[6] According to the FAO[2] and CAB International,[7] which classify it as a pony, in Siberia, it is the result of a mix between Transbaikal and Tomsk horses, a specific breed formed in the early 19th century.

[9] In 1889, Cossack Dimitri Pechkov achieved what is considered the greatest equestrian feat of all time on an Amourski horse named Serko.

[10] At the beginning of the 20th century, ten Manchurian ponies were chosen for Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, because of their reputed resistance to the cold.

In these Asian countries, I had been told, there is a breed of small, very vigorous and hardy horses, which the natives harness to sledges and make work in very low temperatures.

[2][7] On the Chinese side, in 1986, the Heilongjiang stud farms only housed medium-heavy horses, as local zootechnicians intervened to increase the size and weight of the animals.

[15] According to Jean-Louis Gouraud's description, the horses had a slightly arched muzzle, a short, thick neck and heavy gaskets.

[16] Shackleton writes in his notebooks that these ponies were harnessed to sledges, and capable of pulling a 550 kg load 35 to 45 km a day.

[5] In their fictionalized biography of the British explorer Wilfred Thesiger, Jean-Louis Étienne and Isabelle Marrier mention "Amourski ponies from Manchuria", which "endure temperatures down to −40°C and tolerate fasting better than other horses".