The role of the horse in the history of mankind is reflected both in historical chronicles and in masterpieces of fiction. The names of famous horses, starting with the winged Pegasus - a symbol of poetic inspiration, have entered world culture.
For history buffs, the legendary Bucephalus is inseparable from his great knight - Alexander the Great, and everyone who reads will remember the name of Don Quixote's horse. Rosinante is a full-fledged character in Cervantes’s great novel.
New name - new destiny
Among the many meanings, facets, and allusions that fill the famous novel, the most important is the idea of the power of the human mind, capable of changing the world around us with the power of its imagination, creating a new reality. Just as Alonso Quijano (or Quejado or Quesado), an ordinary man, turns into a glorious knight ready for great things, once he receives the title of Don Quixote, everything around him changes, receiving a new name.
A bowl with a brass razor becomes a golden helmet. The peasant Aldonza Lorenzo becomes Dulcinea of Tobosca - the most beautiful of women, in whose name knightly deeds are performed. A lame and thin nag turns into a mighty horse, leading its rider to glorious exploits. He received his proud name Rocinante (the name of Don Quixote's horse) even before the cunning hidalgo chose this name for himself.
Use of Don horses
Perhaps this is the most versatile breed; it is used in almost all areas where possible.
Horses are perfect for sports (jumping, dressage, racing, cross-country), and for agriculture, and for harness driving. They are famous as the most durable horses. They can run incredible distances without rest, as proven by a 1951 experiment. It consisted of driving the Donets over a distance of 120 km over the course of 2 weeks. As it turned out, the Don horse does not get tired from such a load, remains in good shape and manages to fully restore its strength in a matter of hours of sleep. But now the Donets are most popular as horses for beginners! All this is due to its peaceful, pliable nature.
The Don breed is an excellent choice for beginners as well as for experienced riders. And if you have already become the owner of this horse, then my congratulations to you! You probably know how lucky you are!
Four days of reflection
Don Quixote was convinced that a change in the owner's position required a change in the name and his horse. He must live up to his new rank and his new glorious field: everyone must remember the name of the horse of Don Quixote, the valiant horseman of La Mancha. So he spends several days stretching his imagination, remembering and thinking, going through different options, reworking ready-made words and composing one of the different parts. In the end, he settled on the sonorous and noble name of Rosinante.
We don't know the name of Don Quixote's horse until he became a rider, but for her the new name completely changed the future. According to all the canons of chivalric romances, it is the horse that determines the fate of its rider by choosing the path. The name of Don Quixote's horse has become famous, meaning a beautiful and strong animal loyal to its heroic master, but is more often used with ironic or parodic overtones.
Exterior of the Don horse
The Don breed of horses is distinguished by its rather large height (withers 160 - 170 cm), deep and wide chest, and good bone structure. The wide body of the Donchak is a unique feature inherent in some steppe breeds and associated with the climatic characteristics of the region of residence. Donchaks digest even roughage well and create fat reserves in case of summer drought or harsh snowy winters. Another benefit of being broad-bodied is the horse's versatility. The Don breed of horses is equally well used under saddle and in light harness.
- The head of the Donchak is medium, the profile is straight or concave, the forehead is wide.
- The neck is well muscled and most often of medium length, it can have a “swan bend”, or it can also be short, with a low outlet.
- The withers are low.
- The back of the Donetsk people is straight, with good muscle definition, wide, with a wide lower back.
- The legs are strong, with a good level hoof.
Breeders pay special attention to the front legs of Don Chaks, since almost a third of the livestock have a sunken wrist and an insufficient angle of the shoulder blade, which reduces the performance of movements. Also a disadvantage of the exterior is the shortness of the pasterns and the sabering of the hind legs. Most Donchak people have a dry constitution and an energetic temperament with a calm and reasonable character.
The color is predominantly red in all shades with a golden tint. Bay and black Donchaks are less common. Slight marking is also found in the breed.
