Vyatka horses (Vyatka)
Rich mane and frosted tail.
In the midday heat you will not leave your post:
Wide body, deep chest -
You love work, you won’t let me breathe.
Fringed ears, back with a strap -
You carry people, and then you frolic.
You walk in a harness, you are kind and smart,
Forest horse from ancient times.
Your gallop is agile, your step is mincing:
Let it not be a horse - dust flies across the field.
Four hours is enough for rest.
A handful of oats is enough as a reward.
The color of the mouse is steel, damask steel.
On a difficult path you won’t look back:
You are ready to go on your journey.
You won't let yourself drown in deep snowdrifts.
“Winged” shoulders and “wild” tan,
And he took the striped legs from a zebra.
What breed are you?
“I am Vyatka!” - said.
From the depths of centuries, a stocky, shaggy horse, the Vyatka, has come down to our times. Its centuries-old history is closely intertwined with the annals of domestic horse breeding and is inextricably linked with the history of the entire Russian state. The fate of the old Vyatka horse is like the stripes of a zebra: the light, joyful stripe is replaced by a contrasting black, gloomy one. The old Vyatka woman went through a lot in her long life: there were bright ascents to the very pinnacle of fame and difficult falls into obscurity. More than once she came within a hair's breadth of death. But every time something certainly kept Vyatka on the edge of the eternal abyss and helped him survive. Apparently the Lord himself protects the little modest Vyatka worker for the good of man, so that she uncomplainingly and tirelessly continues to serve and help him both in hard everyday life and in joy.
A few years ago, experts and experts waved their hands: “Vyatki? Yes, they are no longer left, they are extinct, like mammoths! “Fortunately, they were proven wrong: this amazing ancient breed is quite viable, although very few in number. And in the distant Russian outback, where roads are a relative concept, among forests and swamps you can still find these strong and agile Savras horses.
The Vyatka horse represents one of the most interesting pages in the annals of domestic horse breeding. The history of its origin is lost in the distant past and has not yet been precisely established. In the literature one can find suggestions that Vyatka horses are the descendants of Estonian kleppers, brought by Novgorodians and Pskovians to the Vyatka, Kazan and Perm provinces around 1720 at the direction of Peter I or earlier, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. According to other sources, the Vyatka breed began in 1374 - then the Novgorod colonists, having moved to the Vyatka region, brought with them Livland kleppers.
However, all versions concerning the appearance of the Vyatka breed are not very convincing, since they are based only on legends and traditions. Obviously, one should not exaggerate the participation of Estonian kleppers in the creation of Vyatka, nor completely deny their influence. It is likely that Estonian sires were brought into the Vyatka region in small quantities and contributed to the rapprochement of these two related types of horses. But we must also take into account that the reason for the external similarity of both breeds may not be crossings, but the same breeding conditions and direction of selection.
With the development of the postal service in Russia, the hardy, energetic and fast-running Vyatka quickly gained popularity not only at home, but throughout the country. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the best Vyatka horses were willingly bought and exported in large quantities to many Russian provinces and even abroad.
However, popularity played a cruel joke on the Vyatkas. Significant export in the absence of the proper level of breeding work and the beginning of cross breeding caused a sharp reduction in the number of the breed. The first measures to preserve it were taken in 1844 with the opening of the Zemstvo breeding stable in the city of Vyatka, and then, in 1885, the Vyatka GZK. During this period, exhibitions and tests of Vyatka horses were regularly held in Vyatka.
Today, thanks to the efforts of a few enthusiasts, the Vyatka breed is experiencing a rebirth. Vyatkas are bought by farms in other regions, and since 1993 they have been annually exhibited at horse shows in Izhevsk. The best and largest number of Vyatkas is owned by the gene pool farm of the Kolos collective farm, Debyossky district, created in the 80s: more than a hundred Vyatka horses are kept here, including thirty brood mares. The manager of the stud farm, A.A. Yuferev, is known not only in Udmurtia, but far and wide outside of it as a great lover and connoisseur of the Vyatka horse.
Largely thanks to him, the Vyatka breed, which many experts had already practically “written off”, was remembered again and started talking about as a developing and progressing population.
