Latvian draft horse breed. Variety of types and breeds of horses

Horses have been helping people for centuries. Types of horses are divided depending on how they are used. When choosing an animal, you need to determine exactly what it is for, and, based on this, acquire one or another species and breed.

The classification of horse breeds is carried out according to 2 indicators. The first is the destination, and the second is the origin. For the owner, the purpose of the pet is of primary importance. The classification for this indicator is as follows:

• riding- horses with a graceful build, designed exclusively for riding and unsuitable for harness and hard work. They are exhibited at the races and purchased for riding;
• horse harness- animals are stronger and able to withstand a noticeable load. Lightly drafted breeds of horses can also be used for riding without inconvenience to the rider, since their back is not too wide;
• Draft- horses are not used for riding because of the strong discomfort for the rider when riding them. In harness, they show themselves as strong and hardy animals that can cope with a serious load;
• Heavy trucks (heavy draft)- animals are strong and powerful, able to endure maximum loads and carry the maximum weight without harm to yourself. like riding heavy breeds horses are used extremely rarely in villages (faster as an exception).

The classification of horses by origin is as follows:

• aborigines- animals selected not for productive qualities, but for their ability to withstand certain climatic conditions. The brightest representative of the Yakut breed of horses;
• transitional- universal horses, which were selected mainly through folk selection and can be used, like any of the types of the first classification;
• Factory- such horses were bred in the conditions of breeding plants and selected according to one or another indicator. They are completely man-made according to their requirements.

The list of breeds of horses is huge and before buying, you need to choose a species, this will help reduce the list of breeds. Without this, it is easier to get confused than to choose the best option.

Horse breeds

Only the main breeds of horses will be given here. They are distinguished by good performance and availability for buyers.

Yakut

Yakut horse breed

Describing beautiful breeds horses never bypass the Yakut. Horses of national selection amaze with their frost resistance. Under the open sky, they can survive colds down to -50 ° C and eat pasture even in winter, digging grass out from under the snow. The development of animals lasts up to 6 years, but it can also be used for work and breeding up to 27 years. Distinctive feature also is the ability to navigate rough terrain without stopping.

Percheron horse

The Percheron horse was bred in France in the early 19th century. The breed appeared due to the need to obtain strong and fast horses suitable for harnesses to be used for omnibuses and mail chases. According to its characteristics, the horse of the Percheron breed is between the classic heavy truck and the agricultural one.

Trotter Orlovsky

Orlovsky trotter horse

Horse Oryol breed is tight. The breeding of the breed lasted from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century. 15 breeds were used to obtain the Orlovets. Because of the wide chest, the animal seems to be very long-legged. The movements of the horse are measured and graceful, conveying to him nobility. The suits are different.

Frisian

The Friesian breed of horse was bred in the 16th century and improved in the 17th century. The breed is beautiful and calm. The horses of the Friesian breed are good-natured, which is appreciated by the owners. At the withers, the growth of animals is 165 cm. The legs are strong with thick and lush brushes. Friezes have a luxurious mane and tail.

Friesian horse breed

To obtain animals, the Spanish breed of horses and the heavy "cold-blooded" were used. Animals are used as draft and riding. As heavy-drawn horses are not used.

Pinto horse

The pinto horse is named after the Spanish word for “colored”. This name is given because of the unusual suit with large spots. These animals originate from Spain and are bred on the basis of Spanish horses in America. Pintos belong to riding. Depending on their height, they are divided into ponies (at the withers up to 140 cm) and horses (at the withers above 140 cm). The nature of the animals is pleasant and calm. They rarely show aggression towards humans. Often pacers are distinguished among horses.

Kazakh

Kazakh horse breed

The Kazakh breed of horses belongs to the natives and is now widely distributed in Kazakhstan. Formed 2 varieties of the breed. The first - jab - ponies, have a strong muscular body and thick hair. The second - adaev - riding horses, having a light build and distinguished by endurance and resistance to adverse climatic conditions. The breed is rarely exported outside the country.

