Purebred breeding- in herd horse breeding, they are primarily used for such valuable domestic breeds as the Don, Budennovskaya, Terek, Kabardinskaya, Karabairskaya, etc. Horses of these breeds (especially the Dopeka and Budennovskaya) are distinguished by their large stature, good conformation, good health, endurance, agility and high efficiency. Their great advantage is also their suitability for versatile use: they can successfully work as riding horses. pack and harness. Therefore, they are widely used in agriculture, light transport, and the army.
The tasks of breeding work with these breeds boil down to their further improvement through targeted selection and selection, while simultaneously improving feeding conditions, maintenance, and organizing the targeted education of young animals. Purebred breeding should also be used for the best part of horses of local breeds. The preservation of local breeds provides the opportunity for the widespread development of herd horse breeding, since local horse breeds are most adapted to the environment and living conditions in which they historically developed and developed. These breeds, with appropriate improvement, can become a breeding fund for the further reproduction of high-quality horses of local breeds.
For example, according to the breed zoning plan in the mountainous Issyk-Kul region (Kyrgyzstan), horses of the Kyrgyz breed will make up 59% of the total horse population. In Yakutia, purebred breeding is maintained for the vast majority of horses of the Yakut breed.
Interbreeding- is widely used in herd horse breeding. When used rationally, crossing is in a fast way improvement of small horses of local breeds. Through reproductive crossbreeding in herd horse breeding, three highly valuable domestic breeds of horses were developed: Budennovskaya, Terek and Kustanai.
However, interbreeding can lead to positive results only when the crossbreeds are provided with feeding and housing conditions that ensure their normal development. Otherwise, crossing will not give the expected results, and may even turn out to be harmful, since the crossbreeds will not develop the useful qualities of improving breeds and will lose the most valuable qualities of local breeds (endurance, unpretentiousness, adaptability to herd maintenance and local conditions, etc.). In this case, the crossbreds may be inferior in quality to unimproved horses of the local breed.
Negative results were obtained in some horse breeding farms, where local mares were crossed with stallions of cultivated stable breeds (for example, purebred horses) and the crossbreeds were left in herd conditions without any additional feeding. The crossbreds of the first generation were still able to withstand the conditions of such conditions relatively steadfastly, but were much worse than horses of local breeds. Crossbreeds of the second, third and subsequent generations turned out to be unsuitable for the herd keeping regime, since they lost the adaptability characteristic of local breeds to sharp seasonal fluctuations in the level of feeding and temperature. As a result, the beneficial qualities of the crossbreds sharply decreased; mares had a low pregnancy rate, a large number of abortions, and young animals developed poorly; mortality has increased (especially of young animals); the result was a lot of horses that were not suitable for breeding use and of little value for farm work. Similar facts were observed at the Emba stud farm, from where it was necessary to remove a herd of crossbred queens of the second and third generations (from crossing a Kazakh horse with a thoroughbred horse) and transfer it to the southern stud farm with half-herd keeping.
Completely different results are obtained by crossing local horses with horses of the Don or Budennovsk breeds. Crosses from such crossing in most areas of herd horse breeding withstand the herd management regime approximately equally with horses of local breeds. This is explained by the fact that the Don breed of horses has historically developed and is currently bred in herd conditions (in the steppe zone); Don horses adapted to these living conditions. Crossbreeds crossed with horses of this breed do not produce sharp discrepancies between their biological properties and living conditions, since the formation of crossbreeds and the original breeds occurred under similar conditions, although in different climatic zones.
Crosses from crossing horses of local (especially steppe) breeds with horses of the Budennovsky breed develop normally in herd conditions. Average measurements of crossbreeds different generations from crossing queens of the Kazakh breed with stallions of the Don and Budyonnovsk breeds (in centimeters) the following (Table 70).
The crossbreeds are large in stature and have good conformation characteristics. In terms of economically useful qualities, these crossbreds are very valuable and find various uses in agriculture, light transport, and are the best horse breed for military use. They are hardy, unpretentious, adapted to the conditions of herd keeping (in particular, to quick fattening), which contributes to their widespread breeding in herd horse breeding areas.
Satisfactory results are also obtained by crossing queens of local breeds with sires of Kabardian or Karabair breeds. The crosses from such crossing, although of medium height (144-146 cm), have the valuable qualities of horses bred in a herd: they are hardy, unpretentious, and withstand the herd regime well. These crossbreds can be used for a variety of jobs in agriculture, light transport and the military. They are of great value for use in mountain conditions.
The performance of crossbreds obtained from crossing horses of local breeds with producers of improving breeds (especially Budennovskaya and Donskaya) can be judged from the following examples. In 1948, the stallion Baskunchak (a cross between Budennovskaya and Kazakh horses) from the Urda stud farm covered 282.1 km in a daily run under a rider. In November 1949, a daily cross-country race was held at the Degeres stud farm; in this race, five stallions (mixes of different generations from the Don, purebred riding, Akhal-Teke and Kazakh breeds) covered 300 km each, the stallion Zashchitny Don breed also walked 300 km. All the stallions of the Degeres stud farm were in schools until the beginning of August.