Meaning of the name Rocinante
It is not surprising that the cunning hidalgo spent a lot of time looking for a suitable name for his horse - it is difficult to forget the name of Don Quixote's horse. Its name is sonorous and ambiguous, explaining, first of all, at the request of the owner, the meaning of the change in his condition: the horse, which was previously an ordinary nag, becomes “the best of nags.”
Rocinante is a pun on two words. The first - Rosin - exists in several Romance languages, which means a thoroughbred horse or, figuratively speaking, a rude and illiterate person. The second part - ante - can be a separate word meaning "before", "before", "until" or a suffix that specifies the circumstances, that is, in this case, to do something like rosin. In this combination, many meanings are obtained: “the likeness of a horse”, “what was a horse” or “what became a former nag”, “a nag that is ahead of all the others” and the like.
Breed Features
The Don Horse is a representative of the group of harness horses, which was bred on the territory of the modern Rostov region. Her birth occurred due to the mixing of blood of wild steppe herds, Turkmen, Karabakh, Akhal-Teke and Persian horses. Long-term selection work allowed these animals to increase their height quite significantly, losing the usual appearance features of their wild and eastern ancestors.
You will learn a lot from the video “All about the Donetsk people”.
These horses were very popular among the Don Cossacks, who put a lot of effort into breeding the Don people and their further development. Thanks to the Cossacks, the Donchak received its endurance, lightness and courage, for which this breed is famous. In addition, the famous red coat, a distinctive feature of all Don horses, appeared thanks to the Cossacks. Using horses in battles, the Cossacks tried to achieve one color of the animals so that they would look like a large mass capable of intimidating the enemy.
Origin story
As we said earlier, in the open spaces near the Don River, people have since ancient times used the steppe horses living there. But only with the arrival of the Cossacks there was a sharp increase in interest in the development of local horse breeding. The great need for high-quality horses capable of carrying heavy loads while maintaining speed and unpretentiousness led to the fact that the first stud farms began to appear in the Don expanses. The basis of the new breed bred there was the various horses that the Cossacks inherited after several Turkish companies.
The Don owes its beauty and grace to the eastern horses, whose blood was gradually mixed with them. Thus, Arabian, Akhal-Teke and Persian horses were used. For the first time, these animals were appreciated only in 1910 at the All-Russian exhibition. The Donchak, being a model of an army horse, has gained considerable popularity in many sports, but now they are mainly used to improve local breeds, since with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the breeding of Don horses went into decline.
Exterior
The Don breed of horses has a red color, which can range from light to dark. The legs of these animals are quite long, matching the same body and straight back. There are 4 varieties of this breed, let's talk about them separately.
- Persian, formed from the blood of Persian and Turkish horses. They are distinguished by their tall height (160-165 cm) and refined head features, wide neck, and chest. They have soft golden fur and mane.
- The East Karabakh horse is somewhat shorter than its relatives (up to 160 cm). The body and head are more rounded. These horses are dominated by dun color in color.
- The eastern massive variety is distinguished by very high growth and body weight (165-170 cm at the withers). But thanks to the elongated lines, the animal’s body does not seem massive. These horses are usually red.
- Saddlebred is a light, tall horse that is most often used for military or sporting activities. They are distinguished by the absence of a golden shimmer, which is found in the fur, tail and mane of other varieties.
Character
The Don breed of horses has a rather complex character. The fact is that their origin and admixtures of eastern blood make these animals quite active, even “groovy.” It will not be very easy for a beginner in horse riding to cope with an angry Donchak. From time to time they can “play” with their rider, marking bouts of good mood with “goats” and “candles”. This is also worth considering when choosing a rider for such a horse.
However, it has been noted that the majority of Don horses have a rare selectivity and loyalty to one rider they love. An animal can happily help a chosen person, but show malice towards all others. At the same time, most animals are easy to train if you start training the foal in time. In addition, representatives of the Don breed are quite disciplined animals.
