The hardiest horses

The most hardy breed of horses, according to experts, is the Arabian Thoroughbred. Thanks to this quality, oriental horses are able to leave behind them at the races even English riding horses, capable of developing tremendous speed. However, other breeds of horses belonging to different directions show restraint.

Arabian horse breed

The hardiest horses in the world

The Arabian horse breed is the oldest in the world. She is highly valued even today, and not only for her originality and beauty, but also for her perseverance and endurance. These animals are able to overcome huge distances in 1 day, being content with meager food and practically without rest.

The breed was bred on the Arabian Peninsula in the period from the 4th to the 7th century AD. In ancient times, these glorious animals constantly accompanied the Bedouins and participated in aggressive battles. Their character traits were formed over the centuries in the difficult conditions of the desert. Arabian horses are fast, tireless, hardy, have excellent health and longevity..

The Arabian Thoroughbred has influenced the development of breed lines:

• Orlovskaya;
• luzitano;
• barbary;
• Lipizzan;
• булонская;
• Percheronskaya and others.

Attention! The characteristic features of the Arabian horse are a refined concave profile, reminiscent of a pike, pronounced cheeks and a high-set tail, which is held vertically during movement.

Thanks to Arabian blood, many modern horse breeds are endowed with endurance. Among them there are both heavy trucks and representatives of warm-blooded lines.

Heavy trucks with endurance

Shires are of English origin. Their ancestors were aboriginal mares, distinguished by endurance and unpretentiousness, Frisians and Flanders horses. On the paternal line, the crossbreeds inherited large dimensions and strength, and on the maternal line – the best working qualities.

Shayr

These animals are real giants. Their growth reaches 1,8–1,85 m, and some representatives are champions in this regard. Shires are distinguished by the correct body structure, have a wide developed chest, wide withers and back, powerful limbs.

Today, Shire horses are used to crossbreed with other breeds to produce hardy, strong, and obedient offspring.

Soviet heavy truck

This is a domestic breed line, bred on the border of the Nizhny Novgorod region and Mordovia on the basis of local small but hardy peasant mares and heavy trucks from Europe – Suffolks and Brabancons. Thanks to such a mixture of blood, a really worthwhile breed line was born – the Soviet heavy-duty line.

She showed herself from the best side – animals have great strength, endurance, they are able to work tirelessly. The Soviet heavy truck is well built. It is characterized by a massive short neck with a beautiful bend, developed chest, powerful forearms, strong legs with stable large hooves. The average height of a heavy truck is 1,55–1,7 m.

Attention! The large size and rough shape of the horse are compensated by its good-natured character. This is an obedient and even phlegmatic animal, readily serving for the benefit of man.

Vladimir breed

Work on the creation of Vladimir horses began at the end of the 19th century. They took local mares as a basis, they were well adapted to local conditions, distinguished by endurance and unpretentious character. They were crossed with heavy trucks that arrived from Europe, the Clydesdales.

The offspring born from these horses aroused interest not only among local farmers. Soon, Vladimir horses gained wide popularity in other regions of Russia, and later spread to some European countries. This is the largest heavy truck of domestic selection. His height is 1,65–1,72 m.

Vladimir horses are owners of a large hook-nosed head, a long powerful neck, a broad back and a deep chest. Their croup is rounded, downed, muscular, and the limbs are strong and powerful with overgrown at the bottom. This pedigree line is characterized by a bay color, less common is a black one.

Vladimir draft horses are energetic, hardworking, strong and friendly. One of the main qualities – endurance, was passed on to them through the maternal line.

Scottish draft

The pride of Scotland is the hardy and strong breed of Clydesdale horses. It was created about 300 years ago on the basis of Belgian heavy trucks brought from England and local weighted working mares. The resulting offspring had excellent characteristics. Later, the breed was improved by the influx of Shire blood, which led to an increase in the growth of animals.

Clydesdale

Modern Scottish Clydesdales are famous for their beautiful harmonious body composition, strength, power, endurance and complaisant character. They are quite tall – up to 1,8 m at the withers. On average, a stallion that has reached the age of three weighs 1 ton.

Breed features:

• luxurious white friezes on the legs;
• suits – roan, red and various variations of bay color;
• well muscled body and croup;
• strong forearms;
• expanded chest;
• humpbacked profile;
• slender strong limbs with wide joints and powerful pasterns.