Industrial crossing. The main purpose of industrial crossbreeding is to obtain commercial horses (first generation crossbreeds) that are valuable in terms of economically useful qualities.
The most suitable for such crossing are the producers of the Budennovskaya and Donskaya breeds. When crossing small queens of local breeds (Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Bashkir, etc.) with them, in the first generation, fairly large and well-developed crosses are obtained, which are valuable riding horses and successfully perform various works in harness. Crossbreeds usually have high withers, a wide and deep chest, a strong back, a well-developed body and strong limbs.
In some areas of herd horse breeding, stallions of the Kabardian and Karabair breeds are used for industrial crossing.
For industrial crossing in herd horse breeding, stallions of purebred riding and Akhal-Teke breeds are also used. However, crosses from crossing with producers of these breeds are more demanding in terms of conditions of detention and are significantly inferior in health and endurance to crosses with horses of the Don or Budennovsky breeds. According to measurements between first generation crosses from crossing with Budennovskaya, Donskaya, Thoroughbred and Akhal-Teke breeds no significant difference is observed.
Stallions are valuable for industrial crossing with queens of local herd breeds trotting breeds. With improved feeding and housing conditions, these crossbreeds develop well, making hardy, strong draft horses suitable for agricultural and transport work. The first generation trotter-Bashkir crossbreeds (mares) of the Baymak stud farm raised in such conditions of feeding and keeping had the following measurements: height at the withers 148.3 cm, chest girth 175.4 cm, pastern girth 18.4 cm. However, in the same stud at the plant, when kept in herds without sufficient feeding, the first generation trotter-Bashkir crosses (mares) were underdeveloped and had the following measurements: height at the withers 140.2 cm, chest girth 162 cm, pastern girth 17.7 cm and, as a result, relatively low economically useful qualities . Therefore, crossbreds of purebred riding and other stable breeds with dams of local breeds in areas of herd horse breeding with a harsh climate need to create feeding and housing conditions that contribute to their normal development, i.e., provide them with sufficient feeding during periods when there is little food on pastures, and also with appropriate buildings (sheds, bases with sheds, etc.) to protect them from the harmful effects of adverse weather.
Reproductive crossing. By reproductive crossing it is possible to develop new breed or a type of horse that combines the valuable qualities of horses of cultural and local breeds - endurance, unpretentiousness, adaptability to the herd regime. An example of such a successful combination of valuable qualities of horses of the Don and thoroughbred riding breeds is the Budennovskaya breed of horses. Horses of this breed are massively built, with strong bones and a well-defined exterior of the riding type, are distinguished by good health, endurance and adaptability to herd (cultural herd) keeping. They are capable of showing outstanding agility and endurance as riding horses (for example, they cover a distance of 1,200 m in 1 minute 14.5 seconds or 309 km in a daily run) and can successfully work in harness.
Similar economically useful qualities, very valuable for herd horse breeding, are characteristic of horses of the Kustanai and Terek breeds.
In the breeding and improvement of these breeds of horses (Budennovskaya, Terek and Kustanai), the method of cultural herd keeping of horses was of great importance.
Absorptive crossbreeding currently has limited use in herd horse breeding. In the past, this crossbreeding was widely used in herd horse breeding farms. However, over time, it was established that crosses of the second, third and subsequent generations from crossing with horses of cultivated stable breeds under herd conditions developed clearly unsatisfactorily. These crossbreeds turned out to be significantly worse than horses of local breeds. Crossbred young animals were sharply delayed in development, and with increasing blood level, their development worsened more and more.
The crossbreeds experienced severe underdevelopment, weakened constitution, weak resistance against diseases, low foaling rate of queens, high mortality of young animals, etc. This is explained by the fact that during absorption crossing the main attention was paid to the formal increase in blood quality, but did not create conditions for feeding and housing, crossbreeds that meet the body's requirements.
Introductory crossing- used in herd horse breeding to improve horses of local breeds (increase their growth, increase performance, etc.) while maintaining the main valuable qualities of the local horse - adaptability to the place of its distribution and the regime of herd keeping. Small horses of local breeds are much slower to improve even under conditions of good feeding and maintenance. Crossbreeding produces animals with greater body plasticity, capable of changing more quickly in the desired direction if living conditions are favorable for this. At the same time, adaptability to the conditions of herd keeping during introductory crossing is preserved almost completely, which is extremely important for herd horse breeding in areas with harsh climates and in semi-desert areas. Due to climatic and feeding conditions in these areas, it is most advisable to breed horses of local breeds or those improved by introductory crossbreeding. Introductory crossing can be used to improve local horses in Transbaikalia, high mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan, many northern and semi-desert regions of Kazakhstan, in the northern part of Bashkiria, etc.
