Budennovskaya breed of horses

A relatively young breed was bred as a result of crossbreeding of Don and Black Sea mares with thoroughbred horse stallions (the Black Sea breed was used by the Cossacks who settled in the Kuban in the eighteenth century and was similar to the Don, but somewhat inferior to it in size and massiveness).

The aim of the selection was to create a good hardy cavalry horse. The center of the breeding program, conducted through careful selection, became the Rostov region. The best mares crossed with the best Anglo-Don stallions.

Mares were fed better and, which is unusual for Russian horse breeding of that time, were kept in stalls in winter, believing that mares would produce healthier offspring if they were not forced to spend energy so as not to freeze. Continue reading →