Not afraid of enormous difficulties and financial costs almost unbearable for an ordinary Ural farm, A.A. Yuferev organized a show of typical representatives of the breed in Moscow, at the Equiros exhibition, in which Vyatka horses have constantly taken part since 2000.
More than twenty years of focused work on restoring the Vyatka breed are yielding positive results. The best breeding farms have a fairly homogeneous population of horses, most of which have an established origin. To date, a sufficient data bank has been accumulated for the publication of the first volume of the “State Book of Vyatka Breeding Horses”.
At the same time, in conditions of a limited gene pool, “refreshing the blood” with the help of non-breeding horses of the Vyatka type acquires exceptional importance - they could be found during the next survey of the horse population of the breed’s area. In addition, almost ten years have passed since the last expeditions, and these are two generations of horses. The data we collected in 1995 certainly needs updating.
The Vyatka horse is a typical representative of the group of northern forest breeds, created not so much by targeted selection, but by natural selection in certain conditions. The Vyatkas retained the characteristic features of this type, described by M.I. Pridorogin, despite noticeable consolidation and cross-breeding with industrial breeds. With a height of 145-150 cm at the withers, a pronounced harness, but without unnecessary massiveness, Vyatkas are distinguished by mobility, endurance, distance, friendliness, and versatility.
However, the most important advantage of Vyatkas over factory breeds is, of course, their phenomenal unpretentiousness to living conditions and high fertility. The yield of foals per hundred mares on ordinary farms averages 77%, and on the best breeding horse farms it reaches 90%.
The head of the Vyatka horse is very characteristic: relatively medium-sized, broad-browed, with a straight or sometimes slightly concave profile, wide in the ganache and graceful in the nose. The neck is short and fleshy, often with a sharp bend, the back is wide and long. The croup is rounded, slightly lowered. The body is wide and deep, on short strong legs with excellent hooves. The tail, mane and bangs are very thick and long. The most typical color of Vyatka horses is Savrasai, many are also mousey and dun. Rarely, but other colors are also found, most likely introduced by crossbreeding. Signs of atavism (return to wild forms) characteristic of forest horses are very common: a clear dark “belt” stripe along the ridge, transverse stripes on the legs (“zebroid”), a dark “patina” on the shoulders and withers - they are found even on bay horses, dun and red colors.
Now the breed has found application in tourism and children's sports.
The Vyatka horse was bred on the territory of modern Kirov and Molotov (its western part) regions and the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Flood meadows located along the Vyatka River and its tributaries, as well as along the Obva River (a tributary of the Kama), which have long been famous for their excellent hay (with a high content of timothy grass), created favorable feeding opportunities for the development of horse breeding. Particularly increased interest among the local population in horse breeding and concern for breeding and improving horses appeared with the development of agriculture in these areas, as well as forestry, which created a great need for horses.
According to a number of authors, the importation of Estonian horses (klepper) also contributed to the improvement of the local Vyatka horse. Merder and Firsov * indicate that Novgorod colonists (late 14th century), having moved to Vyatka, brought with them klepper-type horses, which subsequently mixed with the local forest horse. Mention is also made of the bringing of Estonian horses to Vyatka during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich and Peter I. It is very likely that the Vyatka horses were influenced by the stud farms of the Stroganov mountain breeders, who had Ezelian horses on their estates located in the Urals.
* (Merder and Firsov, Russian horse in ancient times and now, St. Petersburg, 1896.)
Professor M.I. Pridorogin, in his book “Horse Breeds” (1923), questions the information about the importation of kleppers into the areas where the Vyatka horse is distributed, citing the lack of documentary data. He explains the great similarity of the Vyatka horse with the klepper by the common origin of these breeds.
We believe that it is wrong both to exaggerate the importance of Estonian horses in the creation of the Vyatka breed, and to completely deny the possibility of these horses entering the Vyatka breeding areas. Obviously, Estonian sires were still imported here in small quantities and contributed to some convergence in the type of these two breeds of related origin.
