The Kustanair ( kk, Qostanaı) is a breed of

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

developed in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

in the former

U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are used mainly for under-saddle and light draft work.

History

The Kustanair was created at collective farms and state-farm studs in the steppes of western Kazakhstan, with most horses located at the Kustanai and Maikulski studs. The main development breeding took place between 1887 and 1951, when the breed was officially recognized. The breed was created by infusing native Kazakh steppe horses with

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

Russian Don The Russian Don is a breed of horse developed in and named after the steppes region of Russia where the Don River flows. Utilized originally as cavalry horses for the Cossacks, they are currently used for under-saddle work and driving. Char ...

, Stralet, and Astrakhan (improved Kalmyk) blood. At the beginning the crossbreeding seemed unsuccessful, but with better management of brood mares and the addition of more Thoroughbred blood, the breed was created in the 1920s. In the 1930s breeding was continued with differences in management (including feed, breeding, and keeping styles) that created two distinct types within the breed."Kustanai"
''Oklahoma State University''. Referenced January 20, 2008.

Breed Characteristics

The Kustanair generally stands 15 to 15.1

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...

high and the coat can be

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

or roan. The breed has a light head with a straight profile, a muscular neck, and prominent

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

. The chest is deep and wide, the shoulder long and sloping, the back long and the croup sloping. The legs are well-muscled and long with clean joints and good

hooves The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rumi ...

.Bongianni, Maurizio. Simon ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Horses and Ponies''. & Schuster, Inc., 1988, pg. 66. The breed is said to be very tough and hardy, with great endurance and stamina. Some members of the breed have more

characteristics than others.

Sub-Types

Deliberate differences in management styles at the various state studs produced two subtypes with the Kustanair breed. The first type, kept stabled, given better food, and bred very selectively, were saddle-type horses. The second type, kept in the steppes, herd-bred, and left to forage for much of their food, were a hardier type more suited for light draft work.

Uses

The breed is used mainly for riding and light draft work.

History

Breed Characteristics

Sub-Types

Uses

References

See also