Sometimes in herd horse breeding farms, introductory crossing is used to correct any shortcomings that arise as a result of crossing improving breeds with horses. For example, at the Lugovsky stud farm, which breeds Tekin-Kazakh crosses, they practice introductory crossing of overdeveloped, lightweight mares with signs of effeminacy with Don breed stallions in order to correct these shortcomings in the offspring.
The most valuable for introductory crossbreeding are the Donskaya and Budennovskaya sires, as well as Kustanai breeds. In some areas, in particular mountainous ones, producers of the Kabardian and Karabair breeds are used for this purpose.
There are several forms of herd horse breeding:
1) year-round herd - herd;
2) barn-base;
3) cultural - herd horse breeding.
The most extensive form of herd horse breeding is year-round grazing, in which horses of all age and sex groups are kept in a common herd. Caring for them is mainly limited to changing pastures, veterinary treatment and protecting the livestock. Feeding is carried out only during black ice (jute), when horses cannot snow, that is, break through the crust of snow with their hooves. Horses are sheltered in bad weather in natural calm, along the terrain, slope, mountains, hills, reed thickets, in forest thickets, etc. Stables are built only for stud stallions, working horses and weak young animals of late foaling. The main production facility for keeping horses this way is a base for veterinary and veterinary activities.
The disadvantages of year-round grazing of horses include its strong dependence on climatic and feeding conditions and the premature pregnancy of young fillies.
Under such conditions, only horses of local breeds can be successfully bred - Kazakh, Buryat, Yakut, Kushum, Bashkir, Novo-Altai and some others.
Already in the fall, a thorough inspection of all winter pastures is carried out, their approximate feed supply is determined and the monthly presence of herds in a particular area is planned. Winter pastures must meet certain requirements. First of all, they must have a sufficient area, the size of which is determined depending on the yield, and the necessary species composition of herbs. The yield of tebenivochny plots should be at least 3-3.5 kg of dry weight. Pastures with lower grass stand should be used at the beginning of winter, because... in the second half of winter, with deep and dense snow, the horse expends significant energy on the tebenevka, does not restore it due to lack of food and quickly loses fatness. The best wormwood food for a horse during this period is wormwood (black, white-earthed, spreading), among cereals - fescue, feather grass, tea and solyanka (kokpek, biyurgun, izen, etc.); in the north - bentgrass and horsetails.
Every farm must have a map - a diagram of the seasonal use of pastures by herds. It is compiled on the basis of a geobotanical survey of the territory and long-term observations. The map shows the types of pastures and their average long-term productivity; areas most susceptible to ice and snow drifts; water sources - water debit. Particularly, places that are dangerous for horses (pits, pits, salt marshes) should be indicated on the map.
The diagram shows the places where the herds are raised (monthly) and the routes to the places of shelter during snowstorms and blizzards. Places for storing insurance stocks of hay and approaches to them are indicated.
The division of pastures into seasonal ones is based on the consumption of various grasses by horses and their phenology according to the seasons of the year. The best types of spring pastures in the semi-desert zone for herd horses are ephemeral - cereal (April) and fescue - feather grass (May, June). After the snow melts and the grass begins to grow, herds graze on elevated areas of the steppe terrain and on the southern slopes of hills on rough terrain. As the fescue and feather grass grow, the herds are transferred to flat areas or the northern slopes of the hills and graze there until the grasses begin to burn out. During this period, spring fattening, or fattening, of horses takes place (50-60 days)
During this period, the routine in the herd is as follows: horses are on pasture (as in other seasons of the year) throughout the day; watering place at 9-10 and 16-17 hours. The grazing scheme is designed in such a way that by the time of watering, the horses are close to water sources. In the spring, you need to grazing first of all those areas where the watering hole dries out early.
Spring feeding of horses ends in early June, at which time culled animals are sold for meat.
In the mountainous regions of Eastern Kazakhstan, summer feeding is also organized on alpine and subalpine pastures until September - October. In semi-desert areas, after the grass stand burns out, the herds are transferred to the lower reaches, where the grass growing season is not yet completed.
The daily routine in July - August is as follows. At 5-6 o'clock in the evening the horses are watered and then sent to the place of night grazing, then in the morning at 8-9 o'clock the herd is watered again.
The grazing areas are changed daily, returning to the previously grazed area no earlier than a week. In the middle and end of summer, herds graze on grass and forb areas not suitable for haymaking, with close groundwater, usually deep hollows, near spring areas, etc. During this period, autumn precipitation promotes the growth of pasture vegetation, wormwood and some cereals begin to vegetate again, in addition, the number of blood-sucking insects decreases, and it is a favorable time for the autumn fattening of horses. This period lasts until the onset of stable cold weather and snowfall until mid-December. The best food for autumn fattening is black wormwood (maikara).
