Beauty of Iranian Horses Attracting Tourists

The tourist attractions in the world are so varied that every day in the world a new topic is heard to be a potential for attracting tourists.

In some countries, there is no tourist attraction while in others, these potentials are very rich. However, as in the case of Iran, they may not be used properly.

One of these attractions, which is considered a potential for attracting tourists, is horse breeds, according to a Farsi report by Tasnim News Agency.

Iran is home to caspian horses inhabiting northern Iranian provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan, or Turkoman horses, as well as Arabian horses in southern Khuzestan province besides Kurdish horses in the country’s Kurdish regions.

In order to address this rich tourism potential that has been taken too lightly in Iran, Tasnim has interviewed Ali Mansouri Rad, a veteran sports organizer and teacher of the Institute of Nature, who is also a specialist in the field of natural environment and horses.

He has published numerous articles on the natural environment, and translated some books on three-day horse racing laws, the western-style horse riding tournaments, and various articles on horse breeds, horse riding, and the history of riding sport.

What follows are excerpts from Tasnim’s interview with him:

Q: Can the Iranian horse be one of the elements of attracting tourists from around the world?

A: This potential exists, but, of course, it should be further developed and be presented next to topics like ecotourism. We should introduce our native horse breeds along with such topics.

Q: Would you please name some of these breeds?

A: Caspian horses inhabiting northern Iranian provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan, or Turkoman horse, as well as Arabian horses in southern Khuzestan province besides Kurdish horses in the Kurdish regions of Iran.

Q: Is there any particular country that can be named a successful example of horse tourism development?

A: Yes, for example, there is a horse in Norway that is not comparable to Iranian ones at all, and there exists only one race of this horse. During the Winter Olympics, Norway introduced it as a major tourist attraction.

Q: How is the horse insurance process in Iran now?

A: I was the developer of this idea in 1993, and we went through a lot of problems to achieve our goal after five years. Since 1998, horse insurance is being done and has been welcomed by many.

Q:  Do you know how many horses are insured across Iran?

A: I can’t say accurately, but at least about 500 horses have been insured so far.

Q: How much shall be paid to insure each horse?

A: Between 3.5 and 5.5 percent of the horse price must be paid.

Q: How can someone get a horse insurance?

A: Insurance companies and their agents do this.

Q: Did the insurance companies welcome the horse insurance plan?

A: Absolutely. Of course, Iran Insurance Company is exclusively taking care of this.

Q: So why the horse insurance rate is so low in the country?

A: Because this insurance is only for the race horses, and you can’t find too many of such horses.