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The Tersk breed is the direct heiress of the Strelets horses, and soon threatens to exactly repeat the fate of its progenitor. The Streletskaya breed was created as a ceremonial 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. Terskaya survived the perestroika relatively successfully in the 90s, but, unlike the Orlov trotter, the number of Tersk horses continued to decline after 2000. Today, there are only 80 queens left in the breed, and without the purposeful efforts of enthusiasts, the breed is doomed to extinction.
Interrelation of rocks
The Streletskaya breed got its name from the name of the plant in which it was bred. Strelets horses were obtained by crossing Arabian stallions with domestic riding mares. Streltsy horses were famous for the fact that, with an appearance very similar to the Arabian breed, they were larger and better adapted to the Russian climate. Archer 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, Sagittarius horses were highly regarded both red and white. The Streletsky stud farm was completely plundered. The last two stallions managed to be 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 receive the parade on Red Square.
We also managed to find 4 Streletsky mares. That 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. It was “cleaned up” for a while by the nachoz. 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. Not forgetting to grab a gypsy from your platoon. As expected, there were only cripples in the depot, but the gypsy, walking along the horses, pointed to one frozen 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 the morning the gypsy tonsured his horse and rubbed a mixture of hemp oil and soot into his skin. Before the parade, two bottles of moonshine were poured into the horse.
At the parade, the stallion struck everyone except the division commander, who was well versed in horses. The head of the division figured out the gypsy trick at first sight. But not all were such experts, and the commander of the machine-gun squadron suggested that the platoon commander change horses. Naturally, the platoon commander agreed. And in the evening the horses were exchanged.
And the next morning the handsome hot stallion could not get up. Somehow they raised him. On examination, a veterinarian who had served in the Streletsky plant before the First World War noticed and recognized the stigma. And I identified the stallion by the herd number. It turned out to be one of the main producers of the Streletsky stud farm Cylinder.
The cylinder was cured, left and sent by the manufacturer to the factory.
The second stallion Connoisseur had somewhat rougher forms than his half-brother, although he was the leading stallion at the Streletsky stud farm.
New breed
It was impossible to restore the Streletskaya breed on the basis of four mares and two stallions, and it was decided to create a new one. They took the Streletskikh as a model. First, the Cylinder with the Connoisseur entered the Rostov region at 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 Streletsky mares.
The Tersk horse breed 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 was transferred to the Streletsky stallions: Donskikh, Karachay-Kabardian oriental type, 17 Hungarian mares of the Hydran and Shagia Arabian breeds and some others. In order to avoid inbreeding, the blood of Arabian stallions, Streletsko-Kabardian and Arab-Don stallions was additionally added.
The Streletskaya breed was used as a cementing material, and the main work was built around the Cylinder with the Connoisseur and the offspring of 4 Streletskaya mares. But the mares entered the Tersk plant only in 1931. Prior to that, the main method was inbreeding into the Valuable - the father of the Cylinder and the Connoisseur. To avoid inbred depression, the Arabian stallion Koheilan was introduced into the production composition.
In 1945, the production staff was transferred to the Stavropol stud farm, where it is located to this day. The breed was recognized as independent in 1948.
The breeders managed to restore the type of the Archer horse. If we compare modern photos of horses of the Terek breed with the surviving photographs of Streletsky horses, then the similarity is striking.
Terskoy Erzen, 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 its high endurance and adaptability to the Russian climate.
Exterior
The Tersk horse has a pronounced riding conformation, harmonious constitution and a pronounced arabic type. Tertsy is somewhat longer Arabian horses and above them at the withers. Today Terek stallions 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.In the course of selection, three types were distinguished in the breed:
- basic or characteristic;
- oriental, it is also light;
- thick.
The dense type was the smallest in the total number of livestock. The number of dense type queens did not exceed 20%.
Thick type
The horses are massive, large, with a wide body. The backbone is powerful. 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 bone index in the coarse type is higher than that of the characteristic and light type. Legs are dry with well developed tendons and correct posture, although the constitution may be soggy.
This type was used to improve local breeds and to produce riding horses. The type contains three lines, the ancestors of two of which were Streletsky stallions Valuable II and Cylinder II. Both are from Cylinder I. The ancestor of the third line is the Arabian stallion Marosh.
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 traits possessed by the distant ancestor of the modern Tersk horses - the ancestor of the Streletskaya breed, the Arabian stallion Obeyan Silver.
A photo of a Terek horse of the eastern type is very similar to 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 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. A soft back is one of the disadvantages.
The number of oriental type queens was about 40% of the total number of the broodstock. The ancestors of lines of this type were Tsilvan and Tsiten. Also both from the Cylinder.
The oriental type tolerates herd keeping worse than the other two. But at the same time, it is also appreciated for its breed and pronounced riding conformation.
Basic type
The main type also has a well-defined eastern breed. The constitution is dry. The head is medium in size. The forehead is wide. The profile is straight or "pike". The occiput is long. The ears are medium, the eyes are expressive, large.
The neck is long with a high exit. The withers are medium, well muscled. The shoulder blades are somewhat straight. The back is short and wide. The loin is short and well muscled. The chest is broad and deep, with long, rounded ribs. The croup is medium in length, wide. Can be straight or with a normal slope. The tail is set high.
The limbs are strong, dry and well set. The hooves are strong and well formed.
Among the shortcomings in the breed are: poorly expressed withers, soft back, saber, X-shaped set, interception, sunken wrist.
The main type is the most promising from the point of view of the use of Tersk horses in sports disciplines. The number of mothers of the main type was 40% of the total broodstock.
Suits
The main color of the Tersk horse is gray. Sometimes with a matte sheen. In the absence of a graying gene in the foal's genotype, Tertz's color can be red or bay.
Application
Earlier Tertsy found application 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 their developed intellect, the Tersk horses performed well in circus performances. Today it is difficult to find not the use of the Tersk horse, but of Terts himself for sale. In the modern world, Tertsev can be used in short and medium distance runs and orienteering.
Testimonials
Conclusion
The Tersk 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 Terskaya. Originally a war horse, Terez will become a good companion in horse riding and amateur competitions.
