This project helped revive and preserve traditional breeding techniques for the Hucul horse, an important part of the cultural heritage of the East Carpathian peoples, who live along the Polish-Ukrainian border. Rescuing the animals from near-extinction helped strengthen the region’s unique culture. The project encouraged the development of new economic incentives to conserve the horse and its habitat, including recreation, tourism, and hippotherapy.
Poles, Ukrainians collaborate to save the Hucul horse and its habitat
- 24 June 2019
The project developed permanent cross-border cooperation towards breeding the Hucul horse, an important figure in Polish and Ukrainian cultural heritage. Preserving these horses in their natural habitat has brought together horse communities on both sides of the border.
Actions for preserving the Hucul horse and its habitat fell into categories including: modernising existing facilities, organising breeding, training new personnel. and holding cultural activities such as films, festivals, and conferences to publicise the Hucul horse’s predicament and its importance.
The project established a Polish-Ukrainian Center of Breeding and Promotion of Hucul Horse with offices in Poland and Ukraine. It coordinated many of the project’s cross-border activities.
Protecting an animal to preserve regional cultural identity
In Poland, project funds helped to modernise facilities such as stables, paddocks, fences and horse trails. The Polish-Ukrainian centre purchased equipment necessary for training, such as audiovisual equipment, computers, copiers and furniture. Actual training included courses on Hucul horse breeding, breaking, riding, and hoof cleaning.
Festivals were held during which promotional films about the horse, its history, and the cross-border culture it symbolises were screened.
In Ukraine, the project also modernised facilities such as stables, paddocks and riding schools. In Holubyne, project organisers helped build a permanent riding trail for Hucul training. Other training included how to identify and select Hucul horses for breeding.
The project had many socioeconomic benefits. Horse prices rose, increasing the wealth of their breeders. Children with disabilities benefitted from hippotherapy through Equine Assisted Therapy Centres that the project established. Better facilities and wider publicity drew larger numbers of tourists to the Podkarpackie voivodship in Poland and Zakarpattia region in Ukraine, boosting local economies.
The Hucul horse: A source of hope
The Hucul horse is native to the Carpathian mountains. Named after the indigenous Hutsul people who live mostly in Ukraine and Romania, it has a short head and a heavy build that makes it useful for pulling timber in forested areas, among other tasks.
Over time, their numbers declined. After World War II, it is believed that only 300 Hucul horses remained in the region. While many European horses have Hucul ancestors, the pure breed faced the prospect of disappearing completely.
This project helped bring the Hucul horse back from extinction and preserve its features. It promoted the shared natural and cultural heritage of East Carpathian nations on both sides of the Polish-Ukrainian border.
It is believed that the pure-breed Hucul horse population in Europe now numbers around 8 000 animals.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Creation of Polish-Ukrainian Center” is EUR 1 708 332 with the EU’s ENPI contributing EUR 1 537 499 through the Poland-Belarus-Ukraine ENPI CBC Programme for the 2007-2013 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Networking and people-to-people cooperation”.