Areas of cereals, wormwood, and solyanka lands that are not used at other times of the year are allocated for winter pastures. All these areas are inspected in the fall, their food supply is determined, a route and use plan is drawn up so that the last section is closest to the places of early spring pastures at the beginning of the foaling of mares.
Winter pastures must meet the following requirements:
1) have sufficient area, yield and range of pasture grasses. Depending on the yield per mare with foal, from mid-December to mid-March, from 16 to 20 hectares of foaling area are required;
2) the yield of tebenivochny plots should be at least 3-3.5 c/ha of dry mass;
3) on winter pastures it is desirable to have natural or artificial lulls to shelter the herd during snowstorms and blizzards.
There is often ice on all winter pastures. In autumn, at the beginning of winter, when the snow cover is shallow and most of the above-ground part of the grass is not covered with snow, the rain that falls in the fall forms an ice crust on the plants. Eating such grass by pregnant mares leads to mass abortions. If there are nearby saltwort pastures, the herd is driven to them during icy conditions. Due to the presence on the soil and the plants themselves large quantity salts, an ice crust does not form there, and horses can be grazed on the solyankas until the end of the ice. Kokpekt pastures are especially valuable in this regard. When such masses are not available, other grazing methods are used. If it rained during a relatively warm time, and there is hope that the ice will melt as the day approaches, then the herd needs to be driven 500-600 meters in a dense mass and turned 180°, allowing the horses to graze. The animals, passing in a dense group, break the ice with their hooves and it crumbles.
If the ice covering the snow is very strong that the horses are not able to break through it, then it is necessary to drive the herds to safety feed reserves, or use snow removal equipment. The bulldozer moves in parallel tracks 50-100 m long, making turns so that the distance between the tracks, cleared of snow, is 5-6 meters. In 7 hours of work, the DT-75 tractor with a bulldozer attachment is capable of clearing an area for grazing horses of 950-1000 heads for two or more days.
In this case, the bulldozer blade must be lowered in such a way that it does not scrape off the grass, leaving a layer of snow on the pasture 5-6 cm thick. In the absence of a bulldozer, you can use a trailed or mounted square. In snowy, frosty winters, pasture areas in thickets of tea trees and shrubs should be used from the first half of winter (February-March), because subsequently they become inaccessible.
On frosty days and snowstorms, the place where the horses groomed you the day before is unsuitable for breeding, i.e. Tebenevka twice in one place is impossible, because The snow there becomes compacted and frozen, making it difficult for horses to break the snow crust with their hooves. Therefore, in winter, the herd moves almost all the time, using new pasture areas. At the same time, the winter route of the herd is adjusted in such a way that by the end of March it approaches the place of early spring pastures.
The best pastures are left for spring, the time of foaling, mating and feeding.
Formation of herds and schools
The entire stock of horses at a beef horse breeding farm is formed into separate herds, in which stallions keep schools of mares of 15-30 heads.
One-and-a-half to two-year-old fillies are kept in a separate herd to avoid early mating.
When forming new schools, sometimes it becomes necessary to transfer several mares from one producer to another, then in this case the schools cannot be kept close for a month or a month and a half. Observations show that within a day, two mares found themselves in the old school.
In herd horses, complex relationships exist between individuals. A mutual desire to unite into a group was noted, both on the part of the stallion and on the part of the mare. Within the school, affection also exists between the queens: after the stallion is removed from the school, the entire group of mares with young animals continues to stick together during grazing, and during rest, and during driving. These behavioral features of animals make the work of the herdsmen easier when servicing them. They are also convenient for breeders, since they ensure strict preservation of the selection. However, when adjusting the selection and transferring horses from one school to another, these connections, on the contrary, significantly complicate the necessary changes and require isolated maintenance of the schools, which means additional labor and money.
All planned veterinary work, including the formation of new schools, is carried out in a special base - split, the walls of which are lined with rubble stone (or from other local material). The base-split consists of a receiving compartment 1, a funnel - corridor 2, a splitting cage with a weighing unit 3, a distribution section 4 and a section for forming jambs 5 (Figure 13.1).
1 - main department (reception); 2 - corridor; 3 - split cell; 4 - distribution base; 5 - base sections for newly created jambs; 6 - gate
Figure 13.1 - Base with a split
The receiving department has a diameter of 30 - 50 m, depending on the number of horses in the herd.
The funnel, usually 8-10 meters wide, gradually narrows into the rift itself. The split is constructed from thick, well-dried wooden or tubular metal pillars with a diameter of 20-25 cm, they are buried to a depth of about 1.5 m, and for strength they are filled with concrete mortar. The split crossbars are made from round timber, sanded and smoothly hewn poles, or from metal pipes with a diameter of about 10 cm, or from metal rods with a diameter of at least 3 cm. The length of the split is 8-10 m, the height is 2.5 m. The split consists of two, three or more compartments, each 1.8-2 m long and 65-70 cm wide. Each compartment accommodates one horse, which are separated by transverse poles or hanging doors suspended on rollers.
