabilized and when systematic state concern encouraged quality breeding, is defined by the following sizes (measured with ribbon):
Stallions: withers height from 173 to 180 cm (on a stick at least 160 cm), chest girth min. 205 cm, cannon bone from 24.5 to 27 cm; mares: withers height from 158 to 179 cm (on a stick min. 150 cm), chest girth from 184 to 210 cm, cannon bone from 23 to 27 cm. According to the old records from 1920. to 1934. the weight of the mares was at least 650 kg, and at a full-grown stallions was above 850 kg.

Exterior
The Medjimurje horse have a relatively small head of noble appearance, with wide forehead and small ears. The special markings of the head are round, lively, expressive eyes. The neck is short, massive, muscular, with highly expressed arch, has a low and unexpressed ridge. His chest is wide and deep, with high and rounded ribs. The croups are wide and short, rounded, well covered with muscle. Horses are rich in compactness and good soil coverage. It has strong firm legs with medium massive joints, apropriate posture and wide sharp angled hoofs, clean ankles, ankle joints covered with modest feetloks above hoofs. Viewed from the side, top of the ridge on the whiters, the cross on croups, the front and back legs in the correct position are closed inside the square.
His gait is correct, safe, and generous. Colours: black, dark bay, bloodbay, liver chestnut and chestnut, red roan, dapple gray, gray… Piebald, skewbald and ticolor which appears in a few occasuions long time ago were excluded from the breeding of the Medjimurje horses and were presumed to be the initiators of the cultivation of colorful cold-blooded horses in the neighboring province.
“Međimurec” (local name) is a quiet and obedient horse, must be good-natured, with a high threshold of tolerance and must respond positively to work. Anything that is contradictory must be excluded from breeding.

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