Attention! Clydesdales, despite their large size and huge weight, even when loaded, trot briskly, and their movements are graceful and beautiful.

australian horse

Another hardy horse breed is the Australian. It was created on the basis of the genotype of four heavy trucks of European origin. Under the influence of different bloodlines, an unusual line of horses was formed, not distinguished by stature, but well adapted to the local climate. Advantages of the Australian horse:

• unpretentiousness;
• universality;
• endurance;
• force;
• high efficiency.

Australian heavy truck

Animals cannot boast of the beauty and harmony of their physique, they have a large head, a short dense neck, a powerful body and short legs, but they are excellent helpers. The Australian heavy truck is characterized by a uniform coat color, and the color can be any, with the exception of white.

Light-draft, riding and trotting horses, characterized by endurance

Not only heavy draft breeds have such a quality as endurance. Warm-blooded breeds also show it. Horses are recognized as the most tireless:

• Orlovsky;
• Don;
• Karachay;
• Ukrainian.

Oryol trotter

At the end of the 18th century, Count Orlov started breeding horses. He had a dream – to create an ideal horse that would combine several qualities:

• beauty;
• grace;
• height;
• the ability to run briskly and for a long time at a steady trot.

The count bought a stallion of Arab origin from the Turkish Sultan. It was a stately large horse, it was called Smetanka. It is from him that the Oryol breed of trotting horses originates. The stallion lived only a year, but during this time he managed to leave offspring. One of his sons, after crossing with a frisky mare from Denmark, became the ancestor of the breed, his name was Polkan.

Oryol trotters are very beautiful, tall, fast and tireless. They have no analogues in the world. Today, these beautiful horses are used in races, where they receive prizes. Perseverance and endurance were passed on to them from their Arab ancestors, and they are the hardiest horses in the world.

The Oryol trotting breed is characterized by a gray color, a dry small head with a neat profile and prominent cheeks, like those of the Arabs. The neck is rather long, beautifully curved, graceful. The back is dense, muscular, the chest is wide, and the legs are dry and long. A trotting Oryol horse catches the eye with graceful light movements.

Don horse breed

Donchaks are Cossack horses bred in the 18th and 19th centuries on the territory of the Rostov region in Russia. Their main feature and at the same time advantage is the ability to overcome long distances. In 1 day, a horse of the Don breed is able to run 300 kilometers. This is possible due to strength and endurance, which is explained by the presence of Arab and English blood in the Donchak genotype.

Donchak

In 1951, tests were carried out at the Budyonny stud farm, during which selected stallions of the Don breed had to walk 120 km every day for 2 weeks. According to the results of the experiment, it turned out that the animals could continue in the same spirit and further, such a load turned out to be insignificant for them. These amazing horses are not afraid of either heat or cold.

Characteristic:

• graceful head of medium size with mobile ears and expressive eyes;
• elongated body with a well-developed muscular relief;
• straight beautiful back;
• deep chest;
• long slender sinewy legs with large hooves;
• colors: bay, red, black.

Karachaevskaya

Karachay horses come from the Caucasus. In the 15th-16th centuries, they were faithful companions of nomads, which consolidated certain qualities in them – unpretentiousness, endurance, adaptability to the climate of mountainous areas. Later, the blood of Arabian thoroughbred horses was added to them, this made them even more resilient and efficient.

Attention! Karachay mares are highly fertile and give a lot of milk.

Exterior features:

• short stature – 150-160 cm at the withers;
• dry constitution;
• hook-nosed compact head with strict auricles;
• massiveness of the chest;
• drooping croup;
• muscular long forearms;
• dense back with a slight deflection;
• thin sinewy legs with strong hooves;
• Karachay horses are characterized by black, bay and karak colors.

Ukrainian riding breed

The history of the origin of this breed line originates from the Zaporozhye Cossacks. Their cavalry was not distinguished by power and strength, but showed endurance. The Cossacks have been breeding their own line of horses for a long time, but Budyonny decided to create a new breed of strong and fast horses based on Arabian thoroughbreds, Akhal-Teke, Hungarian and already existing, local ones.

Ukrainian horse breed

At first, breeding work was carried out in the Dnepropetrovsk region, and since 1952 several more stud farms have joined. For 40 years of selection, excellent results have been achieved. The result was a large horse with a harmonious physique, broad chest, massive head and long neck.

The Ukrainian breed was registered in 1990. It is used for riding and in light harness, suitable for sports. Distinctive character traits:

• friendliness;
• energy;
• quick wit, quick learner;
• endurance.

Each of the horse breeds presented in the review has endurance to one degree or another. But in this regard, there are undisputed leaders – these are Arab thoroughbreds and Don. The temperament of these animals is shaped by the external conditions in which they have lived for centuries.