For three-year-old mares, when forming them into schools, an energetic stallion of 5-6 years old, with well-developed schooling instincts, is selected. But it is best to distribute three-year-olds among already established schools to replace retired mares.
Simultaneously with the formation of the brood herd, a herd of two-year-old fillies, a fattening herd, and a herd of stallions for rearing are distinguished. Stud stallions are released into the herd for two-year-old fillies - at the rate of 20-30 fillies per stallion.
Each of the formed herds must be kept in splits for at least a day, and only after that released to pasture. Herd of stallions the first ones are better spend days grazing near the split, driving them into the reception area at night. Usually after a few days (about a week), the young animals get used to each other and they can be moved to pasture.
In the spring and summer, the best pastures and watering places are allocated to the brood herds. A herd of stallions and reserve stallions are placed in the most remote areas of pastures so that they are as far away from the herd of mares as possible.
The optimal size of the herds is determined based on local conditions: the nature of the pastures, the number of horses on the farm, the availability of watering places and personnel. In areas with flat terrain, it is advisable to form herds of 200-800 animals with offspring; in mountainous areas 100-150 heads with young animals. In Yakutia, where pastures predominate, scattered across forest clearings and taiga rivers, herds are not formed, but kept in schools, and young animals in small groups.
Exclusively important role When organizing mating and foaling in herd conditions, knowledge of the ethology (behavior) of stallions and mares plays a role. The main feature of stallions, which is of great practical importance, is the desire to isolate their school. The complex stallion-offspring relationship is also taken into account in practice. A sire who has been in the same school for several years in a row knows his offspring very well and, upon reaching puberty, expels the foals from the herd.
In addition, such stallions do not cover their daughters. In horse breeding practice, these behavioral characteristics of stallions have not been established, because stallions are kept isolated from their offspring.
The attachment of schooling stallions to certain areas of the territory is of great practical importance. Moreover, these areas are used by them for various purposes: rearing, grazing, shelter from bad weather. A kosyachnik never encroaches on territory occupied by another.
The maternal behavior of herd mares is of great practical importance. 30-40 days before foaling, the mare becomes calmer, avoids entering a dense group of horses, and her aggressiveness towards other horses approaching her sharply increases. A few hours before foaling, the mare retires and moves away from the school up to 1.5 km. 2-3 hours before foaling, the mare stops grazing, walks in circles, then lies down on a level place and foals.
Observations have shown that the highest percentage of foaling (76.2%) occurs from 24 to 6 hours, from 18 to 21 hours. evenings - 13.7%, and from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. - 10.1%.
The privacy of mares before foaling is based on innate reflexes. The meaning of this behavior is to remember the foal and record its smells. At this time, the foal similarly remembers the smells of its mother. The memorization process finally ends 7-10 days after foaling, the mare and foal unmistakably find each other. This is of great practical importance.
When organizing horse breeding farms, it is necessary to take into account the need of herd horses for pasture feed. According to M.T. Adilbekov, I.N. Nechaev and others, the requirement of an adult horse with a live weight of 380-420 kg. is: in winter - 20-22 kg. herbs; in spring - 40-49 kg; in summer - 19-20 kg; in autumn - 21-22 kg. per day. The total need of a mare with a foal for pasture feed in winter is 16 hectares with a yield of 5 c/ha and 65 percent vegetation use (December-May).
Cultural - herd method of horse breeding
This method was developed in stud farms Rostov region in the period 1928-1935 The use of this method played a big role in the work to improve the Don and Kabardian breeds, in the breeding of the Budenovskaya, Kustanai and Novo-Kyrgyz breeds.
The cultural herd method, while preserving the useful features of herd keeping horses, is more serious in matters of feeding and maintenance. This method involves feeding horses with hay (sometimes concentrated feed) during periods when horses do not satisfy their need for pasture feed. Keeping and feeding are carried out in lulls and sheds during snowstorms and severe frosts.
Foals are weaned from their mothers at 6-8 months of age. and transferred to barn-pasture maintenance. In favorable weather, the young animals are allowed to wander into the steppe to graze and are fed with hay. At night and in bad weather, weanlings are kept in bases. The diet includes 6-8 kg of good hay and 3-4 kg of concentrates (oats, bran, cake). The growth and development of young animals raised in cultural herd conditions, in contrast to young animals raised in herds, is more stable, without discontinuity. This stability is higher, the higher the level of adequate feeding and good living conditions.
Horse branding. There are two main methods of breeding young horses: hot and cold.
Animal branding allows you to conduct primary zootechnical records and breeding work.