Already in the first half of the 19th century, the Vyatka horse began to become famous "as an excellent traveling (troika) horse far beyond the borders of the Vyatka province. Vyatka and accusation * horses were purchased in large quantities and exported both for troikas and for improving peasant horses in Simbirsk, Samara and Penza province. Professor Pridorogin points out that Vyatka stallions were even exported to Poland to improve local horses.
* (According to prof. M.I. Pridorogina, “the difference between the Vyatka and the Obvinka, the breeding center of which is considered to be the Obva River (Molotov region - L.K.), does not exist.”)
This heyday of Vyatka horse breeding in the second half of the last century gave way to a period of decline, which was facilitated, on the one hand, by the impoverishment of peasants who sold their horses, and on the other, by the absence of any incentive measures aimed at maintaining the breed. Its sharp decline was also influenced by crossing with imported breeds, which by the end of the 19th century had become widespread. The decline of the Vyatka horse breeding was so significant that by 1917 this breed was considered extinct.
Only after the Great October Socialist Revolution did measures begin to be taken to revive it.
In 1923, Vyatka horses were exhibited at the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition. In 1935-1938 The People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic is conducting an examination of Vyatka horses in Udmurtia. Later, horse breeding was examined in the Kirov region. In 1939-1940 The best Vyatka horses of the breed are demonstrated at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition. In 1945, state breeding nurseries for breeding Vyatka horses were organized in the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and in the Kirov region. A department of Vyatka breed horses is being organized at the Kirov Stud Farm. As a result of these events, the number of Vyatka horses began to increase, and this valuable breed can be considered revived.
The modern Vyatka horse is characterized by the following measurements (Table 109):
The live weight of mares (according to V.P. Levashov) averages 350 kg.
The exterior of the Vyatka horse can be characterized as follows: the head is dry, wide in the forehead and ganache, with a straight, sometimes somewhat concave profile; the neck is short, fleshy, often with a sharp bend; medium-sized withers; the back is wide, long, often with a slight arch; the croup is wide and short; the body is wide and deep; the legs are short, strong, with good hooves, the hind legs are often sabres.
Professor Pridorogin pointed out the insufficient development of the leg bones in Vyatkas, which is also observed in modern horses of this breed. Slightly more satisfactory indicators of the measurement of the girth of the metacarpus and the ratio of this measurement to growth in stallions indicate the possibility of increasing the volume of the bones of the legs of Vyatkas with appropriate education and selection.
Vyatka horses have a thick long mane, bangs and tail. Previously, a characteristic feature of the breed was considered to be a red or bay color with a black belt on the back, a wing-shaped pattern in the shoulder blades and zebroid stripes on the forearms. Now, along with Savras, among the typical representatives of the breed there are brown, bay, red and black colors.
The Vyatka horse has a strong, healthy constitution and good fertility. Adapted mainly to roughage (hay), it requires feeding with concentrated feed for normal development and work performance. All researchers and experts on the Vyatka horse note its good nature, calm but energetic temperament and endurance at work. In the past, she was famous for her ability to drive fast.
In Vyatka, during the period of particular popularity of the Vyatka breed, competitions of Vyatka triples for agility at a distance of 3-15 miles were held in front of a large crowd of public, as well as tests of individual horses for carrying capacity. Descriptions of these competitions can be found in the magazine "Horse Breeding and Hunting" for 1848-1863.
V.P. Levashov gives the following best indicators of Vyatka triplets at various distances *:
* (V. P. Levashov, Vyatka Horse, Kirov, 1947)
for 1 mile - 1 minute. 46 sec. (in a dash of 3 miles);
for 3 versts - 5 min. 02 sec;
for 6 versts - 11 minutes. 02 sec;
at 15 versts - 34 min. (2 minutes 16 seconds per mile).
The normal speed for the best triples was considered to be 6 minutes for 3 versts, and 12-13 minutes for 6 versts. In 1938, the stallion Mihai covered 160 km in 24 hours. The small, but “sporting” trot of the Vyatka horses is very productive for riding on the natural dirt and snow roads of the north.
Horses of this breed are distinguished by great strength and endurance during horse-drawn work. During tests in the city of Vyatka, a six-year-old Vyatka stallion (146 cm tall) walked 150 fathoms with a load of 170 pounds in 7 minutes. 40 sec.