Don Quixote's double
Anyone who reads Cervantes' novel for the first time will be struck by the similarities between horse and rider. This is confirmed by many literary scholars who have devoted entire volumes to the study of this book. The external similarity is undeniable: both the rider and his horse are incorporeal, deny vulgar materiality and belong to the higher, spiritual world. The tests sent by fate are similar: Rocinante is an object of ridicule no less than his brave master, and the blows that are dealt to him are just as painful and noticeable.
These two characters have another quality that has a sublime meaning. Both Don Quixote and Rosinane demonstrate abilities in their new lives that were not there before. A horse whose bones protrude in all directions because of its thinness, having become a knight's horse in the imaginary world, becomes capable of actions that perhaps exceed its abilities. Despite the awkward fall at the beginning of the novel, this is Don Quixote's faithful and tough horse, whose name was Rocinante - "ahead of everyone else, the first nag in the world."
Part one
Chapter 1
In one of the villages in Spain, lived a lonely 50-year-old Alonso Quijano, who loved to read historical novels.
Part of the money was spent on food and necessary clothing, the rest was spent on buying another book. Immersed in the world of valiant knights and princesses, the man forgot about everything in the world. Hunting, housekeeping, everything faded into the background. From morning to night, he lived in a world he had imagined, imagining himself in the place of the main characters. It got to the point where Alonso went completely crazy, no longer distinguishing reality from fiction. Having completely gone crazy, he was visited by a completely wild idea to become a knight errant. Some armor was found in the closet. I made the helmet myself, from a cone. The faithful horse was an old nag with the sonorous name Rocinante. The lady of the heart, for whose sake the deeds will be accomplished, is Aldonza Lorenzo, renamed Dulcinea of Toboso, a native of Toboso. Alonso was once in love with this girl. Calling himself Don Quixote and considering that he is completely ready for great feats, the hero decides to hit the road in the morning towards adventure.
Chapter 2
Having left the gates of the house, the newly-minted knight became sad. After all, to become a real knight, you need to go through a rite of passage. It is necessary to find the owner of a castle, but instead of the castle, Don Quixote mistakenly ends up with an innkeeper. He entertained local girls with tales and poems, mistaking them for court ladies. For this he was offered a cod dinner. Flatly refusing to take off his helmet and lower his visor, Don Quixote could not put a single piece in his mouth. One lady decided to take care of the poor fellow, fed him and gave him something to drink from her own hands.
Chapter 3
Don Quixote, with a prayer in his voice, begs the owner of the tavern to perform the ritual he desires.
The man, seeing that the guest was out of his mind, decided to play along with him, agreeing to all the conditions. The ceremony was scheduled for the morning, and at night the guest volunteered to guard his armor in the yard, laying it out on a watering trough. When the owner asked whether he had money or not, Don Quixote was surprised. In his novels, knights were always without money. Then the owner enlightened him that he couldn’t do without money on the road. In addition, the knight needs clean linen, ointment for wounds and a faithful squire. One of the mule drivers decided to give water to the cattle. To do this, it was necessary to remove the armor from the trough, which was guarded by Don Quixote. Ignoring the threats, the driver simply threw them aside, for which he received a blow with a spear. The owner is sick and tired of his crazy guest. Having cracked him on the back of the head and jabbed him on the back with a sword, the innkeeper performs the ceremony and sends the guest out the threshold.
Chapter 4
Don Quixote felt like a real hero when, along the way, he stood up for the boy who was mercilessly beaten by his owner. Proud of himself, he did not realize that after his departure the boy almost gave his soul to God, receiving even more from the owner for the intercession of the traveler. Standing at a crossroads, the hero wondered which way to go. The horse chose the road himself, going from memory to his stable. Seeing the crowd of people, Don Quixote drove closer and began to threaten people that until they recognized the beauty of Dulcinea, he would not allow them to move. The merchants were not going to take their word for it, so they began to challenge the beauty. Don Quixote wanted to rush into battle, but the horse stumbled and threw off its rider. One of the drivers took advantage of the situation and beat the insolent man so that he could not get up, his bones hurt so much. However, the madman was pleased with the adventure. If not for the horse, he would have shown them who was right.
Chapters 5-6
Luckily for Don Quixote, a fellow villager drove by and recognized the beaten man as Quijano.
