HISTORICAL THREATS TO THE BREED
• With the realization of the policy of forced sedentarization of the nomadic tribes pursued by Reza Shah Pahlavi around 1925, more than 4000 horses perished. In the words of Pierre Oberling in his book “The Qashqai Nomads of Fars”, the Dareshuri were “the greatest horse breeders and owners among the Qashqai” and the policy of forced sedentarization of the nomadic tribes “resulted in the loss of 80-90 percent of the Dareshuri horses, but the tribe made a recovery after World War II”. [8]
In that same year, Ziad Khan was able to save the bloodline of his pure blooded horses by keeping several mares and two stallions away from sight in the village of Kohlooyeh of the Beyza region near Shiraz and refraining from mating them with horses of the military. [9]
• In the year 1959 where horse plague was contagious amongst equines in the southern areas of Bushehr and caused the death of many horses of the nomadic people [10], Ziadkhan preserved his horses from imminent danger by transferring his healthy horses to Shiraz and quarantining them in the Garden Estate of Ghavam in the Baghe Naari neighborhood of the city of Shiraz for a period of six months. [11]
• As a result of the White Revolution of Iran (a reform movement made by the Shah of Iran that begun in 1963 for political motives) whose objective was bringing change to the socio-economic structure of Iran, the cheifs and leaders of the Dareshuri tribe being largest supporter and sponsor of the Dareshuri Horse were greatly weakened. This loss of power was to the unfortunate point that Amir Amanollah Setorg Dareshuri in 1974 quotes his father saying: “My son, from all the Dareshuri people and their horses there remains merely a name. And if I have been able to at least preserve and maintain this number of mares and foals, I have to cut back from other essential parts of my life to feed and provide for them. [12]
• With the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 and the start of the war imposed on Iran by Iraq, preservation and upkeep of the horses had become very difficult for the Qashqai leaders and tribes so they would often sell off their horses and as a result the bloodlines of these horses were unfortunately lost after unprofessional management and crossbreeding once they were out of the hands of the Dareshuri tribe, [13] and the only pure blood horses left of this breed were several mares and two stallions under the ownership and control of Amir Amanollah Khan that were kept with severe difficulty in various regions of Shiraz, Kazerun, and Semirom.
• By around 2012, breeding of the Dareshuri horse was suddenly blooming and festivals and beauty contests honoring the Dareshuri horse were held. Unfortunately these steps were taken before knowledgable experts and renown international laboratories had done the necessary research and genetic testing for the breed. This unfortunate matter instead paved the way for horses of mixed blood to enter such competitions and gain popularity under the Dareshuri name. This has in turn caused the most harm to the expansion of breeding of the Dareshuri pure blood horse.
As a result of the objections made by Amir Amanollah Setorg Dareshuri, who introduces himself as the guardian of the breed in the video documentary “Daghe Do” (Brand Two), Mr. Ali Akbari, representative of the city of Shiraz at the Iranian Parliament, has officially warned the relevant authorities of the imminent dangers of incorrect breeding policies for the Dareshuri horse and the wasting of national wealth and this important genetic treasure in a letter dated 21/6/1395 (Solar Hijri Calendar) equivalent to 11/09/2016.
