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The Terek breed, the direct heir of the Streletsky horses, threatens to soon exactly repeat the fate of its ancestor. The Streletsky breed was created as a ceremonial horse for an officer's saddle. Terskaya was conceived with a similar goal. Streletskaya was completely destroyed during the Civil War. There are only 6 heads left: 2 stallions and 4 mares. Terskaya relatively successfully survived perestroika and the 90s, but, unlike the Oryol trotter, the number of Terek horses continued to decline after 2000. Today there are only 80 queens left in the breed, and without the focused efforts of enthusiasts, the breed is doomed to extinction.
Relationship between breeds
The Streletsky breed got its name from the name of the plant in which it was bred. Streltsy horses were obtained by crossing Arabian stallions with domestic riding mares. Streltsy horses were famous for the fact that, although their appearance was very similar to the Arabian breed, they were larger and better adapted to the Russian climate. Streltsy horses became widespread at the end of the 19th century. And at the beginning of the twentieth century they received the Great October Socialist Revolution and the Civil War.
Because of their characteristics, Streltsy horses were highly regarded by both red and white horses. The Streletsky stud farm was completely looted.The last two stallions were captured from the retreating White Guards already in the Crimea. According to legend, it was on these two half-brothers: Cylinder and Connoisseur, that Baron Wrangel intended to host the parade on Red Square.
We also managed to find 4 Streletsky mares. This was all that remained of the breed. Moreover, the Cylinder was almost overlooked. In the wake of these events, writer F.F. Kudryavtsev wrote the story, changing only the names and nickname of the horse. In fact, the stallion's name was Top Hat.
Chance find
The essence of the story “How Caesar was Found” is that the platoon commander, who left the hospital too early, did not find his war horse in place. He was temporarily “cleaned up” by the farm. And the next day a review was scheduled. The platoon commander could not remain without a horse and was forced to go to the repair depot to choose another horse. Don't forget to grab a gypsy from your platoon. As expected, there were only cripples standing in the depot, but the gypsy, walking along the horses, pointed to one starved white stallion. The horse could not even stand on its feet due to weakness, but the gypsy promised to make such a horse out of this nag that everyone would gasp.
Everyone really gasped. Before the morning, the gypsy tonsured the horse and rubbed a mixture of hemp oil and soot into the skin. Before the parade, two bottles of moonshine were poured into the horse.
At the parade, the stallion amazed everyone except the division commander, who was well versed in horses. The division chief figured out the gypsy trick at first sight. But not everyone was such an expert, and the commander of the machine-gun squadron suggested that the platoon commander exchange horses. Naturally, the platoon commander agreed. And in the evening the horses were exchanged.
And the next morning the handsome hot stallion couldn’t get up. Somehow they lifted him up. During the examination, a veterinarian who served at the Streletsky plant before the First World War noticed and recognized the mark.And he identified the stallion by his herd number. This turned out to be one of the main producers of the Streletsky stud farm, Cylinder.
The cylinders were cured, came out and were sent by the manufacturer to the plant.
The second stallion Tsenitel had somewhat rougher forms than his half-brother, although he was the leading sire at the Streletsky stud farm.
New breed
It was impossible to restore the Streletsky breed on the basis of four mares and two stallions, and a decision was made to create a new one. It was the Streletskys who were taken as a model. First, the Cylinder and the Connoisseur arrived in the Rostov region at the factories named after. The First Cavalry Army and them. M.S. Budyonny, but were soon transferred from there to the Terek plant.
Three of the four surviving Streletsky mares.
The Terek horse breed is named after the factory where it was bred. The task was set to obtain a horse as close as possible to Streletskaya. For this purpose, a carefully selected group of mares, similar in type to Streletsky, was transferred to the Streletsky stallions: Donskikh, Karachay-Kabardian eastern type, 17 Hungarian mares of the Hydran and Shagiya Arabian breeds and some others. In order to avoid inbreeding, the blood of Arabian, Streletsky-Kabardian and Arab-Don stallions was additionally infused.
The Streletsky breed was used as a cementing material, and the main work was built around the Cylinder with the Connoisseur and the offspring of 4 Streltsy mares. But the mares entered the Terek stud only in 1931. Before this, the main method was inbreeding onto Valuable - the father of Cylinder and Connoisseur. To avoid inbreeding depression, the Arabian stallion Koheilan was introduced into the production team.