He takes the man to his relatives, who are convinced that books are to blame for Alonso’s misadventures. They drove me crazy. At a family council they decided to burn all the literature in the house. Don Quixote remained silent when questioned by his relatives, expressing a desire to eat and sleep soundly. The hero's rich library was completely destroyed, except for a couple of publications that were harmless from the point of view of the priest. It was decided to spare them.
Chapters 7-10
The priest and the barber decided to block and wall up the entrance to the library so that no one would enter there.
Don Quixote, who got out of bed and first went to the books, was told the story that while he was sleeping, a wizard flew in and burned down the book depository. The reason for this act is hatred towards the owner of the books and home. Thoughts about exploits did not leave the madman. Having promised fellow villager Sancho Panzo mountains of gold, Don Quixote persuades the simple-minded peasant to become his squire. The only thing that confused Alonso was that Sancho was going to ride a donkey. Did knights move like this? Approaching the clearing, Don Quixote mistook the windmills for giants and entered into battle with them. The prudent Sancho tried to dissuade him, but after being called a coward, he decided not to interfere. Having thrust his spear into the wing of the mill, Don Quixote did not expect how strong the wind would be. A strong gust turned the wing. The spear shattered into pieces. The rider fell to the ground from his horse. Sancho ran up to the owner to see if he was alive or not. I helped him climb onto the horse and they set off.
Along the way, they came across monks whom Don Quixote’s fevered imagination painted as bandits from the highway, and he mistook the lady in the carriage following them for a hostage. All the monks’ arguments led to nothing. Another battle. The monks are defeated. Sancho was not at a loss and rushed to rob the people lying on the ground, because the loot should belong to the one who won.
The drivers, observing this picture, decided to deal with the impudent man. They beat Sancho until he faints. Don Quixote turns to the senora with a request to inform his beloved about his feat. The lady's servants woke up. Seeing that an unfamiliar gentleman is pestering the lady, they rush into battle.
In a battle with a Biscayan, Don Quixote is wounded. The Biscayan himself was in danger of death. The ladies from the carriage promised to fulfill any request of the master, as long as their servant was left alive. The unfortunate man must find Dulcinea in the city and say that Don Quixote sent him, and then let her do what she wants with him.
The wound on Don Quixote's ear is bleeding. An entertaining conversation takes place between Sancho and his master. Alonso is telling another story about a miraculous balm, he knows the recipe. Sancho, as always, looking for profit in everything, offers to trade him. Money won't hurt, but Don Quixote is against this way of earning money. The travelers decided to have a snack and think about where to spend the night. It was getting dark outside, and they were without a roof over their heads.
Chapter 11
The heroes meet the goatherds. The situation was hopeless, I had to spend the night with new friends in the open air. Faithful Sancho dreams of a soft bed, and the knight rejoices in what he has. He likes the nomadic life. This was the lifestyle that the knights from his favorite novels led.
Chapter 12
The talkative shepherd tells an entertaining story about the girl Marcela, a beauty who broke more than one man’s heart, which upset the soul of Don Quixote, who remembered his Dulcinea.
Chapters 13-15
The travelers, together with the shepherds, go to the burial of one of the unhappy lovers in Marcela.
Along the way they meet a group of people heading there. The knight tells travelers who he is and about his mission to save the orphaned and wretched. Don Quixote's companions realized that not everything was in order with their friend's head. Before the burial of Chrysostom, they read his manuscript, where he poured out his whole soul on paper, suffering from unrequited love.
Don Quixote and Sancho go into the forest in search of Marcela. Rocinante really let his owner down when he remembered his youth and rushed to the mares in someone else's herd. The uninvited guest was not welcome. Don Quixote had to save his horse from mares and angry drivers who were whipping him with clubs. The knight lost in this battle. He and his assistant were beaten so hard that they could barely escape. Fate led them to an inn, which was again mistakenly taken for a castle.