In St. Petersburg, at the All-Russian exhibition of working horses in 1913, the stallions Sosed and Yamshchik also showed good carrying capacity: the stallion Sosed with a load of 107 pounds covered a distance of 100 fathoms in 59 seconds, and the stallion Yamshchik with a load of 112 pounds in 1 min. 16 sec. The same Neighbor, according to N.A. Lyubimov, carried a cargo of 160 pounds per 100 fathoms.
Vyatka horses show high endurance in agricultural, light transport and forestry work. However, due to their small stature, they are relatively weak in strength and do not fully meet the increased requirements of the national economy for the quality of horses.
In the areas where Vyatka horses are distributed, there are a large number of draft-Vyatka and trotter-Vyatka crosses. Heavy draft-Vyatka crosses, which retain the main body features characteristic of a forest type horse, are much larger than Vyatka horses (Table 110).
Trotter-Vyatka crosses deviate more sharply from the type of Vyatka horse. Many of them have underdeveloped trunks and leg bones.
The interests of the development of the national economy require the enlargement of the Vyatka horse and an increase in its performance. The main method of breeding horses of the Vyatka breed is considered to be “in-itself” breeding. For small, poor-boned horses of this breed, it is advisable to crossbreed with the Russian draft breed and with trotters of medium height and thick type. For certain groups of horses, it is advisable to crossbreed with stallions of the Estonian breed.
A number of valuable stud stallions have been identified in the Vyatka breed. The most famous stallion is Mikhai 1st, from the Syursovaichik collective farm, the area of activity of the Vyatka state breeding center, the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, who gave birth to a group of sons who continue his line. The best among them are Orlik 1st, Orlik 2nd, Route, Mihai 2nd, etc.
In addition to the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and the Kirov region, the Vyatka breed can be used to improve similar local horses in the northern part of the Molotov region and in the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
Description
The horse is of a medium draft type, rather massive, elongated in build and at the same time quite harmonious in shape. Vyatka horses have a strong constitution, which is expressed in proportional build, dense tissue structure and strong bones. Currently, the height of a horse at the withers reaches 150 cm, although in the 1930-1950s it did not exceed 140 cm.
Along with the large growth introduced in the process of crossbreeding, the Vyatka horse has retained the unique “aboriginal” type of northern forest horse and its original exterior. The main features of the exterior of the Vyatka horse are: a medium-sized head with a wide forehead and a slightly concave profile in the front part, a short neck with a low outlet, and stallions often have a pronounced crest, a deep chest, a flat topline with low withers, a wide straight back and a slightly sloping, rounded croup. The limbs are relatively short, the hind legs are often prone to sabering, the hooves are small in size, strong with a strong dark hoof horn. Chestnuts are small and are present on the front and hind legs. The growth of protective hair is very large, especially in stallions. The mane, fur and bangs are lush, the skin is thick.
Among the horses of the Vyatka breed, Savrasaya color predominates (more than 70% of horses). Mouse and dun suits are less common. Sometimes - red (usually brown), bay and brown horses. A distinctive feature of the color of Vyatka horses is the obligatory presence of a dark stripe along the back - a “belt”. “Belt” is an atavism inherited by this breed from wild aboriginal horses, along with “zebroid” (transverse stripes on the limbs) and dark “patches” on the shoulders and shoulder blades.
The main qualities of the Vyatka horse are mobility, endurance, energetic but kind disposition and unpretentiousness to the conditions of keeping and feeding. Horses are fertile and resistant to many diseases, especially colds.
Story
It is believed that the history of Vyatka horses begins with the importation of Livland kleppers into the Vyatka region. This happened either in 1374, when Novgorod colonists moved here, or later, around 1720, by order of Peter I. The Stroganovs, who owned factories with horses imported from the Baltic states, used them to improve local horses in their farmsteads and among the population. However, later, such scientists as M.I. Pridorogin, V.P. Levashov, V.V. Belyaev found that kleppers, although they influenced the development of the breed, were not its basis.
