Contents
The Vyatka breed of horses was formed as a homogeneous array by the end of the XNUMXth – beginning of the XNUMXth century. This is a northern forest breed with all the features that accompany this group of horses. Udmurtia is considered the historical homeland of the Vyatka horse, where the main livestock of this breed is concentrated today.
History of the breed
It was officially believed that the history of the breed began either at the end of the 1720th century, when colonists from Veliky Novgorod moved in the interfluve between the Vyatka and Obvyu, or around XNUMX, when, on the orders of Peter the Great, the Stroganov brothers improved the local livestock with horses imported from the Baltic.
It was previously believed that the formation of the Vyatka horse was greatly influenced by the Livonian Kleppers, today known as the Estonian Kleppers.
It is not known for certain whether the colonists really brought them with them, but it is documented that, on the orders of Peter the Great, several heads of Estonian kleppers were indeed delivered to Udmurtia to improve the local livestock.
Modern research has shown that the Novgorod settlers are unlikely to have dragged horses of a foreign breed with them, managing with less exotic draft power. And several heads of “Stroganov’s” clappers “dissolved” in the general mass of horses of Udmurtia, without having a big impact on the local native breed.
The Vyatka horse was bred by folk selection from the northern forest stock that lived in this area before the arrival of settlers there. It could be influenced by native breeds of Central Asia, which are related to the Yakut horse. Western European and Eastern breeds did not participate in the formation of Vyatka.
Water meadows in the floodplains of Vyatka and Obvi made it possible to create an excellent draft horse, famous for its endurance, good-naturedness and energy, by the method of folk selection. Vyatkas are perfectly adapted to work in agriculture and forestry. Before the appearance of the Orlovsky trotter, courier troikas pulled by horses of the Vyatka breed scurried along the roads of the Empire. Representatives of the aristocracy did not disdain to keep these medium-sized horses at that time.
Troika Vyatok, which belonged to the adjutant of the Guards Corps, Captain Kotlyarevsky.
After the appearance of the Orlovtsy, the need for small, hardy and nimble horses decreased significantly, and Vyatka experienced its first crisis at the beginning of the 1890th century, when they began to uncontrollably “cultivate” it with heavy-duty breeds. Metized breed simple peasants in their farmsteads. As a result, the Vyatka breed has practically disappeared. It is known that in 1892 for Emperor Alexander III in all of Our Country they could not find a trio of Vyatka horses. And in 1900, the almost complete disappearance of the Vyatka breed was officially recognized. But the expedition organized in XNUMX revealed the presence of a significant number of Vyatka horses in Udmurtia. On this work with the breed and ended.
Revival
In 1918, experts were able to find only 12 heads that matched the description of the Vyatka horse breed. The horses were presented at the All- exhibition of working horses and the visitors were very interested. And that’s where it all ended.
The breed has long been in oblivion. Only from the end of the 30s purposeful work began with the breed. But nurseries were organized only in 1943-1945. During the period of activity of breeding nurseries, the breed standard was fixed and regional pedigree books were established. The livestock of Vyatka horses began to “come to a common denominator.” Compared with the beginning of the activity of breeding nurseries (and before that only 12 heads were found), the number of the breed increased significantly and totaled 1100 heads in total.
In fact, this is enough for the breed not to become extinct, but not enough for the full development of the population.
Second crisis
In connection with the course of the CPSU towards the mechanization of agriculture, begun in the late 50s – early 60s, the reduction in numbers befell not only the Vyatka breed. Horses, as a relic of the past, began to be handed over everywhere to meat processing plants. State pedigree nurseries were closed, breeding work stopped. This policy of the authorities hit Vyatka very hard, as many breeding horses were sold for meat and horse breeding farms were closed. The pitiful remnants of the breed were planned to be improved with the help of heavy trucks, Orlovtsy and trotters. As a result, all the efforts of specialists to preserve and improve the breed were reduced to zero.
In the mid-70s, the authorities realized that such activities had significantly depleted the gene pool of aboriginal breeds in the USSR. As a result of several expeditions to survey the livestock, conducted in the early 80s, uterine nests of Vyatka horses were discovered in several separate farms. But the proposal to restore the breed on the basis of these families again did not find understanding in the Ministries. Fortunately, the horse breeders of Udmurtia became interested in the preservation and restoration of the breed.