Chapter 16
The owners of the inn took pity on the unfortunates, allowing them to spend the night with them, allocating a place in the closet. The owner's daughter had an affair with the driver. In the darkness, she began to sneak up to her beloved, but instead of the groom she came across Don Quixote, who imagined that the girl was in love with him and was going to meet him. The jealous driver was awakened by an incomprehensible fuss. Seeing Maritornes in the arms of another, he became furious. The knight got it in full, and along with him, his faithful squire received cuffs for company.
Chapters 17-20
The second time my friends got it because they refused to pay for an overnight stay.
Don Quixote was perplexed about what money we were talking about. The owners should feel honored that they stopped by at all. The verbal altercation turned into a fight. Sancho had to take the rap. They threw him off the donkey, laid him on a blanket and began tossing him up like a ball. The next battle was with a herd of sheep, mistaken for the enemy army. The poor animals barely escaped. The shepherds, seeing that their sheep were being attacked, rushed to the attack, throwing stones at Don Quixote.
The night brought another surprise. The funeral procession that came towards them seemed like ghosts in the darkness. This time there was no fight, which saddened the knight, because the feat did not take place. Because of his master's pitiful appearance, Sancho gives him the nickname Knight of the Sad Countenance.
The travelers' attention was attracted by the loud sound of water. They could not determine which side the source might be on. Loud bangs heard nearby frightened them. These were fulling hammers. Sancho, anticipating the owner's further actions, entangles his horse's hind legs, preventing him from leaving his place.
Chapters 21-25
Along the way, the travelers came across a barber with a basin on his head, who was mistaken by the knight for the helmet of Mambrin, which he had long dreamed of.
Having taken the helmet, he remains very pleased with himself. Next on the list of feats is the mission to rescue convicts going to the galleys, but instead of the expected gratitude for the rescue, they beat their savior for asking him to convey greetings to their Dulcinea.
While the heroes were sleeping, Sancho's donkey was kidnapped. Having discovered the loss, the squire began to sob so loudly that he woke up Don Quixote with his cries. The loss was fully compensated by a suitcase with gold coins and a book found nearby, which the knight decided to keep for himself, and out of the kindness of his heart he gave the money to the squire. From the goatherd they learn who is the owner of the things left behind. He turns out to be a half-crazy guy suffering from unhappy love.
The knight writes two letters, to Dulcinea and his niece, and asks Sancho to deliver them to the addressee. Overjoyed that he will soon see his native home, the squire forgets about the owner’s request.
Chapters 26-30
Along the way, Sancho came across fellow villagers, a priest and a barber.
The men ask to let them read the letter to Dulcinea. Sancho realizes that he did not take them with him. He recalls the text of the letter as he goes, distorting it beyond recognition. Based on the above, everyone concludes that Alonso needs to be saved. He's gone crazy. He needs to be returned home. To do this, the priest comes up with a cunning plan. The priest dresses up as a girl, and the barber dresses up as a servant, but then changes his mind and they switch roles. Sancho leads them to the forest where Don Quixote should be hiding, but instead the travelers stumble upon Cardeno, singing a sad song. A new acquaintance shares his love story.
His emotional outpourings were interrupted by a sad voice heard nearby. Its owner turned out to be Dorothea, a beautiful creature in a man's dress. She tells the sad story of her life.
The men share their cunning plan with her and persuade her to help them in this matter. Dorothea agrees. The girl dresses up as a princess and lures Don Quixote into a trap, pretending to need his intercession. He could not refuse to help the lady.
Sancho finds his donkey. Astride him sat a convict freed by Don Quixote.
Chapters 31-35
Sancho and Don Quixote accidentally meet a boy whom a knight once saved from his master's beatings.
The boy tells the truth about how he later got punished for standing up for him. He cursed his savior, swearing dirty words. The knight was at a loss. He wanted what was best. The travelers return to the inn, where they decided to spend the night. Half asleep, Don Quixote imagines enemies. Swinging his sword, he falls into bags of wine, mistaking them for giants. The owner of the yard was angry at the picture he saw. He was ready to kill his guest, if not for the priest, who stopped him in time and explained that they were dealing with a madman.
