The Pleven 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 ...

is essentially

Anglo-Arabian The Anglo-Arabian or Anglo-Arab is a crossbred, part-Arabian horse that now also has its own status as a horse breed. It is the result of a Thoroughbred (hence, the prefix "Anglo") being crossed with an Arabian. The cross can be made betw ...

, and the breed was officially recognized in 1951. It is a competition horse with a natural jump, and has free-flowing gaits.

Characteristics

The Pleven is essentially Anglo-Arabian, a cross between an

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...

and a

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 ...

. The Pleven's head has a straight profile, a long, muscular neck, and a nice topline. They are excellent movers, whose free-flowing gaits make them excel in

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

. They have fairly long backs and high withers, with quarters that are muscular, croups which are slightly sloping, and a tail that is carried well. Their legs are well-conformed and muscular, have good bone joints, well-defined tendons, and hard feet. Their temperament is calm and willing. The Pleven is usually sound, tough, and economical to feed. Plevens are always chestnut in color, and stand at 15.2 to 16 hands high.

History

The Pleven breed of horse was developed in 1898 in the Klementina stud (now called the Georgi Dimitrov Agricultural Center) in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. Plevens are mostly Anglo-Arab, but

Gidran The Gidran, Gidrán, or Hungarian Anglo-Arab is a horse breed developed in Hungary from bloodstock that included the Arabian horse. All members of the breed are Chestnut. It is an endangered breed today, with only about 200 living repre ...

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

s were later added to the breed. The breed was officially recognized in 1951, and English Thoroughbred blood was further added to add refinement and size to the Pleven. The breed is still selectively bred throughout

, and an effort is being made to increase their size, which would make it more attractive as an international sport horse. Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Bulgaria Pleven {{Horse-breed-stub