Javelin (Jereed) Horses: A Questionnaire Study

In this study, the results of the questionnaire, applied to 100 javelin horse owners, were evaluated in order to obtain information on the Javelin Horses of Erzurum region. According to the questionnaire results; male Arabian horses were preferred (94.5%) in javelin games. In javelin games, Arabian horses were superior for intellectuality and trainability, while local breeds were superior for durability and courage. Javelin horses were used in javelin games only. The javelin horse owners did not raise their own animals, but rather purchased 3 year-old Arabian horses that have been left out of races and being more affordable. The price of one javelin horse in the games was around 5-10 thousand Turkish Liras (2,750-5,500 $). The javelin horses joined into the races after a training of 6-12 months. Javelin horses demonstrated their highest performance at the age of 8. The gray, marked and good-tempered horses having a body condition score of four were preferred for the javelin horses. It could be stated that the properties of each javelin horse were different and every horse might not be successful in the games (79.16%). The high structured, broad ridged horses with a lesser body length, whose foot joints were strong, nail base was wide, nostrils were open, together with large with small ears were preferred for the games. It may be stated that the javelin horses were fed differently according to the existence of games. The most injured body part of the horses during the javelin games were articulatio metacarpophalangea.