Horses

One the of the best known Russian horse breeds, the Don Horse, was the mounts of the Cossacks, armed bands who harried in the Frnehc during their long retreat from Moscow in 1812.? They evolved in the 18/19th centuries in the Don steppes region. They are descended from the horses popular with the nomadic tribes that warred through the area, the Mongolian Nagai, That Karabakh, horses from Northern Iran(Persian Arabs) and the the Turkmene, another desert horse similar to the Akhale-Teke.

HISTORY
A great many golden-dun horses were let loose on the Don steppes in the 18th century. The Don was later improved and acquired greater size as a result of breeding with the Orlov, the Strelets Arab, (in truth, they were Anglo-Arabs) and to Thoroughbreds.? They have been interbred since the early 20th century and the Don Horse is now a relatively fixed type. They were used as economical, easily kept cavalry horse, which could also be used in harness.? Their desert heritage gave them stamina, resistance to heat and low good requirements.

MODERN DONS
The Don has not been subjected to rigorous tightly controlled breeding progrmames and does not show the conformational excellence of a breed such as the Danish warmblood where the reverse is the case.? They are however, ?incredibly tough, can work on with limited feed, and can cope with both cold and heat.

As a result, they are valued as an improver of local stock in areas where traditional horse herds make up the bulk of local horses.? They have been used in the breeding programmes of several other breeds, notably the Budenny.

The don lacks the speed of a thoroughbred, but is an impressive long distance performer with standard tests under saddle for this breed being a 235klm (130mile) ride completed within 24 hours.

CHARACTERISTICS
In the breed standard the Don is described as a "comparatively massive" horse, standing at between 1.56 to 1.65m (15.3-16.2 hh), but as "massive" implies a heavy horse build, a more fitting description of the Don would be "substantial", certainly in respect of the body, which the breed standard sets at approx 1.93 m (2 ft 4 in) through the girth, with a barrel measurement of 1.25 in (5 ft 5 in).

Predominant colors are chestnut and brown, often with a golden sheen, this likely coming from their Turkmene and Karabakh forebears. The best performing Don horses are generally acceptable in Western standards of conformation, although they do not always correspond to the breed standard.

The Don is often long in the leg, though other faults such as straight, short shoulders, calf knees, Sickle hocks and upright pasterns, a too low set tail and short constricted poll are catalogued potential faults common in the breed.

They are not graceful movers, but their ability over distance proves this lack of grace does not hinder them.? The endurance over time as practical and hardy work horses have proven their worth as a breed regardless of their sport performance shortcomings.