Orlov trotter
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Orlov trotter (also known as Orlov; Russian: орловский рысак) is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot credited for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse. The breed was raised in Russia in the beginning of the 19th century in the Khrenovsky stud-farm near the town of Bobrov (Voronezh guberniya) under the supervision of its owner Count Alexei Orlov (hence the name). The Orlovs emerged as the result of crossing various European horses (primarily English, Dutch and Danish) with Arabian stallions. During the 19th century, Orlov trotters were used mainly for riding and harness racing by Russian nobility. They were highly esteemed for their beauty and elegance combined with the ability to work hard. They were also used for the improvement of Russian horse livestock. When horse races became widespread at the end of the century, the Orlovs yielded to American Standardbreds, who are generally recognized as less beautiful but faster than Orlov trotters. Eventually Standardbred stallions were crossed with Orlov mares and the new breed of Russian trotters appeared. The possibility of the complete extinction of the Orlovs was real in the 20th century because of constant interbreeding and the Soviet officials disregard of horse-raising. However, the Orlov trotters survived. Now twelve stud-farms in Russia and three in the Ukraine continue raising pure-blooded Orlov trotters.
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[edit] Emergence
The land now occupied by the Khrenovsky stud-farm were given to Orlov by Catherine II as a reward for his participation in the coup d'etat which brought her to the throne. The building was constructed by Giovanni Gilardi. The present Khrenovsky stud area is fifteen times smaller than before the revolution.
The ancestor of all the Orlov trotters was pure-blooded silver-plated Arabic stallion Smetanka. Orlov bought him in Turkey for the enormous sum of 50000 silver roubles. Although he died the next year, he had time to father five offspring. Among others he was crossed with Isabelline, a Danish mare from the Frederiksborg royal stud-farm, who gave birth to a stallion called Polkan (1778–1793). Polkan was crossed with a Dutch mare which, in 1784, bore grey stallion Bars I (1784–1808), the first Orlov trotter. He was 162,5 cm high at withers which made him higher than most contemporary trotters, possessed a fast trotting pace and featured the beauty and nobleness which would later distinguish the newly created breed. After seventeen years Bars I was crossed with different mares and fathered eleven stallions which carried his distinguishing features. The emergence of the breed was the result of a thorough and elaborate selection process. About 3,000 horses kept at the stud were involved[1]. Unlike many other Russian nobles who were fond of horse-raising, Orlov was a professional breeder who is also credited as creating some seventy different breeds including the Russian wolfhound.
Orlov was very jealous of his horses and would sell only gelded stallions. Even when Tsar Alexander I asked Orlov to sell him several stallions, Orlov only agreed to sell geldings. This rule was maintained for twenty years after Orlov's death. Later, when the Khrenovsky stud-farm belonged to the Crown, trotters were openly sold to private stud-owners.
[edit] Orlov trotters in the 19th century
In 1809, the Khrenovsky stud-farm was inherited by Orlov's daughter Anna. Until 1831 Orlov's disciple, the former serf Vasily Shishkin, continued to develop the breed. However, in 1831, he left the Khrenovsky stud-farm and founded his own. Orlov's daughter lacked her father's competence in horse-breeding and the Khrenovsky stud-farm went downhill. Trotters were intensively crossed with various European breeds in order to increase their dimensions and their quality fell. In 1845, the stud-farm passed into the hands of the Crown, but for some time this only made matters worse. It was able to regain its fame only some decades later. In 1881, the Khrenovsky stud-farm stopped raising all breeds except for Orlov trotters. The best Orlov trotters were now raised in private stud-farms such as the Shishkin's.
In 1834, a Trotting Society was established in Moscow, and regular races began. Orlov trotters had already proved to be the best racing horses in Russia and soon they proved to be the best in Europe. In 1867, Orlov trotter Beduin made headlines when, at World's Fair in Paris, it covered 3500 feet in 1 minute 32 seconds – 4 seconds ahead the fastest Standardbred mare, Flora Temple. Since then many trotters have been sold abroad where they greatly contributed to the creation of local trotting breeds. Meanwhile, in the USA, Standardbreds were gradually improved until they were able to outrace Orlov trotters. In 1877, harness racing totalisator emerged in Russia and this led to crucial changes in breeding Orlovs. Many stud-farmers turned to raising racing horses who were not as large and hard-working or as beautiful and elegant as traditional Orlov trotters. Since Standardbreds were, in general, faster than Orlov trotters, these breeds were intensively crossed. The resulting breed was called Russian trotters and they lacked many distinctive features of Orlov trotters. They were smaller and lighter and were not capable of doing as much work as Orlov trotters. In order to prevent Orlov trotters from disappearing through mixing with Standardbreds, the government introduced separate races for Orlov trotters and Standardbreds. Finally Russian stud-farmers managed to improve the racing performance of Orlov trotters. Stallion Krepysh born in 1904 won 55 races and covered 1 mile for 2 minutes 8,5 seconds. He was the fastest trotter in pre-revolutionary Russia. Krepysh and most of his issue died during the Russian civil war.
[edit] In the Soviet Union
Image:Orlov kolkhoz.jpg The Civil war was a major disaster for horse-raising in Russia since many horses died in battles and there was a general collapse of the economy. After 1920, the raising of Orlov trotters resumed and interbreeding was forbidden. At that time Orlov trotters were used primarily for farming and transport due to their physical strength and outstanding working abilities. By 1930s pre-revolutionary racing records were also beaten. Arguably, the Orlovs reached their second heyday in the 1930s .
Obviously, during the Soviet-German war the number of Orlov trotters decreased. After the war, the state acutely needed horses in order to restore agricultural production. Due to their working ability and high productivity, Orlov trotters were again widely used to improve local horses. In 1953, the Soviet authorities decided that horse-raising was not important for the economy. This resulted in reduction of the number of stud-farms and governmental support of the survivors.
[edit] Today
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the future of the breed seemed unclear since rich Russians interested in horse racings preferred the faster Russian and American trotters. In 1997, the International Committee for the Protection of the Orlov Trotter was established. As already noted, pure-blooded Orlov trotters are raised now on twelve stud-farms in Russia and three stud-farms in Ukraine. The twelve-farms studs in Russia have in total 800 pure-blooded mares. It is generally assumed that any horse breed that has less than 1000 female individuals is in danger [2].
[edit] Breed Characteristics
The Orlov trotters are in general taller and more robust than the Standardbreds. The average current measurements for Orlov breeding stallions are 161.4 cm (height at withers), 164 cm (body length/barrel), 186 cm (chest circumference), 20.4 cm (cannon bone circumference) and for breeding mares are 160.3 cm, 163.6 cm, 186.2 cm and 20.1 cm respectively. In appearance, the Orlovs are characterized by a big head, large expressive eyes, a long and naturally arched neck, long withers and broad croup. The body is muscular. The legs are strongly built, with prominent joints and clearly defined tendons.
Due to its Arabian origins, the Orlovs usually are grey at birth. At maturity, the colour turns snow white (46%), black (28%), bay (20%) or chestnut (5%).
[edit] See also
- List of horse breeds
- Kholstomer — an Orlov trotter who recounts his life in Leo Tolstoy's story
[edit] References
- Витт В.О. Из истории русского коннозаводства. Создание новых пород лошадей на рубеже XVIII-XIX столетий. Moscow, 1952.
- Рождественская Г. Орловский рысак. Moscow, 2003. ISBN 5-94838-085-8.