In 1945, the production staff was transferred to the Stavropol Stud Farm, where it remains to this day. The breed was recognized as independent in 1948.
Breeders managed to restore the type of Streletsky horse. If you compare modern photographs of Terek breed horses with surviving photographs of Streletsky horses, the similarities are striking.
Terskoy Ertsen born in 1981. It will brighten a little more and it will be difficult to distinguish it from the Connoisseur.
The resulting breed, being a carrier of the eastern breed and very similar to its predecessor, is distinguished by high endurance and adaptability to the Russian climate.
Exterior
The Terek horse has a pronounced riding exterior, harmonious build and a pronounced Arabized type. The terts are slightly longer Arabian horses and higher than them at the withers. Today Terek stallions are on average 162 cm at the withers. There may be specimens with a height of 170 cm. In mares, the average height is slightly lower - about 158 cm. During selection, three types were identified in the breed:
- basic or characteristic;
- eastern, aka light;
- thick.
The dense type was the smallest in the total number of livestock. The number of dense queens did not exceed 20%.
Thick type
The horses are massive, large, with a wide body. The backbone is strong. The muscles are well developed. The head is usually rough. The neck is shorter and thicker than the other two types. The withers are closer to the harness type. The boneiness index of the coarse type is higher than that of the characteristic and light type. The legs are dry with well-developed tendons and correct posture, although the constitution may be damp.
This type was used to improve local breeds and produce draft horses. There are three lines in the type, the ancestors of two of which were Streletsky stallions Tsenny II and Cylinder II. Both are from Cylinder I. The ancestor of the third line is the Arabian stallion Marosh.
Marosh was of an intermediate type and combined an oriental appearance with thick measurements. Many of his descendants adopted these traits.
Light Eastern
The eastern type retained the features possessed by the distant ancestor of modern Terek horses - the ancestor of the Streletsky breed, the Arabian stallion Obeyan Silver.
The photo of an eastern type Terek horse is very reminiscent of a photo of an Arabian horse.
The light type of Terek horses has a pronounced eastern breed. They have a very dry constitution. In fact, these are refined specimens of the Terek breed.
Light, dry head, sometimes with a “pike” profile characteristic of the Arabian. Long thin neck. The bones are thin but strong. Horses of this type are less massive than individuals of the characteristic type. One of the disadvantages is the soft back.
The number of queens of the eastern type amounted to about 40% of the total number of breeding stock. The ancestors of lines of this type were Tsilvan and Zieten. Also both from Cylinder.
The eastern type tolerates herd housing worse than the other two. But at the same time, he is valued for his breed and pronounced riding exterior.
Basic type
The main type also has a well-defined oriental breed. The constitution is dry. The head is medium in size. The forehead is wide. The profile is straight or “pike”. The back of the head is long. The ears are medium, the eyes are expressive and large.
The neck is long and high. The withers are medium, well muscled. The shoulder blades are somewhat straight.The back is short and wide. The loin is short with well-developed muscles. The chest is wide and deep, with long, rounded ribs. The croup is of medium length, wide. Can be straight or with a normal slope. The tail is set high.
The limbs are strong, dry, and correctly positioned. The hooves are strong and well formed.
Among the shortcomings in the breed there are: poorly defined withers, soft back, sabering, X-shaped posture, interception, sunken wrist.
The main type is the most promising from the point of view of using Terek horses in sports disciplines. The number of queens of the main type was 40% of the total breeding stock.
Suits
The main color of the Terek horse is gray. Sometimes with a matte shine. If there is no graying gene in the foal's genotype, Tertz's color can be red or bay.
Application
Previously, Tertsy found application in sports disciplines. They achieved particular success in eventing, where the qualities inherent in military horses were needed: courage, a good sense of balance, and a stable psyche.
Thanks to their developed intelligence, Terek horses performed well in circus acts. Today it is difficult to find not a use for the Terek horse, but Tertz himself for sale. In the modern world, Tertsev can be used in short and medium distance runs and orienteering.
Reviews
Conclusion
The Terek horse is difficult to find today due to the continuing decline in the number of livestock. But if someone needs a playful, obedient, courageous and at the same time very rare breed, then it is worth paying attention to the Terskaya. Being originally a war horse, Terets will become a good companion in horseback riding and amateur competitions.
