This is our story:

Jucu is a community of five villages in the Transylvania region of Romania. The Furioso breed was brought to Transylvania in 1919. Here, the past royal government raised horses for transportation, military and agricultural uses. The Furioso breed was the pride of Jucu.

Beginning in 1945, under communism, tractors became favored over draft power on the state-run farms. Nearly half of the country's horses -- over 600,000 -- were killed. The Furioso breed survived but is in serious decline. The breeding business went bankrupt due to incompetent and corrupt management. The best horses were sold abroad verz cheap, and even this small amount of money was spent by the government and not given to the farmers.

According to the Professor I. Bodo of the Division of Animal Breeding and Genetics in Budapest, Hungary, "the Furioso-North Star is one of (the most) valuable rare horse breeds of the Central European Region. In Hungary there is the biggest population and in (the) Transylvanian part of Romania the purest stock can be found". In October 2000, the Furioso breed was classified as endangered according to the World Watch List for domestic animal diversity, created by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. With a total population of only 541 females and 60 males, in 1998, fewer than 100 of witch  are in Romania, the breed is in need of help in order to survive.

Almost all of the employment opportunities in the region were connected with government farms. However, poor management and irresponsible agricultural policies led to the degeneration of farms. Today, following the close of state-run farms, unemployment is rampant. Families who regain their original land face difficulties when farming poor quality soil with old equipment. Horses would provide a source of power and fertilizer for these small struggling farms, and the sale of offspring would provide a source of income.

During the Communist era, over 600,000 horses (including many of the Furioso-North Star breed) were killed or sold without compensation to small farmers. Tractors on the collective farms did the work previously done by the horses.

After Eastern Europe Revolutions:

Farmers have regained their family land, and wish to replace the horses that were taken from them.

Over five years, 45 families will receive one Furioso mare each, which will provide draft power for the farms while helping the breed survive.

About our organization:

The Furioso-North Star Horse Breeders Association is a registered local NGO, formed in 1999 to save the endangered Furioso-Horth Star breed. The Association's membership includes veterinarians, teachers, horse breeders and farmers. The group wishes to revitalize the Furioso horse population and use the horses for draft power as an ecologically friendly power alternative on family farms.

The evolution of things: