Content
The Vyatka breed of horses formed as a homogeneous mass by the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century. This is a northern forest breed with all the features that accompany this group of horses. The historical homeland of the Vyatka horse is Udmurtia, where the main livestock of this breed is still concentrated today.
History of the breed
It was officially believed that the history of the breed began either at the end of the XIV century, when colonists from Veliky Novgorod moved between the rivers Vyatka and Ob'yu, or around 1720, when, by order of Peter the Great, the Stroganov brothers improved the local livestock with horses imported from the Baltic states.
Earlier it was believed that the formation of the Vyatka horse was greatly influenced by the "Livonian clippers", now known as the Estonian clippers.
It is not known for certain whether the colonists really brought them with them, but it is documented that, by order of Peter the Great, several heads of Estonian clippers were indeed delivered to Udmurtia to improve the local livestock.
Modern research has shown that the Novgorodian settlers were unlikely to drag horses of a foreign breed with them, dispensing with less exotic draft power. And several heads of "Stroganov" clippers "dissolved" in the total equestrian mass of Udmurtia, without having much influence on the local aboriginal breed.
The Vyatka horse was bred by the method of folk selection from the northern forest population that lived in this territory before the arrival of settlers there. It could be influenced by the indigenous breeds of Central Asia, which are related to the Yakut horse. Western European and Eastern breeds did not participate in the formation of Vyatka.
The floodplains in the Vyatka and Obvi floodplains made it possible to create an excellent harness horse, famous for its endurance, good nature and energy, by means of folk selection. Vyatka is perfectly adapted to work in agriculture and forestry. Before the appearance of the Oryol trotter, courier troikas, harnessed by horses of the Vyatka breed, scurried along the roads of the Russian Empire. Representatives of the aristocracy did not disdain to keep these medium-sized horses then.
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 significantly decreased, and Vyatka experienced its first crisis at the beginning of the 19th century, when they began to uncontrollably “domesticate” it with heavy draft breeds. Simple peasants on their farmsteads met the breed. As a result, the Vyatka breed practically disappeared. It is known that in 1890 for Emperor Alexander III they could not find three Vyatka horses in all of Russia. And in 1892, the almost complete disappearance of the Vyatka breed was officially recognized. But the expedition organized in 1900 revealed the presence of a significant livestock of Vyatka horses in Udmurtia. This was the end of the work with the breed.
Revival
In 1918, experts were able to find only 12 heads that corresponded to the description of the Vyatka horse breed. The horses were presented at the All-Russian Workhorse Exhibition and were very interested in visitors. And that was also the end of it.
The breed was forgotten for a long time. Only from the end of the 30s, purposeful work began with the breed.But breeding nurseries were organized only in 1943-1945. During the period of pedigree nursery activity, the breed standard was fixed and regional studbooks were introduced. The population of Vyatka horses began to "come to a common denominator." Compared to the beginning of the activity of pedigree nursery farmers (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 die out, but not enough for the full development of the population.
Second crisis
In connection with the course of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on the mechanization of agriculture, which began in the late 50s - early 60s, the decline in the number befell not only the Vyatka breed. Horses, as a relic of the past, began to be handed over to meat processing plants everywhere. State breeding gardens were closed, breeding work was stopped. This policy of the authorities hit Vyatki very hard, since many breeding horses were handed over for meat and the horse farms that were breeding were closed. The pitiful remnants of the breed were planned to be improved with the help of Russian heavy trucks, Orlovtsy and Russian 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 measures had significantly depleted the gene pool of aboriginal breeds in the USSR. As a result of several expeditions to survey the livestock, carried out in the early 1980s, brood nests of Vyatka horses were found in several individual farms. But the proposal for the restoration of the breed on the basis of these families again did not find understanding in the Ministries. Fortunately, horse breeders of Udmurtia became interested in the preservation and restoration of the breed.
In the republic, 6 pedigree farms were organized for breeding the Vyatka horse. Since the 90s, tests and exhibitions of Vyatoks have been held at the Izhevsk Hippodrome. A program for the development and preservation 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 draft type with a low withers and an extended body. They have strong bones, dense strong muscles.
There are two types of Vyatok: Udmurt and Kirov, with some differences between themselves. As a result of selection, the differences begin to smooth out and today it is already necessary to look at a particular horse.
Usually Vyatok has a medium-sized head. The Udmurt type has a more accurate head, but the Kirov ones have a better structure of the body and limbs. But as a result of work at the Kirovskie Vyatki, bred in the agricultural firm "Gordino", the heads became 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 Vyatka look like an Arabized horse.
The neck is short and powerful. The output is low. In stallions, a well-defined ridge is often observed.
A blocked ridge means obesity, to which the Vyatka horse is prone, like any aboriginal breed.
Withers are weak, harness type. The topline is straight. The back is long and wide. The loin is long, especially in mares. The ribcage is deep and wide. The croup is rounded, slightly sloping.
The limbs are short. The hind legs tend to be saber, which is a disadvantage. The hooves are small, with a very strong horn. Vyatoka's skin is thick, with thick top coat.
Previously, the height at the withers of the Vyatka breed of horses was 135-140 cm. Today, the average height of Vyatka is 150 cm.It is believed that the increase in growth occurred as a result of cross breeding with larger breeds. But in the 90s, Vyatka also did not differ in serious size and were about 140-145 cm. Today, specimens with a height of 160 cm are often found. Therefore, most likely, the increase in growth was influenced by an improvement in the diet of queens and foals.
For this reason, it is likely that, in fact, some large extinct horse breed took part in the formation of the Vyatka horse.
Suits
Previously, almost any color could be found on the Vyatka horse. Today in the breed only the savras color is cultivated. Savrasiness manifests itself on almost any main suit and Vyatka can be bay-savras, bulano-savras, red-savras or crow-savras. The most desirable today are the bulano-savrasaya and crow-savrasaya (mouse) suits. The main suits are also present in the population, but when grading for them, the marks are lowered.
A lot of red individuals are born, but red and brown (reddish-gray) Vyatoks are discarded 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 zebra-like on the legs.
In the photo of a muscular horse of the Vyatka breed, a belt along the ridge and zebra stripes above the wrist joint are clearly visible.
Sometimes a light-moused horse can be confused with a bulan, but usually in this case the head gives out the color: the mousy has a lot of black on its head. A bay with a savra-bay bright color.
A belt is a strip that runs along the back of a horse. It differs from zonal darkening by clearly delineated boundaries.
In addition to these obligatory features, a gray-haired horse may also have "hoarfrost" in the mane and tail: lighter hair. Sometimes there is so much of this blonde hair that the mane appears off-white.
Markings
In the Vyatka breed, white marks lead to culling from the producing composition or a decrease in the assessment during appraisal. Therefore, Vyatka cannot have large marks. Possible but undesirable small asterisk or small white mark on the underside of the leg.
Strong zebra stripes on the legs and "wings" on the shoulders are welcome, as in the photo below.
Character traits
Being an indigenous breed, Vyatka was bred not as a productive animal for meat and milk, but as a draft force on the farm. Therefore, the character of the horses of the Vyatka breed is softer and less stubborn than that of a significant part of other original representatives of the equine 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, in Udmurtia, many KSK use Vyatok for teaching children. Like children's horses, Vyatka has a serious minus today - 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. Due to their very stable psyche, they can be used for holiday skating.
Testimonials
Conclusion
The Vyatka horse does an excellent job of housework on a personal backyard. Its advantages are not only in the endurance and economy of maintenance, but also in the ability to quickly select the right harness. On Vyatka it is much easier to find a collar and a harness than on a large heavy truck.