6 breeding farms for breeding the Vyatka horse were organized in the republic. Since the 90s, tests and exhibitions of Vyatok have been held at the Izhevsk Hippodrome. A program for the development and conservation of the breed has been developed. The breed is registered with VNIIK and systematic selection work is being carried out with it. Today, the Vyatka horse is no longer in danger.
Description
Even from a non-exterior photo of the Vyatka horse, one can see that the breed has a pronounced harness type with low withers and a stretched body. They have strong bones, dense strong muscles.
There are two types of Vyatka: Udmurt and Kirov, with some differences between them. As a result of selection, the differences begin to smooth out and today it is already necessary to look at a specific horse.
Usually Vyatka has a medium-sized head. The Udmurt type has a more accurate head, but the Kirov ones are distinguished by a better structure of the body and limbs. But as a result of work at the Kirov Vyatki, bred in the Gordino agricultural company, the heads have become more refined, not as rough as before. For this reason, the modern standard in describing the head of the Vyatka horse indicates that it should have a wide forehead and a straight profile. Sometimes the profile can be slightly concave, which makes the Vyatka look like an Arabized horse.
The neck is short, powerful. The output is low. Stallions often have a well-defined crest.
A littered comb means obesity, to which the Vyatka horse is prone, like any native breed.
The withers are weakly expressed, harness type. The topline is level. The back is long, wide. The loin is long, especially in mares. The chest is deep and wide. The croup is round and slightly sloping.
The limbs are short. The hind legs are prone to saber, which is a fault. The hooves are small, with a very strong horn. The skin of the Vyatka is thick, with thick integumentary hair.
Previously, the height at the withers of the Vyatka breed of horses was 135-140 cm. Today, the average height of the Vyatka is 150 cm. It is believed that the increase in height occurred as a result of crossbreeding by larger breeds. But in the 90s, Vyatka also did not differ in serious sizes and were about 140-145 cm. Today, specimens 160 cm tall are often found. Therefore, most likely, the improvement in the diet of queens and foals affected the increase in growth.
For this reason, it is likely that some large extinct breed of horse actually took part in the formation of the Vyatka horse.
Fat
Previously, the Vyatka horse could be found in almost any suit. Today, only the savras color is cultivated in the breed. Savrasity manifests itself on almost any main suit, and Vyatka can be nest-savras, bulano-savras, red-savras or crow-savras. Bulano-savrasai and crow-savrasai (mouse) suits are considered the most desirable today. The main suits are also present in the population, but when grading for them, the scores are reduced.
Quite a lot of red individuals are born, but red and brown (red-saurian) Vyatka are culled from breeding.
Signs of savras suit
It is quite difficult for the uninitiated to figure out what is the difference between one suit and another. But the main sign of a Savras horse is a belt on the back and zebroid on the legs.
In the photo of the mouse horse of the Vyatka breed, a belt along the ridge and zebroid stripes above the carpal joint are clearly visible.
Sometimes a light-mouse horse can be confused with a bulan, but usually in this case the head gives out the suit: the mouse has a lot of black on its head. And I bay with a savras-bay of a bright color.
A belt is a strip that runs along the spine of a horse. It differs from zonal darkening by clearly defined boundaries.
In addition to these obligatory features, a saurian horse may also have “hoarfrost” in the mane and tail: lighter hair. Sometimes there is so much of this blond hair that the mane appears dirty white.
marks
In the Vyatka breed, white markings lead to culling from the breeding stock or a decrease in the grade when scoring. Therefore, Vyatka cannot have large marks. A small star or small white mark on the underside of the leg is possible but not desirable.
Pronounced zebroid stripes on the legs and “wings” on the shoulders are welcome, as in the photo below.
Characteristics of character
Being a native breed, Vyatka was bred not as a productive animal for meat and milk, but as a draft force in the economy. Therefore, the nature of the horses of the Vyatka breed is softer and less stubborn than that of a significant part of other original representatives of the horse world. Although, as elsewhere, there are also evil specimens. Or those who are not averse to testing a person for strength.
On the other hand, many CSCs in Udmurtia use Vyatka to teach children. Like children’s horses, vyatkas today have a serious minus – increased growth. A horse from 155 cm at the withers is not very suitable for teaching children.
Vyatkas jump well for their build, they can pass children’s dressage competitions. Thanks to a very stable psyche, they can be used for holiday skating.
Reviews
Conclusion
The Vyatka horse does an excellent job of housework on a personal farmstead. Its advantages are not only in endurance and economy of maintenance, but also in the ability to quickly find the right harness. It is much easier to find a collar and a harness on Vyatka than on a large heavy truck.