02280nas a2200205   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002653002100043653003300064653003800097653003000135653002700165100002200192245012700214856014500341300001200486490000700498520154900505022002002054                                       d10aFolklore archive10aIntangible cultural heritage10aLipizzan horse breeding tradition10aRomanian folklore studies10aUNESCO 2003 Convention1 aIoana Baskerville00aFrom Unicorns to Lipizzan Horses. Romanian Folklore Studies on the Way to the Implementation of the UNESCO 2003 Convention  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85124764906&doi=10.2478%2fse-2021-0029&partnerID=40&md5=2d27d29955035ec3bb932fe49be7379c  a487-5000 v693 aAs a country officially engaged in the intangible cultural heritage (hereafter ICH) inventorying and other safeguarding mechanisms of the UNESCO 2003 Convention, Romania provides an example of how folklorists strive to transcend the traditional rules of their discipline and to adapt their methodology and overview to supporting the implementation of the Convention. Starting from the recent Romanian contribution to the multinational file for inscribing the "Lipizzan horse breeding traditions" on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, this paper highlights the counterbalancing influences encountered during this process. Given the distance between this ICH element and the topoi that stand in the mainstream of Romanian folklore studies, the author will provide arguments for considering horse husbandry as a worthy example of living heritage in Romania, ensuring visibility to this tradition in a context dominated by the definition of folklore as an artistic or expressive phenomenon that is being (re)presented as ICH and less by folklife and aesthetic social and cultural manifestations. Using other examples of Romanian living heritage less visible at the level of scholarly and policy initiatives, the author pleads for a middle ground between traditional folklore studies and the theory and current practices of documenting living heritage. The topic may thus contribute to greater efforts to break the old rules of the discipline, turning experts  eyes from mythological horses to real ones.  a13351303 (ISSN)