Altai

Altai breed horses

The Altai breed of horses is an aboriginal folk selection that arose in the conditions of the Altai Mountains. The growth of horses is small - up to 140 cm at the withers. At the same time, they have established themselves as excellent riding and draft horses. They are also successfully used as pack animals. Thoroughbred horses easily endure the difficult climate and mountain conditions and show high performance, surpassing other, specialized breeds. Outwardly, the horses are attractive.

Arabic

Arabian horse breed

Arabian horses are the oldest riding horses. They are used today in horse breeding in breeding many breeds. Animals give strong numerous offspring and are distinguished by a long life. The movements of animals are graceful, refined, smooth and clear. It is impossible to confuse them with the movements of other breeds. Chiseled addition adds to the appeal of such pets. The suit of horses is different.

Latvian

Latvian horse breed

The Latvian horse breed was bred at the beginning of the 20th century, and officially approved and registered in 1952. Strong and strong horses have a good smooth ride and are used as draft horses. They are able to move and carry considerable weight and are between heavy trucks and light drafts. In agriculture, animals are used as universal ones that can be used for riding and harnessing.

Appaloosa

Appaloosa horses are native to America. Their ancestors were brought by the Spaniards during the period of colonization. Animals were formed as a breed in the valley of the Palouse River, after which they were originally named. In the future, a name with an incorrect pronunciation was assigned to them, and they became Appaloosa.

Mini Appaloosa Horse

The main selection was carried out by the Indians of North America, who liked the horses very much. Only smart, hardy and frisky animals were selected. As a result, the Appaloosa breed was formed, which is distinguished by intelligence, reliability and agility.

Mini Appaloosa participate in various shows and exhibitions

The color of these horses is spotted or chubara. The spots on the body are always contrasting and clearly visible, unlike apples. The skin of spotted individuals is also spotted, which distinguishes the Appaloosa from others. It is impossible to determine what color the animal will be before the first molt, since light horses are born. Appaloosa ponies were also bred by crossing with miniature horses.

Karachaevskaya

The Karachay breed of horses appeared in the 15th century in the Elbrus region. Since the 19th century, animals have gained immense popularity and spread far beyond the boundaries of their place of origin. The horses are tall and have 155 cm at the withers. Their body is wide enough, but comfortable for riding.

Karachay breed of horses

The Karachay breed of horses is striking in its endurance and can be used as a universal one. These horses are recognized as the best riding horses for moving along mountain trails. They are always popular with exhibition visitors and breeders.

Athletes triathletes often choose just such horses to overcome obstacles that they can handle without difficulty.

Due to their high intelligence, the Karachay breed of horses is often chosen by circus trainers and mounted police. Animals are calm and can not only follow commands, but also make decisions on their own. However, thanks to complaisance, this does not lead to disobedience and willfulness. The Karachay breed of horses has shown itself to be ideal for all, with the exception of heavy-drawn, areas of application for horses.

Video: Choosing a horse and caring for it

The breeds of horses are so diverse and numerous that it will take more than one day to get acquainted with each of them.

Horses of the Latvian breed were bred in Latvia. The beginning of the formation of the breed falls on the second half of the XIX century, approved in 1952. People needed a strong, hardy, strong, but at the same time fast and unpretentious horse, suitable for cavalry. To recreate this indescribable, amazing and beautiful horse, the blood of local mares and the best stallions of German breeds was used!
In particular, stallions of the Hanoverian and Oldenburg breeds were used, less often Oryol trotters, Brabancons and Ardennes.
Now this breed is called Latvian, but earlier Latvian draft, as later the horses of this breed were divided into 2 intrabreed types: sports (lightweight) and draft (massive).

Appearance: A large, muscular horse with a straight profile and powerful neck. Feet are dry. The hooves are strong.
Height at the withers: These horses are quite tall from 160 cm to 170 cm.
Color: in particular, bay, but there are also horses of piebald, black, karakov, brown and red colors.
Gait: characterized by wide, sweeping movements.
Breed features: horses of this breed are very quiet and obedient and children can handle them. Latvian horses are great kind people with a brave heart, they are unsurpassed athletes and irreplaceable plowmen!

