The Karachay ( Karach.-Balk. ''Къарачай ат'') is developed in the

Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

. It comes from highland

Karachay The Karachays ( krc, Къарачайлыла, Qaraçaylıla or таулула, , 'Mountaineers') are an indigenous Caucasian Turkic ethnic group in the North Caucasus. They speak Karachay-Balkar, a Turkic language. They are mostly situat ...

at the rise of the River Kuban. The Karachay horse is an offspring of the Kabardian breed, registered with number 9354442 (breeder № 1278) in the official journal of The Ministry of Agriculture of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

(Moscow 2016). They were developed by crossing regional horses with eastern stallions. Karachay horses are summered in rugged mountain country where there are wide changes in temperature and humidity, and wintered in the foothill and plains with some

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

feeding. These conditions make the Karachay horse strong-limbed and sturdy.

Breed characteristics

The Karachay horse stands 14.3 to 15 hands high. Karachay breeding has focused on creating a breed that is not only fast, but also hardy, obedient, low-maintenance, and able to withstand varied, even mountainous

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin wo ...

all the year round. Their

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 ...

are strong and hard and do not need shoeing if bred and worked properly. They have a long head, often with a Roman nose, as well as agile, alert ears and well-developed whiskers. Karachay horses have a medium length, well-muscled neck, relatively straight shoulders and low withers. The mane and

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammal ...

are long and thick. The body is strong and straight-backed. The limbs are also strong with generally good joints and bones, and short, strong hocks; they occasionally have a tendency to be sickle-hocked, which is typical for mountain breeds. Karachay horses are black or black-brown and do not usually have any white marks. They grow to a withers height of about 160 cm. The Karachay horse is inherently good-natured. It is very responsive to the rein and is not prone to over-excitement. This makes it indispensable to the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

tourism industry. The Karachay horse has been able to survive extinction mainly because of two things: its high fertility rate and its strong resistance to common horse illnesses. It is a hardy breed that requires minimal supervision. Average measurements of Karachay horses (Stud farm № 168, 2001/2002).

History of the breed

The Karachay is a riding horse that originated from the north-western regions of the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

. It was first bred for military and agricultural use, by Karachays around the 14th-15th centuries in the climatic and geographical conditions of the North Caucasus. The Karachay horse was known to Europeans since at least the 18th century. The German researcher

Peter Simon Pallas Peter Simon Pallas FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussian zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia between 1767 and 1810. Life and work Peter Simon Pallas was born in Berlin, the son of Professor of Surgery ...

(1793) wrote: "They grow a small but hardy and hot breed of horses, known for their outstanding qualities". Another researcher, S. Bronevsky (1823), wrote: "They have a small, but sturdy breed of mountain horses, known under the name of Karachay horses". The Hungarian ethnographer, a member of the

Georgi Emmanuel Count Georgi Arsenyevich Emmanuel (Russian: Георгий Арсеньевич Эммануэль) (13 April 1775–26 January 1837) was a Russian general of Serbian origin who participated in the Napoleonic Wars. He was promoted to major ge ...

expedition to Mount Elbrus, Jean-Charles de Besse, also gave a high evaluation of the breed in 1829: "Karachays ranch fine breed of horses... They are easy on the go and I don't know any other horse breed that is better for riding on steep slopes and which is so inexhaustible". At the end of the 19th century there were local stud farms in Karachay where some herds included 500-1000 horses. At the beginning of the 20th century, Karachay played a significant role, supplying most of the Kuban Cossack army`s regiments with chargers. Every year Karachay sold about ten thousand horses. In the 1920s, during the period of re-establishment of horse breeding in the North Caucasus which took place after the destructive

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, people worked with the Karachay horse according to plan. In line with this, the selective breeding of Karachay horses ensued. The Riding State Stud farm was created in 1927, and the State stud farm (Gosplemhoz) of Karachay horses was organised in 1929 and then reorganised in 1930 into Karachaevsky stud farm 168, which for some time bore

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

`s name. In 1935 the first volume of the studbook was established for mountain breeds, registering 204 Karachay mares. The Karachay horse is especially good in the mountains. In the winter of 1935-1936 a 3,000-kilometer ride was held in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. The duration and route of the ride were extremely difficult. Among the participants were 10 Karachay horses and horses of other breeds. The ride lasted 47 days, travelling on average 64 km per day. In one month the same horses finished a race from Piatigorsk to Rostov, a distance of 600 km in five days over very muddy roads and trails. In 1937 a State breeding centre was created in the

Karachay Autonomous Oblast Karachay Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast in the Soviet Union created on 26 April 1926. It was formed by the split of the Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast in 1926, creating Karachay and Cherkess Autonomous Oblast. Karachay Autonomou ...

. In 1998 a group of

Karachay-Cherkessia The Karachay-Cherkess Republic (russian: Карача́ево-Черке́сская Респу́блика, ''Karachayevo-Cherkesskaya Respublika''; krc, Къарачай-Черкес Республика, ''Qaraçay-Çerkes Respublika''; Cir ...

horsemen with three Karachay horses ascended the eastern summit of Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe - an unprecedented act. In 1999 horsemen with Karachay horses ascended the western summit of the same mountain. This shows how strong and well adapted the Karachay horse is for climbing mountains. Special credit goes to an expert on horse breeding, Klych Geriy Urusov, who was the mastermind behind this equestrian conquest of Elbrus. At the present time the Karachay horse is bred at Karachaevsky (Malokarachaevski) stud farm 168 and other stud farms. In 2008, there were about 20,000 Karachay horses in Karachay-Cherkessia.

Uses

The Karachay horse was a charger and a draft horse, first for the

Karachays The Karachays ( krc, Къарачайлыла, Qaraçaylıla or таулула, , 'Mountaineers') are an indigenous Caucasian Turkic ethnic group in the North Caucasus. They speak Karachay-Balkar, a Turkic language. They are mostly situa ...

, and then for the Cossack military forces of The

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

; the cavalry of the

USSR 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 nationa ...

were also supplied with Karachay horses. Modern Karachay horses and Anglo-Karachay horses can be found in different areas, that is, horse shows, competitions, mountain races,

showjumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes sho ...

, tourism and agriculture. Many horses were exported outside Karachay. The Karachay breed was also used for developing the

Tersk horse The Tersk or Tersky is a Russian breed of light riding horse of Arab type. It was bred at the Tersk Stud in Stavropol Krai in the North Caucasus between about 1925 and 1940. History The Tersk Stud was established by Semyon Budyonny in 1921 ...

References

Studbooks

* ''В. Х. Хотов, В. А. Парфенов.'
Государственная племенная книга лошадей кабардинской и карачаевской породы. Т. V.
— Москва: Изд. МСХА, 1993. — 432 с. — . * ''В. А. Парфенов, В. Х. Хотов.'
Государственная племенная книга лошадей карачаевской породы. Т. VI.
— Москва: Изд. РГАУ-МСХА, 2010. — 287 с. — .

Sources

External links

«Сайт Российской Ассоциации коннозаводчиков и любителей карачаевской породы лошадей»

«KarachaiHorse»
{{Equine, state=collapsed Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Russia