Chapters 36-40
Suddenly, the same barber who lost the pelvis from his head, thanks to Don Quixote, looks into the tavern courtyard. A scandal ensues between them. The priest again had to put in a good word for the culprit of all the misfortunes and pay the required amount for the confiscated property.
Chapters 41-46
The next interesting story took place with the participation of the guards, who recognized Don Quixote as the very man who freed the convicts from custody.
It took the priest great effort to persuade them not to arrest the culprit. What can you expect from a crazy person? The guards had to accept the truth of his words. Don Quixote, rejoicing that all the problems had been resolved and the charges were dropped, intended to continue on his way, but that was not the case. A cage made of sticks had already been prepared for him, hastily knocked together by the barber and the pastor, who decided to take the patient to his place of residence, to his native village.
Chapters 47-52
Don Quixote understood the seriousness of the situation.
He didn't want to ride in a cage at all. Thanks to his innate eloquence, he manages to convince those accompanying him that he is absolutely safe and it is not in his interests to run away. Taking the prisoner at his word, he is transferred from the cage to a cart. The first thing upon arrival home, the squire pleased his wife with good news. Soon he should become a count or governor. That's how it goes. The woman didn’t really believe her husband’s stories, but didn’t argue. The only thing Sancho asked her to do was to keep her mouth shut and not talk too much about his upcoming promotion.
The housekeeper and niece took upon themselves all the worries about the knight. They looked after him like a small child, never taking their eyes off him and anticipating the patient’s requests. The knight looked pitiful. Tears welled up in his eyes when his family looked at him. The priests asked not to let the uncle out of sight, in case he decides to go on heroic deeds again.
Common noun
The significance of the novel about the adventures of the knight of La Mancha is confirmed by its worldwide fame and the total number of copies worldwide. There is no need to explain what “don quixote”, “battle with windmills” or “knight of the mourning image” is. The images of Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and Dulcinea are embodied in many films and performances in prose and musical theater.
It is not necessary to remind the whole world the name of Don Quixote's horse. Any emaciated or extremely thin horse invariably receives the ironic nickname Rocinante. But this word, according to Don Quixote, is simply beautiful and sonorous, and is valued by professionals in the field of naming without ironic overtones, just like the famous name of a horse. Many hippotherapy centers or equestrian schools are named after Don Quixote's faithful companion.
Intrabreed lines and types
As with all other breeds, the Don breed has its own intra-breed types and main lines.
Riding type of Don horses
Bolivar Line
One of the most valuable breed lines belonging to the sporting type. The horses are strong, with good bone and correct structure, ideal for both work under saddle and light harness. All young animals of this line receive good exercise, are raised in herd conditions and are distinguished by their friendliness and people-oriented nature.
Line Peony - Chelna
The line of Peony and Chelna belongs to the eastern type of breed. The founder of the line, Peony, was born in 1906. Peony's descendants form the main breeding core at the Budennovsky stud farm. Chelny was born in 1912. His descendants are also used in the Budyonny stud farm. Horses of this line are distinguished by their large stature, massiveness, and bonyness, but often have a rather soft back and insufficient dryness of the legs, which is a disadvantage of the exterior. The best descendants go back to Cheln’s son, Korolk.
Peony Line. Golden brown Tibul
East Karabakh type of Don horse
Horses of this type are distinguished by a deeper chest, short stature, stockiness, more rounded shapes and a harmonious physique. The neck of horses of the eastern type is long, with a beautiful bend, and well-defined withers. The East Karabakh type of horse was formed from the descendants of the beautiful mare Agave, as well as the outstanding sires Bordeaux and Periwinkle.
Funny Line
The line of the Zabavnik also belongs to the eastern type. The stallion was born at the Issyk-Kul stud farm in 1925 and left behind numerous offspring, distinguished by their massiveness, stockiness, and long lines of neck and back. Horses of the Zabavnik line are also of the eastern type and are often used in driving.
