East Ind. [Hindi ṭāṅghan, f. Tibetan rTaṅāṅ, f. rTa horse (Yule).] The native horse of Tibet and Bhutān, a strong and sure-footed little pony. Also tanghan horse, pony.
1774. in Aitchison, Treaties, etc. (1876), I. 155. That … the Deb Rajah shall pay an annual tribute of five Tangun horses to the Honorable Company.
c. 1774. Bogle, Narr., in Markham, Tibet (1876), 17. We were provided with two tangun ponies of a mean appearance.
1793. Hodges, Trav. India, 31. These horses are called tanyans, and are mostly pye-bald.
1840. Penny Cycl., XVI. 143/2. The small horses, the Tanguns, are noted for their hardihood and activity, but they are not natives, but introduced from Tibet, and … they degenerate on the south of the Himalaya Mountains.