After the end of the wars, Latvian beauties passed into the hands of farmers, but when they were replaced by cars in agricultural activities, the demand for them, fortunately, did not fall! Now the Latvian miracle of the draft (massive) type can be found in draft and draft competitions, they are incredibly strong, brave and elegant. And horses of a sports (lightweight) type can be found in dressage and show jumping competitions, they have excellent jumping qualities and amazing gaits, and almost always turn out to be winners of competitions. Now sports (lightweight) type horses are crossed with thoroughbreds and the best German horse breeds. In a few words, this horse is amazing in every way!

"Hoof" in history: the Latvian draft stallion Stiprais became famous all over the world for moving almost 28 tons of luggage in special competitions!
Latvian sports stallion Rusty, who successfully performed under the saddle of Ulla Salzgeber at the largest international tournaments in dressage, was recognized by BCM as the best dressage horse!

Latvian draft horse

Latvian draft horses have a large head with a straight profile, erect ears of medium length, large eyes and an energetic look. Their neck is of medium length, powerful, with a high exit, withers of medium height, not long. The back of this breed of horse is straight, wide, the loin is strong, the croup is wide, moderately lowered. The chest is deep, barrel-shaped. The hips of the Latvian draft horse are muscular, the legs are bony, rather dry, the joints are voluminous and well defined. The grandmothers of these horses are short and steep, the hooves are strong, with a normal slope. The constitution of the Latvian harness is strong and dry.

The movements of this horse are wide and sweeping, the temperament is hot. Latvian draft riders. In general, they are distinguished by a powerful, but at the same time harmonious physique, bone structure and pronounced draft forms. They can be used both in harness and under saddle.

The horses of the Latvian draft breed are dominated by bay, karak, black and red colors.

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The draft horse of Latvia was created by crossing a local horse with draft breeds of Western Europe, mainly Oldenburg.

Breeding of Oldenburgs and crossing them with a local horse began in the Republic of Latvia about 30 years ago. During the period from 1921 to 1943, 65 breeding Oldenburg stallions and 42 Oldenburg mares, as well as about 1000 working mares of this type, were imported to Latvia, mainly from Holland and partly from Germany. Since 1921, a stud farm began to operate in Okta, Talsi district, in which there were about 50 Oldenburg horses, including 24 purebreds - 2 stallions and 22 mares.

This breed met the needs of the peasants of Latvia and by 1945 took first place among other horse breeds of the republic. According to the breed registration of 1945, pedigree draft horses in the Latvian SSR accounted for 48.8% of all breeding horses. At present, horses of this type are common in almost all counties of Vidzeme (former Livonian province).

According to the materials of the survey of 1947 and according to the stud books of the Latvian SSR, the measurements of the Latvian draft horses were characterized by the following data (Table 51):

As the table shows, the Latvian draft horse is quite large, has a well-developed body and bony. In build and proportion it is close to the desired type of farm horse. It has a harmonious build, often somewhat raw, but strong constitution, well-developed muscles and strong bones, deep chest with a medium or large width, medium or high, long withers, medium length or long shoulder blade, good topline in most cases ( although mares often have a soft back) and a well-developed wrist; grandmothers are normally inclined. Of the defects in the setting of the hind legs, saber and x-shaped are often found. The hairiness of the head, tail and legs is medium. The color is predominantly bay, less often black, red and karakov.

Crossbreeds on the exterior are worse than purebreds, and it should be noted that with each subsequent generation, the positive traits of the exterior increase in the crossbreeds and defects decrease. This suggests that the Latvian draft horse is an unconditional improver of the local horse.

Latvian draft horses have a fairly good carrying capacity, a good walk and a satisfactory trot. During the tests, the following indicators were obtained: 1 km with a load equal to three times the weight of a horse was covered in 11 minutes, 1600 m on ice in a sleigh without a load - in 3 minutes. 26 sec.