Hot method- this is the application of red-hot numbers and brands on the horse’s skin. This method has its drawback: the quality of raw animal hides deteriorates significantly; in addition, the brands quickly cool down and heat up for a long time, as a result they are not always clearly applied, and sometimes the same animal undergoes this procedure for a number of years. Currently, horse breeding practices the “cold” method of branding, by cooling brands in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 °C.
Cold method has the advantage:
firstly, the leather is not damaged, which is important for the leather industry;
secondly, white hair grows on the skin at the site where the brand is applied. The brand is clearly visible at any time of the year;
thirdly, the brand is preserved for the entire life of the animal.
Branding is carried out in September - October, when the heat subsides and the mass flight insects
Techniques for organizing and carrying out cold tampering
To organize the branding of a herd of 500-700 heads, it is necessary to prepare the following equipment:
1) two wide-neck Dewar flasks with liquid nitrogen;
2) alcohol in 50 ml bottles - 10 bottles;
3) pieces of cotton wool in tampons;
4) surgical tweezers;
5) glass (metal) container 200 - 500 ml with a wide neck (for cotton swabs);
6) a safety razor with a set of blades (10 packs);
7) a brush or a small paint brush;
8) soap solution;
9) PTZ device - 4;
10) special metal cups for storing frozen sperm in a Dewar flask, or a homemade clip made of hard tin to place the brand, or you can simply use strong, thin, silk twine to lower the brand into a Dewar flask with nitrogen;
11) clock - alarm clock.
Horses in groups (1-2 schools) are separated from the main herd and driven into the receiving department of the splitting bases, passed through the splitting and the foals are separated from adult horses. Then several heads of young animals are fixed in a pile on the right side, and the hair on the shoulder or thigh is shaved, having previously been generously moistened with a soapy solution using a shaving brush or brush. After this, take a cotton swab moistened with alcohol with tweezers and wipe the shaved areas to degrease so that the mark of the brand is clear. A brand cooled in liquid nitrogen is applied to the prepared area and left for one minute. For stallions, a brand with an individual number and the last two digits of the year of birth is applied to the rear left thigh, for fillies on the front left shoulder (or vice versa), the brand of the individual number should be located higher than the brand of the year of birth.
Brand on different parts The body is placed so that in the herd it is easy to distinguish between animals of one sex or another.
After the breeding of the first batch of animals is completed, the queens are allowed in to establish the numbers of the mother mares, and only after that the foals are untied and released.
The Dewar vessel is not suitable for working with the PTZh-4 device; therefore, they carry out adaptive modernization. Special metal cups for storing frozen sperm in a Dewar vessel are very convenient for cooling brands in nitrogen, you just need to make small holes at the bottom and sides of the cups to drain liquid nitrogen. It is not difficult to make a homemade clip from hard tin 20-25 cm long along the width of the brand, where, as in a clip, the brands are “loaded” and lowered on a strong thin string through the neck of a Dewar flask into liquid nitrogen.
After cooling, the brand is removed, knocked out of the holder, transferred to the holder of the brand handle and used for its intended purpose.
If it is not possible to make a clip, then the brand number is simply tied with twine and lowered into a Dewar vessel, and several pieces can be used at once (inventory number and numbers of the year of birth). All other operations are carried out similarly.
2016-12-15 Igor Novitsky 
Horse breeding was once the most important area of domestic livestock farming. All industries were developed in Russia, from trotting horse breeding to commercial horse breeding. Due to objective and subjective reasons, over the last century horse breeding in Russia has transformed into one of the most inconspicuous and insignificant branches of agriculture with unclear prospects.
The state of Russian horse breeding
In pre-revolutionary times, Russia was one of the world leaders in the total number of horses. For example, it is known that by the beginning of the First World War, there were about 40 million heads of these animals in our country, which amounted to approximately a third of the world's population. In tsarist times, horse breeding was one of the most important branches of animal husbandry, since horses were used in the army, in transport, and as draft animals in agriculture and industry, as well as as a source of meat, milk and hides.
The situation began to change radically in the 1940s. The decline in the role of horse breeding and horses was caused by several reasons:
- Direct losses during World War II. During the fighting, as well as from hunger and other causes, at least 10 million animals died.
- Reducing the need for horses in the army. Although cavalry was actively used even during World War II, its former importance declined sharply. In the post-war years, the development of horse breeding was influenced by the disbandment of cavalry as a branch of the military and the replacement of draft horses with motorized tractors.
- Technical progress. Widespread mechanization of agriculture, transport and industry made horses unnecessary. They were replaced by tractors and cars.
- Focus on other farm animals and elimination of herd horse breeding. If in pre-revolutionary times horse meat could often be seen on the table of Russians, then with the advent of Soviet power and the introduction of a planned economy, cows and pigs became the main source of meat for sale, since they are more productive in this regard.