The peak of popularity of the Vyatka breed came at the end of the 18th century, as this hardy and energetic horse was used in postal troikas. Before the breeding of the Oryol trotter and the importation of foreign heavy breeds into the country, Vyatka, Tavda and Mezen horses were considered the best draft breeds. Vyatki began to be exported from their native province not only to various regions of the Russian Empire, but also abroad. Such a massive export led to a sharp decline in the number of horses in the province. To restore their numbers, the Vyatka Zemstvo breeding stable was created in 1844 (since 1885 - the State Factory Stable), and horses began to be tested. Vyatka horses were presented at the All-Russian Horse Breeding Exhibition in Moscow (1866), at the World Horse Exhibition in Paris (1867) and at the Horse Exhibition in Rotterdam (1880).
Stallion Gnedko, owned by peasant Kuklin
In the first half of the 19th century, the Vyatka breed of horses began to be spontaneously “cultivated” by heavy draft breeds. Since such cross breeding took place in private peasant households, without proper control, it led to the decline of the breed. There is information about unsuccessful attempts to find three Vyatka horses for Emperor Alexander III in the 1890s. In 1892, at a meeting of Vyatka veterinarians, the almost complete extinction of the breed was officially recognized.
However, an expedition organized by Professor M.I. Pridorogin in 1900 revealed the presence of a fairly large population of typical Vyatki in the Vyatka region. Later, in 1918, the chief livestock specialist in the city of Vyatka, N.A. Lyubimov, managed to find 12 horses of the Vyatka breed and organize their participation in the First All-Russian exhibition of working horses. The horses aroused interest among the public and performed well in the trials. The exhibition committee awarded them a silver cup and a large silver medal from the state horse breeding industry.
For a long time, this breed was forgotten, despite even attempts to enter data about it into regional stud books. Only after a series of surveys of horse breeding in Udmurtia, conducted by V.V. Belyaev in 1935-1938, and the Kirov region - by V.P. Levashov in 1939, did a period of active rise and development of Vyatka horse breeding begin. For the first time in the history of the Vyatka breed, purposeful breeding work began with it. In 1943 and 1945, the Udmurt and Zyuzdinsky (in the Kirov region) State breeding grounds for Vyatka horses were organized, uniting dozens of horse farms for breeding horses of the Vyatka breed. Over the years of activity of the State PR of Vyatka, regional stud books were established and standards were established for recording pedigree Vyatka horses in them, and a harmonious structure of the breed was outlined. As a result of the activities of the breeding nurseries of Vyatka horses, the total number of Vyatka horses increased many times compared to the initial period of restoration work and reached almost 1,100 heads.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the widespread closure of state breeding nurseries where local horse breeds were bred, including the Vyatka, began. Purposeful breeding work ceased, horse farms were liquidated, and many breeding horses were sent to meat processing plants. The remaining stock was to be improved with the help of factory breeds—Russian Draft, Oryol and Russian Trotter. Thus, efforts to preserve and improve the breed were virtually nullified.
By the mid-70s, the global problem of depletion of the gene pool of domestic aboriginal breeds was raised for the entire Soviet Union. In 1980-1984, specialists from the All-Russian Research Institute of Horse Breeding under the leadership of E.M. Pern conducted a series of regular surveys of the breeding area of domestic local breeds, including the Vyatka. As a result of the expeditions, the authors make proposals for restoring the valuable population of Vyatka horses based on the found nests of typical Vyatka horses in individual farms. These measures were not approved by Glavkonuprom of the Ministry of Agriculture of the RSFSR, however, horse breeders of the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic became seriously interested in preserving the native breed.
Over the last quarter of a century, work has been carried out on breeding Vyatka horses in the Udmurt Republic and the Kirov region. Six breeding reproductive horse farms have been organized with a total livestock of three hundred heads. Since the early 1990s, the Izhevsk Hippodrome has hosted republican exhibitions and horse trials. In Udmurtia, the Program “Preservation and Development of the Vyatka Horse Breed in the Udmurt Republic for 2004-2010” has been developed. Since 2000, Vyatka horses have been exhibited at the international horse exhibition “Equiros”. Since 2007, the Vyatka horse breed, along with factory breeds, has been officially supervised by the All-Russian Research Institute of Horse Breeding, which means that the state stud book has been officially opened and is being prepared for publication, horse certification and centralized pedigree registration have begun.