The temperament of horses is calm, which greatly facilitates their use in agricultural work.

Oldenburgs imported from Holland, in large part came from the Groningen plant. In this plant, the Oldenburgs were bred in purity and crossed with the Ostfrisian breed close to them in type and origin, as well as with the local Dutch horse, also similar in type. Therefore, part of the modern composition of the draft breed of horses of the Latvian SSR among the ancestors includes horses of the East Frisian breed, as well as Dutch ones of unknown origin.

Currently, the most common offspring of stallions in the Latvian SSR are:

1) Ehrenberger 1383, mainly through the stallions Amons 7, Democrate 14 and Elioporus 38;

3) Coco 1274, mainly through Bapio 51;

4) Essex 1875, mainly via Sisto 66, Egero 53 and Zengers 64;

5) Herbert 2512, mainly via Germino 65;

6) Simona 240, mostly via Erapus 33.

Purposeful breeding work was not carried out when breeding draft horses in bourgeois Latvia, and unsystematic crossings of Oldenburgs and their crosses with horses of other breeds, mainly Hanoverians, as well as with trotters, roadsters and Ardens, were often observed.

Crossbreeds from such crosses were significantly worse than purebred Oldenburgs and their crossbreeds with a local horse. The Ardeno-Oldenburgs are for the most part not harmonious enough, the Oldenburg-Hanoverian horses often have weak, often substituted legs with a good body. Better than other Oldenburg roadsters due to their proximity in terms of body type. The average measurements of the crosses are shown in Table 52.

The Latvian draft horse is a valuable breed of horses, and in the future it is necessary to conduct more systematic and purposeful work with it. Unsystematic crossing it with other breeds, especially with the Hanoverian, is unacceptable.

In the future, the Latvian draft horse can be successfully used for crossing with local horses in a number of northern and northwestern regions of the USSR (Smolensk, Velikoluksky, Leningrad, etc.).

Latvian draft breed.

It is a multi-breed mixture obtained by long-term crossing of local mares with stallions of German half-breeds (special influence of Oldenburg and Hanoverian breeds). Homogeneous selection was used for unrelated matings. Only a small part of the stallions is obtained by inbreeding. The work was carried out on breeding farms in Latvia. The breed was approved in 1952.

Horses of this breed are distinguished by a harmonious physique, strong constitution, good developed muscles, tall, bony. The chest is deep, the back of most horses is straight, the limbs are quite dry. These are large, somewhat stretched horses, they are not as massive as draft horses, but more versatile in use.

Disadvantages: coarse head, short neck and shoulders, damp limbs, saber.

The breed is dominated by the bay color, but there are red and black.

The breed is characterized by the universality of working qualities, high fertility (up to 90%), longevity, good nature.

IN last years practice crossing Latvian horses with Thoroughbred stallions, Trakehner, Hanoverian and even Arabian and Akhal-Teke breeds in order to obtain horses for participation in classic equestrian sports. This led to the division of the breed into 2 types:

harness

Sports.

In Russia, stallions are used as improvers.

Belarusian draft breed.

Formed on the basis of the local horse of the northern forest type of the Belarusian woodlands as a result of its long-term improvement with factory draft breeds, mainly Gudsbrandsdal (Norway), as well as Ardennes, Brabancons, Soviet and Russian heavy trucks, Oryol trotters. The breed was approved in 2000.

These horses are similar to medium-sized draft horses, but have drier bodies and legs. Characterized by a light expressive head, a well-set muscular neck, a wide chest.

Average measurements: 151 - 161 - 186 - 21.2.

Elegant suits with a golden tint are common - buckskin and nightingale.

Possesses durability, unpretentiousness, fecundity, milkiness. In terms of performance, they are inferior to other draft breeds, but they have good endurance and mobility.

There are 3 types:

Further work is aimed at consolidating the desired type, improving harness forms and preserving economically useful features. The best breeding stock is concentrated in the district stud farm. In recent years, Belarusian horses have been bred in some regions of the European part of Russia - in Smolensk, Bryansk and other regions.