Massive rock type
The massive type of rock is represented by the Rezvoy line. The stallion was born in 1912 and its use in the Don breed was very important. He had a rather dry body structure, was a thoroughbred, with good movements and had a bright type of Don horse. He passed on to his descendants not only large stature and massiveness, but also good muscles, endurance, and proper bone structure. In the Rezvoy line there are almost no such defects as sabering of the limbs, shortness, incorrect angle of the shoulder joint, or soft back.
Patron Line
The brown stallion Patron was born in 1907. His descendants played a big role in the formation and spread of massive horses. Horses of the Patron line are distinguished by their unpretentiousness to living conditions, efficiency, and strength, but the disadvantages include excessively long lines of the body, a soft back and a general dampness of the body structure. However, these shortcomings do not affect the overall performance of the Donetsk team. Patron's descendants show good agility on the racetrack.
Characteristics of Don horses
The early, Old Don breed was smaller in size than the modern one, but was extremely fast and hardy. The main characteristics of the breed were:
- Small and narrow head
- Straight forehead
- Low, pointed, close-set ears
- Neck with no Adam's apple, proportionally folded
- Wide chest
- The back is short
- Sacrum elongated
- Wide bones but dry feet
- The body is muscular and dense
- The coat is short and delicate
- Mane and tail hairs are thin
- Wide hooves
It was extremely important to have the correct proportions of the entire horse, modeled on eastern horses.
The Novo-Donskaya breed has acquired slightly different characteristics:
- Height increased - up to 175 cm
- The head has become broad-browed
- The neck became short and with an Adam's apple
- The back is carp-shaped
- Knees low and concave inward
The color became red, looking very polished. The chest girth has become narrower, and the strength of the joints has increased.
The character of horses depends on how they are kept. Horses living in a herd become more independent; those kept in a stable are more loyal and flexible to humans. As a rule, they recognize only one owner, and treat strangers with distrust and even anger.
How to maintain and care
The main rule of communication
The Don horse is unpretentious. But because of her character, it is sometimes difficult to deal with her.
For representatives of this breed, there is one cherished rule - not to pay much attention to them. Otherwise, the Donetsk people begin to become impudent. And no longer behave affectionately, but rather the opposite.
Nuances of care
After each training session, the horse's legs are washed under cool water. It is recommended to additionally lubricate them with special cooling and insulating creams.
The hooves are lubricated with a special varnish. And from time to time they are treated with hydrogen peroxide. This way they will not crack and cause pain to the animal.
Once every six months, the Don horse is given new horseshoes. The cost of such a procedure is about 2000 rubles. Hoofs are cleaned once every two months. Price – 500 rubles. It is advisable to have a specialist do this.
Tip: before each workout or work, moisten the cotton wool with water. And thoroughly rinse the animal’s nostrils. After this procedure, the nose is cleaned. And the horse breathes better.
Additional requirements
It is important to encourage a horse or horse of the Don breed. These are quite vulnerable animals.
And at a young age they are also difficult to manage.
Before training, the pet is given a carrot or an apple each time. This way he will begin to understand that good gaits will reward him with goodies. The method is used to strengthen control. And I must say that it works.
The area of the stall for keeping horses of the Don breed should be 12 square meters per individual. Be sure to have a large window without broken glass, and a feeding trough with a drinking bowl. If possible, “balconies” are also installed in the stables - exits to the street.
In winter, you need to put a thick stall blanket on the animal. In bad weather - fleece.
From late October to mid-December, blankets that are less insulated than winter blankets are usually used. If a horse gets used to standing in a stall in a winter blanket at a temperature of 5 to 15 degrees, then in cold weather it will simply freeze.
Kinds
The modern breed of Don horses is divided into 4 types.
- Riding look - the color of horses is dominated by dark and red shades. The horse's body structure is lightweight - it has long legs, the shoulder blades of the forelimbs have a slightly sloping shape, and the croup is massive and highly developed.
- Persian appearance - the color is dominated by light golden and red shades of fur. The horse is tall, stately, the chest is wide, developed, and the legs are strong and correctly placed. The shape of the head is elongated, narrow, with small pointed ears and beautifully defined sections of the eyes and nostrils.