Usage
Traditionally, horses of the Vyatka breed were used as draft horses. A feature of the Russian troika is that the root horse (the central horse) must trot, while the tethered horses must gallop. However, when using Vyatka horses in a trio, it is allowed for all three horses to gallop.
Horses of this breed are distinguished by a calm temperament, high performance, and adaptability to local climatic conditions. They are especially valuable off-road in autumn and in deep snow in winter. Successfully used in agriculture. Suitable for harness and horseback tourism in the forest zone, children's horse riding and mass sports, for hunting in the forest zone.
Other
The Vyatka horse breed is mentioned in Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary:
a horse of the Vyatka breed, short, not too bony, but dense, broad-chested; the head is medium, the forehead is flat (not round), the brush is shaggy, the eyes are lively; her body is round and generally playful; color: red, brown, savrasaya and kauraya, sometimes playing; descended from the Livonian dopelklepers sent to Vyatka by Peter the Great; they should not be mixed with long-maned cauldrons.
Among the early poems of A. S. Pushkin one can find the following lines:
Stamp with the image of a Vyatka horse
M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote in a letter to his brother:
As for my horses, they are Savras color, with a black mane and a black strap on the back, two arshins tall... Vyatka horses are strong, but small, the best are Savras color, like mine, to buy really good horses, you have to pay 200 rubles silver per pair.
In 2007, a series of stamps “Domestic Horse Breeds” was issued, which included a stamp dedicated to the Vyatka breed.
Notes
Literature
- "Book about a horse" ed. S. M. Budyonny
- D. Ya. Gurevich, G. T. Rogalev. “Dictionary-reference book on horse breeding and equestrian sport”
- Anufrieva V. G. The wind in the manes. The Kirov Hippodrome is 100 years old. Kirov: Mikheev A. A. 1999, - 104 p.
Vyatka breed– belongs to the number of horses of the northern forest type.
Origin Vyatka breed lost in the distant past and is still not known for sure.
Formation Vyatka breed occurred in the conditions of the harsh Russian North, which is characterized by the presence of forest pastures with low-quality grass and a long standing period. Given the high cost of grain feed, horses mainly had to be content with coarse and bulky feed (hay and straw). This had a significant impact on the formation of the type Vyatka horse, her physique is short and elongated.
On origin Vyatka breed Estonian kleppers brought to Russia (according to one version at the beginning of the 18th century on the instructions of Peter I, according to another - in the second half of the 14th century by the Novgorodians who began settling the Vyatka and Perm provinces) had an impact. However, this breed was most likely created not so much by targeted selection, but by natural selection under certain conditions.
Be that as it may, by the end of the 18th century horses Vyatka breed gained fame. The fame of the famous Vyatka troikas spread widely throughout Russia. And they began to be exported in large quantities not only outside the Vyatka province, but also abroad, which led to a sharp reduction in the number of livestock in their homeland. The lack of an adequate level of breeding work also played a role in reducing the number of the breed.
Restoration work is currently underway Vyatka breed.
Vyatka breed refers to medium draft horses. Horses of this breed have a fairly massive, elongated physique, which, nevertheless, looks quite harmonious and proportional. The head is of medium size, with a wide forehead and a straight or slightly concave profile, with large and wide ganaches. The neck is short and wide, with a low outlet. The chest is deep and rounded. The back is wide and fairly long, with a level topline, the croup is muscular, round in shape, often slightly lowered. The limbs are relatively short (the hind legs often tend to be saber-shaped and X-shaped), dry, with small and strong hooves. The hair is thick and dense, the tail and mane are very long and thick, especially in stallions.
Today's representatives Vyatka breed slightly larger than they were at the beginning of the last century, the height at the withers has increased by almost 10 cm, and in some horses it exceeds 150 cm.
The main suit is savrasai - about 70% of all have it Vyatka horses, while the colors have a wide range of colors: from light yellow to dark brown. Less common are dun and mouse, sometimes red, bay and brown colors. A distinctive feature is a dark belt along the back, which is inherited even in the case of a crossbreed. Zebroid patterns on the legs and dark mantles are also common.