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The Terek breed, the direct successor of the Sagittarius horses, soon threatens to repeat the fate of its progenitor exactly. The Sagittarius breed was created as a parade horse for an officer’s saddle. Terskaya was conceived with a similar purpose. Streletskaya was completely exterminated during the Civil War. There are only 6 heads left: 2 stallions and 4 mares. The Terek relatively successfully survived perestroika in the 90s, but, unlike the Orlovsky trotter, the number of Terek horses continued to decline after 2000. Today, only 80 queens remain in the breed, and without the dedicated efforts of enthusiasts, the breed is doomed to extinction.
Relationship of breeds
The Sagittarius breed got its name from the name of the plant in which it was bred. Sagittarius horses were obtained by crossing Arabian stallions with domestic riding mares. Archery horses were famous for the fact that, with an appearance very similar to the Arabian breed, they were larger and better adapted to the climate. Sagittarius horses became widespread at the end of the XNUMXth century. And at the beginning of the twentieth century, they received the Great October Socialist Revolution and the Civil War.
Because of their characteristics, the Sagittarius horses were highly regarded by both red and white horses. The Streltsy stud farm was completely looted. The last two stallions were recaptured from the retreating White Guards already in the Crimea. According to legend, it was on these two half-brothers: the Cylinder and the Connoisseur that Baron Wrangel intended to take the parade on Red Square.
We also managed to find 4 Sagittarius mares. It was all that was left of the breed. Moreover, the Cylinder was almost overlooked. In the wake of these events, the writer F.F. Kudryavtsev wrote the story, changing only the names and nickname of the horse. In fact, the stallion’s name was Cylinder.
Accidental 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 “cleaned up” by the nachkhoz for a while. A review was scheduled for the next day. The platoon commander could not stay without a horse and was forced to go to the repair depot to choose another horse. Not forgetting to grab a gypsy from your platoon. In the depot, as expected, there were only cripples, but the gypsy, walking along the horses, pointed to one starved white stallion. The horse, from weakness, could not even stand on its feet, but the gypsy promised to make such a horse out of this nag that everyone would gasp.
Everyone really gasped. Until morning, the gypsy tonsured the horse and rubbed a mixture of hemp oil with soot into the skin. Before the parade, two bottles of moonshine were poured into the horse.
At the parade, the stallion amazed everyone, except for the division commander, who was well versed in horses. The head of the division figured out the gypsy trick at first sight. But not everyone was such an expert, and the commander of the machine-gun squadron offered the platoon commander to exchange horses. Naturally, the platoon commander agreed. And in the evening the horses were exchanged.
And in the morning the beautiful hot stallion could not get up. Somehow it was lifted. Upon examination, the veterinarian, who before the First World War served in the Streltsy plant, noticed and recognized the stigma. And by the herd number, he also identified the stallion. It turned out to be one of the main producers of the Streltsy stud farm Cylinder.
The cylinder was cured, left and sent by the manufacturer to the factory.
The second stallion, Connoisseur, had a somewhat rougher form than his half-brother, although he was the leading stud at the Streletsky stud farm.
new breed
It was impossible to restore the Sagittarius breed on the basis of four mares and two stallions, and it was decided to create a new one. It was the Streltskys who were taken as a sample. First, the Cylinder with the Connoisseur entered the Rostov region in the factories named after. First Cavalry Army and them. M.S. Budyonny, but were soon transferred from there to the Tersk plant.
Three of the four surviving Sagittarius mares.
The Terek breed of horses is named after the plant where it was bred. The task was to get a horse as close as possible to Streletskaya. For this purpose, a carefully selected group of mares, similar in type to the Streletsky stallions, was transferred under the Streletsky stallions: Don, 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 stallions, Sagittarius-Kabardian and Arabo-Don was additionally added.
Streltsy 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 Tersky plant only in 1931. Prior to this, the main method was inbreeding on Valuable – the father of the Cylinder and Connoisseur. To avoid inbreeding depression, the Arabian stallion Koheilan was introduced into the breeding stock.
In 1945, the breeding stock 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 Sagittarius horse. If we compare modern photos of horses of the Terek breed with surviving photographs of Sagittarius horses, then the similarity is 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 climate.
Exterior
The Terek horse has a pronounced riding exterior, a harmonious build and a pronounced Arabized type. Terts are somewhat longer than Arabian horses and higher at the withers. Today, Terek stallions average 162 cm at the withers. There may be instances of a height of 170 cm. In mares, the average height is slightly lower – about 158 cm. During the selection, three types were distinguished in the breed:
- main or characteristic;
- eastern, it is also light;
- thick.
The dense type was the smallest in the total number of livestock. The number of queens of the dense type 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 coarse. The neck is shorter and thicker than the other two types. The withers are closer to the harness type. The bone index in the rough type is higher than in the characteristic and light type. The legs are dry with well developed tendons and proper set-on, although the constitution may be damp.
This type was used to improve local breeds and produce horses for riding and draft. There are three lines in the type, the ancestors of two of which were the Sagittarius stallions Valuable II and Cylinder II. Both are from Cylinder I. The ancestor of the third line is the Arabian stallion Maros.
Maros was of an intermediate type and combined an oriental appearance with thick measurements. Many of his descendants adopted these traits.
Light oriental
The eastern type retained the features that the distant ancestor of the modern Terek horses possessed – the ancestor of the Sagittarius breed, the Arabian stallion Obeyan Silver.
The photo of a horse of the Terek breed of the eastern type is very similar to the photo of the Arabian horse.
The light type of Terek horses has a pronounced oriental 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, inherent in the Arabian. Long thin neck. The skeleton is thin but strong. Horses of this type are less massive than individuals of the characteristic type. Of the shortcomings, there is a soft back.
The number of queens of the eastern type was about 40% of the total number of breeding stock. The ancestors of the lines of this type were Tsilvan and Ziten. Also both from the Cylinder.
The eastern type tolerates herd content worse than the other two. But at the same time, he is also 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, large.
The neck is long with a high outlet. The withers are medium, well muscled. The shoulder blades are somewhat straight. The back is short, wide. The loin is short with well developed muscles. The chest is broad and deep, with long rounded ribs. The croup is of medium length, wide. It can be straight or with a normal slope. The tail is set high.
The limbs are strong, dry, with the correct set. The hooves are strong and well formed.
Among the shortcomings in the breed there are: poorly pronounced withers, soft back, saber, X-shaped set, interception, sunken wrist.
The main type is the most promising in terms of the use of Terek horses in sports disciplines. The number of queens of the main type was 40% of the total breeding stock.
Fat
The main color of the Terek horse is gray. Sometimes with a matte finish. In the absence of a graying gene in the foal’s genotype, Tertz’s color can be red or bay.
Application
Previously, Terts were used in sports disciplines. They achieved particular success in triathlon, where the qualities inherent in military horses were needed: courage, a good sense of balance, and a stable psyche.
Thanks to the developed intellect, the Terek horses performed well in circus numbers. Today it is difficult to find not the use of the Terek horse, but Tertz himself for sale. In the modern world, Tertsev can be used in short and medium distance races and orienteering.
Reviews
Conclusion
The Terek horse is difficult to find today due to the ongoing decline in the number of livestock. But if someone needs a frisky, obedient, courageous and at the same time a very rare breed, then you should pay attention to the Terskaya. Originally a warhorse, Terez will become a good companion in horseback riding and amateur competitions.