The Kalmyk horse, also called the

Kalmykia Kalmykia, officially the Republic of Kalmykia,; , ''Khalmg Tanghch'' is a republic of Russia, located in the Volga region of European Russia. The republic is part of the Southern Federal District, and borders Dagestan to the south and Stavr ...

horse, is a rare

horse breed A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a ...

descended from horses first brought to Russia by the

Kalmyk people Kalmyks (), archaically anglicised as Calmucks (), are the only Mongolic ethnic group living in Europe, residing in the easternmost part of the European Plain. This dry steppe area, west of the lower Volga River, known among the nomads as ...

from

Dzungaria Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand'), also known as Northern Xinjiang or Beijiang, is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. Bound by the Altai Mountains to the n ...

during the 17th century.

History

The Kalmyk is considered part of the group of breeds that includes the

Mongolian horse The Mongolian horse ( Mongolian Адуу, ''aduu'': "horse" or ''mori''; or as a herd, ''ado'') is the native horse breed of Mongolia. The breed is purported to be largely unchanged since the time of Genghis Khan. Nomads living in the trad ...

. The original

foundation bloodstock Foundation stock or foundation bloodstock refers to animals that are the progenitors, or foundation, of a breed or of a given bloodline within such. Many modern breeds can be traced to specific, named foundation animals, but a group of animals may ...

brought to Russia by the Kalmyks was crossed with other breeds of saddle horse, including the Bashkort,

Kazakh horse The Kazakh Horse () is a horse breed of the Kazakh people, who live mainly in Kazakhstan, but also in parts of China, Mongolia, Russia and Uzbekistan. It is used mainly as a riding horse, and is known for its hardiness and stamina. Characteris ...

, Kabardin, Don horse, Anglo-Arab, and Orel horse. The Kalmyk people became the major supplier of horses to the Russian

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

from about the mid-1600s until about 1740. In 1688, the Kalmyks drove 6,400 horses to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

for sale, and thereafter, Russian officers traveled to the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

region to purchase Kalmyk horses. Records from the 1730s indicate that Russian merchants spent over 7000

ruble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are s ...

s a year on Kalmyk horses for Russian

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

regiments. At its peak, the breed may have reached one million horses, but today is nearly extinct. A census in 1803 found over 238,000. However, no known

selective breeding Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...

had been done since at least 1943, and by 1986, the breed was considered extinct other than through

crossbred A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...

s. To resurrect the breed, 522 horses were located that still had characteristics of the original breed, mostly in isolated regions, and four breeding farms were set up in Russia to resurrect and preserve the breed.

Characteristics

The Kalmyk is said to resemble the Kirgiz horse, though taller, with a longer neck, steeper shoulder, and a less steep

croup Croup ( ), also known as croupy cough, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms of "bar ...

. Their height averages , and some individuals may pace. They are sturdy with good endurance and able to withstand extremes of temperature.

Uses

The Kalmyk today is used for both riding and

driving Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a land vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. A driver's permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met, and drivers are required to ...

. It was crossbred with the Kirgiz horse to create the foundation bloodstock for the Siberian horse.

References

{{reflist Horse breeds

History

Characteristics

Uses

See also

References