The result of all the changes that occurred in the 1930-50s was a sharp reduction in the number of horses in the USSR - to 15 million heads. But the process did not stop there; in subsequent decades, the number of horses continued to decline. Horse breeding and breeding gradually declined, and by the end of 2015 in the territory Russian Federation enterprises of all forms of ownership (including subsidiary farms of the population) numbered only 1 million 374 thousand horses. However, even this number of animals was enough for the Russian Federation to be among the top ten world leaders in terms of horse population.
Today, horses in Russia are bred mainly in those regions where peoples live who previously led a nomadic lifestyle, for whom horse breeding and sheep breeding have remained the main areas of animal husbandry. We are talking about the republics of Altai, Bashkiria, Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva, Altai Territory, as well as certain regions of the Volga region, the Urals and Western Siberia. Here horses are bred mainly for meat and milk.
Meat horse breeding
Horse meat and meat products from it today are practically not in demand among the Slavic population of Russia, but they are very popular among many other nationalities. This is where the territorial imbalance in the spread of commercial horse breeding in our country stems.
At the same time, neither natural-climatic nor economic factors particularly influence horse breeding in Russia. Horses can be bred just as well in areas where cattle are currently dominant, since both horses and cows generally feed on the same grass feed and have the same husbandry requirements. In turn, the cost of producing horse meat is even lower than beef. According to various sources, the cost of producing 1 kg of horse meat is 2-4 times lower than that of producing cattle meat.
Thus, the only significant reason for the small number of livestock in the Russian Federation (1.3 million horses versus 19 million cattle) is associated exclusively with the characteristics of the country’s food market. Simply put, meat breeds are not in demand in horse breeding, since the vast majority of Russians do not eat horse meat.
However, the last statement can be called controversial, since it is only true for fresh meat. If we talk about sausages, then the situation is somewhat different. Horse meat is often used in meat mixtures along with other types of meat used to make sausages. It’s just that ordinary consumers do not pay attention to this fact. But even here, beef horse breeding has certain problems. Firstly, meat processing plants are not very keen to advertise and focus on the composition of their products. Secondly, the sausage market is only a part of the overall meat market, and access to it is primarily provided by large livestock complexes capable of supplying large quantities of meat.
Dairy horse breeding
As with horse meat, there is significant demand for mare's milk only in some non-Slavic regions of the Russian Federation. IN big cities In the European part of the country (the main consumers of agricultural products), this product is practically not in demand, and therefore dairy horse breeds in the Russian horse breeding are concentrated outside the European part of the country.
Unlike cow's milk, mare's milk is rarely drunk in its natural form. Basically, it is processed into kumys. It has not only high nutritional value, but also certain medicinal properties. Natural kumiss is recommended even in the treatment of some serious diseases, in particular tuberculosis, diseases gastrointestinal tract and bones. By the way, outside the national autonomies, where kumis is a traditional product, the main demand for this product is formed by sanatorium and treatment institutions with an anti-tuberculosis profile.
Thus, dairy horse breeding has an even narrower consumer base than meat horse breeding.
Non-commercial and breeding horse breeding
When draft horses were rapidly replaced by cars and tractors in the first half to mid-twentieth century, the importance of sport horse breeding grew throughout the world. Thoroughbred horses began to be bred primarily for participation in various sports competitions.
Russian horse breeding in this regard lagged significantly behind the rest of the world. First, for ideological and then for economic reasons, many of the few breeding stud farms that remained from pre-revolutionary times were lost. Only some regions were able to maintain horse breeding farms. Only with the formation of a layer of very rich people in the country who could afford such a hobby as their own racehorse, the situation in horse breeding began to change for the better.
But horses can be used not only for racing. In Russia, such promising areas as equestrian tourism and horse hunting. And although so far these industries do not generate a very large demand for horses, in the future we can only expect an increase in the need for horses for these purposes.
Finally, there is such a thing as mounted police. This area of horse breeding can hardly be of interest due to its small share in the total population, but it cannot be ignored. Mounted police units are responsible for maintaining order in city parks and other public places. The largest regiment of mounted police operates in Moscow (about 240 horses). Other large cities also have similar units, but they are even smaller in number.
Horse breeding as a business
Since the horse breeding industries are represented by very different areas (commodity and sports), breeding meat breeds of horses will be very different from breeding pedigree horses.
If we talk about horse breeding farms specializing in the production of horse meat and mare's milk, then such a business is created approximately according to the same scheme as a regular cattle farm, only with its own specifics. In view of this, there is no point in dwelling in detail on commercial horse breeding. You can get a general idea about it by reading the corresponding article on cow breeding published on our website.
Breeding of racing horses should be considered in more detail. This kind of horse breeding is best developed in Moscow and the Moscow region. This is a rather complex and expensive business, which is most often started not so much for the sake of earning money, but as a hobby. Experienced horse breeders assure that sport horse breeding should not be considered as the main source of income, since it is a very complex and high-risk business.
