Tersk

A part-bred Arabian horse.
Tough, hardy and endurable.
Good for endurance and pleasure riding.

t is a fairly new Russian breed developed at the Tersk stud, hence the name of the breed. Now the bulk of the breed is concentrated at the Stavropol stud.
     In the 19th century one of the popular saddle all-rounders in Russia were Strelets horses. They were high on Arabian blood, and their conformation was Arabian-like. But they were larger and more robust. Another of their useful traits was that they better fared in Russia’s climate. But after the Civil war most of Strelets horses were lost.

The Tersk is a result of a breeding program aimed at restoring a Strelets-like horse, having a robust constitution, tough and undemanding, suitable for herd keeping.

Possible uses

Tersks make perfect general-purpose riding horses. They are popular as mounts to train green riders. Their beauty, especially their grey sheen and expressive Arabian-like eyes, surefootedness and willingness makes them ideal circus horses, especially for jighitovka.
     Their endless stamina and endurance, toughness and robustness makes them good candidates for modern endurance contests.

Conformation

The Tersk has the conformation of a typical riding horse. It is taller than the Arabian, more robust and sturdy, well boned and muscled. It has a clean, medium-sized and properly set head with a direct or slightly dished profile. The eyes are large and expressive. The poll is short. The neck is medium-sized and well-set.
The withers are of normal height and length. The back is relatively short, wide and even. The loins are wide, medium length and muscular. The croup is short, of normal slope and width. The shoulder is of medium length, and well sloped. The legs are boney and clean with well defined joints and tendons. Some horses are sickle-hocked. The pasterns are shortish. The hoofs are correct and hard.

Average measurements of Tersk

	Stallions	Mares
Height	157	156
Body length	158	157
Chest girth	181	182
Bone below the knee	19.7	19.2

Colors

Tersks are gray, often with a sheen, and chestnut.

Temperament & disposition

Tersks are horses of temperament and quiet disposition. They are intelligent and trainable. The overall impression of the Tersk is that of enduring strength combined with quality and general alertness of outlook.

Types

Tersk breeders differentiate and cultivate several intra-breed types.
Characteristic type. Horses of this type make up the bulk of the stock. They have a rangy constitution and a good bone structure, are well muscled and balanced.

Oriental type. More elegant the oriental style. Overall, they are closer to Arabians in conformation. They are smaller in size.

Massive type. Horses of this type are generally larger and wider, have a more robust bone structure. They are less elegant than the other two types.

Endurance

Tersk horses have been tested in endurance rides. One 310-km ride was held in 1937 in the mountains, the distance was covered in less than three days, the horses arrived in perfect health. During the retreat to Kazakhstan in 1941 to escape the German troops the Tersk herd with young foals covered thousands of kilometers with only minimal losses of the youngest foals, despite the fact that the during the last weeks of the trek the temperature dropped to -20 degrees Centigrade.
     Now that endurance rides become popular in the world one hears about outstanding performances of Russian horses of various breeds. One example is the Tersk mare Czippa in Germany. She has a fantastic record in long-distance races: from 1986 to 1996 she had covered in endurance rides 10,000 km, which makes 1000 km per year. Her 1990 record was more than 1500 km.
     This all goes to prove that the Tersk breed is very promising for modern endurance sport.

Racing

Most of the Tersk horses are raced at Piatigorsk on the flat. Some of their racing records are as follows:

1 mile — 1 min 44.8 secs;

1.5 miles — 2 min 40 secs.

Sports

Because of their size Tersks are not very popular in classical equestrian sports, although there are some oustanding exceptions. So Dnieper was champion of the USSR in eventing, and Tskheti was an Olympic champion.

Development

In 1925 Marshall S. Budenny ordered to begin a breeding program aimed at the production of a Strelets-type horse. The site was the Tersk stud. To begin with, two Strelets stallions, half-brothers Tsilindr and Tsenitel were transferred to Terks to mark the beginning of the program.
     In 1945 all the stock was transferred to the Stavropol stud.

Tsilindr and Tsenitel

Tsilindr was the more typey of the two founders. His measurements were: height at withers 155 cm, body length 155 cm, chest girth 181 cm, bone below the knee 19.5 cm. By the time the breed had taken shape 72% of the broodmares had Tsilindr in their pedigrees. Several Tsilindr’s sons and great-sons became sires at Stavropol.
     The other founder Tsenitel was less typey than his half-brother. His measurements were: height at withers 153 cm, body length 153 cm, chest girth 178 cm, bone below the knee 19 cm.
     Tsilindr’s influence in the breed was through his sons and daughters, whereas Tsenitel for the most part contributed through his daughters.

Early stock

The number of the extant Strelets horses being small, at Tersk and Stavropol they used extensively pure-and high-blood Arabians Kokheilan IV-4, Ardagan, Nasim, Kokheilan V, Marosh and several others.
     The young were rigorously selected for type, pedigree, conformation, size, performance, as well for their suitability to herd keeping. Overall, the Tersk young grow and mature faster than Arabians, but as with any breed the growth rate is conditional on feeding and keeping conditions.
     Tersk horses are fairly long-lived. The co-founder Tsilindr died at 27, many broodmares produce beyond 20.

Click to enlarge

 

Keeping

Like with Budennys and other newer Russia’s breeds, of critical importance for the development of the breed was a new method of keeping, namely a combination of herd keeping in the open steppe with very careful control of the feeding and other conditions. It is used ever since.
     Overall, the Tersk horses are very tough and economical to keep.

Stud book

A Tersk Stud Book is issued by the Russian Institute of Horse breeding.