- Eastern massive appearance - this color has a color of brown and dark red shades. This type of horse is the tallest, their height is 172-173 cm, while the chest circumference reaches 195-200 cm. Anatomically, the horse’s body is built with elongated proportions of all its parts. This type of Donchak is considered the most powerful and hardy.
- East Karabakh species - golden and chestnut shades predominate in the coat color. The horse's height is average, not exceeding 160 cm. A characteristic feature of the species is its back - it has an even structure with a massive, developed lumbar region. The horse's legs are proportional to his body, with correct positioning; white spots can often be seen on the legs.
History of the appearance and development of the breed
The Don breed of horses has an inextricable connection with the history of the Don Cossacks. The first stud farms appeared on the Don back in the eighteenth century. The very first Donetsk dogs were immediately distinguished by their agility and flexibility, which allowed them to easily overcome natural obstacles, perform the sharpest turns, while showing a high level of endurance.
Since, despite all these qualities, they were still very unpretentious in feed and care, and with the proper level of maintenance they could easily live up to twenty years, it was very difficult to come up with the best combat horses for that time.
Beginning in the nineteenth century, the Don Cossack atamans Platov, Ilovaisky and Martynov began to work closely on improving the Don breed. It was from their herds that a new round of development of these wonderful horses began.
This Don chieftain brought the best representatives of Arabian and Persian horses to his factory, using selection and selection methods in breeding.
Then stud farms began to appear everywhere on the Don. In 1776, the Yanov stud farm opened, two years later - the Ilovaisky (A.V.) and Serikov stud farms, and in 1790 the Kuznetsov and N.V. stud farms appeared. Ilovaisky.
The unpretentiousness and endurance of the Don people is evidenced by the following fact: during the Anglo-Boer War, which lasted from 1898 to 1902, all the horses of the English cavalry fell, and two hundred Don horses, which were in the detachment of General French, continued to bravely carry service and endure all the hardships and hardships of wartime.
To further improve this Russian product, the best representatives of purebred riding and Arabian breeds were actively used.
A group of beautiful golden-red riding horses was put on display for the judgment of picky experts. The judges immediately appreciated these wonderful animals and considered them a national treasure of the country. Since that time, Don horses have received official recognition and popular love. They began to be actively used for breeding work to improve the local livestock, and were also actively recruited for army service.
Under the control of the Soviet Horse Breeding Administration on the Don, retired cavalry officers and Don horse breeders carried out active breeding work, which yielded positive results fifteen years later.
Several facts that testify to the extraordinary endurance of the Donetsk people:
- 1946 The Don Cossacks traveled from Salsk to Rostov-on-Don (distance - 200 kilometers) in 18 hours and 25 minutes. And this is at an ambient temperature of 40 degrees;
- a Don mare named Bukvarka's Daughter ran one thousand seven hundred seventy-seven kilometers in fifteen days, without ever stopping for a day;
- a whole group of Don breed stallions covered a distance of 305 kilometers, spending 20 hours on it;
- the record for the distance traveled in one day belongs to a stallion named Skid - 300 kilometers in nineteen hours;
- 1951 To determine the maximum degree of endurance of these horses, the Marshal Budyonny stud farm organized a race, the essence of which was to run 120 kilometers every day for as long as possible. Two weeks later the race was stopped. The horses felt great and there was no point in continuing the test.
This negative trend is due to the fact that former state-owned breeding farms and farms passed into the hands of private capital, which turned out to have no need for them. The Ministry of Agriculture is also not at all interested in these beautiful animals, and all the breeding work to preserve the Don horses lies on the shoulders of a few enthusiasts.
Bibliography:
- A.P. Soldiers. Basics of animal husbandry. — 3rd ed. - M.: Agropromizdat, 1988.
- Animal husbandry // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: / Ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. — 3rd ed. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. (Retrieved April 5, 2012)
- Animal husbandry - Wikipedia
- Animal husbandry // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