Unless you are a big fan of horses and have in-depth knowledge of how to breed and care for horses, then we can immediately say that you definitely should not start a small business in this area. Private horse breeding is a business for passionate millionaires who are interested in horses not as a source of income, but as entertainment.
The costs of organizing horse breeding, even in the form of a small stud farm, will be very high. Taking into account the fact that a good purebred horse costs as much as a business-class car, in order to acquire starting stock you will have to spend more than one million rubles. And this is not to mention the construction of outbuildings, the purchase of land, equipment and other costs.
1. Breeding work in horse breeding
Breeding work in horse breeding pursues a number of goals. The main one should be considered the improvement of horse breeds in the direction of developing their currently most important qualities. Breeding work is also intended to produce, in isolated cases, top-class horses capable of becoming leaders in the breed or having enormous monetary value.
In horse breeding, as in other livestock industries, purebred breeding and crossbreeding are used. Certain breeds that are classified as purebreds (these are the purebred riding breed, the Arabian thoroughbred riding breed and the Akhal-Teke breed) can only be bred in complete purity, without the slightest influx of blood from other breeds. Other breeds must also be bred pure, but a slight influx of blood from related breeds is allowed here, generally at a level of no more than one-eighth. Such breeds in Russian horse breeding include the Russian trotting breed, breeds of Russian, Soviet and Vladimir heavy trucks. Third breeds, when bred, allow a significant influx of blood, as a rule, from more advanced breeds of horses. This is a group of mixed breeds. Purebred breeding in its first two variants consolidates the breed, consolidates its properties, and ensures the production of products with certain qualities. However, it cannot provide the necessary changes in the breed in a fairly short time.
Crossbreeding as a breeding method is used quite widely in horse breeding. The most applicable is introductory crossing, or infusion of blood. Its essence lies in the fact that the blood of another, more perfect one is added to any breed in order to partially improve a certain quality of it. Crossbreeds with 1/4 and 1/8 blood are already bred “inside”. The infusion of blood from purebred riding, partly Arabian and relatively rarely Akhal-Teke breeds is regularly carried out when working with Budenovsky, Trakehner, Russian riding and other half-bred breeds. Such crossings are planned.
The method of industrial crossing is more rarely used in horse breeding. The products of such crossing do not receive further breeding use, but can produce horses for sport and can also be used in productive horse breeding. Industrial crossing, when combining horses of sufficiently distant breeds, can cause the phenomenon of heterosis.
The most complex type of crossing is reproductive, which is used when breeding new breeds. In such a crossing, two breeds can be used, and then it is called simple reproductive, as well as three breeds or more, then this crossing is called complex reproductive. The Russian Trotting and Budenovskaya breeds of horses were created in our country by the method of simple reproductive crossing. Complex reproductive crossbreeding was used to create the Terek and Russian riding breeds. The scheme of such crossings can be different.
If it is necessary to radically change the breed or create it on the basis of some existing breed or a group of horses from a population of a breed that has not previously been bred in the country or region, absorption crossbreeding is used. At the same time, over the course of several generations, only stallions of the improving breed are used, bringing the blood quality of the resulting crossbreeds to 7/8 and higher.
Another type of crossing is important for mass, worker-use horse breeding. This is a variable cross. In this crossbreeding, stallions of two or three breeds are alternately mated, which makes it possible to obtain crosses of a more universal type.
With any breeding method, one of the decisive factors successful work is the correct selection of animals into the production composition. Breeding selection is the most difficult work in horse breeding. Selection should always provide an optimal balance of traits and qualities of the mated animals and provide for the likelihood of improving these properties.
2. Biological features of horse reproduction
Puberty in mares occurs at 14-18 months, in stallions 2-3 months later. Mares can be used for reproduction from the age of 3 years, and stallions from the age of 4 years. Horses remain fertile for up to 20-22 years, and some stallions for up to 30 years.
The reproductive cycle of a mare is a complex of physiological and morphological processes occurring in the reproductive system and throughout the female’s entire body during the period from one ovulation to the next. The duration of a normal sexual cycle can range from 10 to 25 days, usually 20-24 days.
Pregnancy of mares (pregnancy) lasts an average of 332-336 days. Foals are usually gestated 2-3 days longer than fillies.
It is not recommended to breed fillies at the first sign of heat at the age of 1.5 years, as this retards the growth and development of the horse’s body and leads to a decrease in its breeding and usable qualities. In addition, the offspring obtained from an underdeveloped uterus will be inferior in comparison with the offspring from a full-aged mare.
Early use of stallions in mating also leads to growth retardation and general underdevelopment, as a result of which its quality decreases.
To avoid early mating, foals and fillies are kept separately after weaning.
The duration of breeding of stallions and mares depends on a number of factors. The more valuable a stallion or mare is for its breeding qualities, the more offspring it is necessary to obtain from them. At good conditions feeding, maintenance, care and moderate work, especially valuable stallions are used for breeding purposes until they are 20 years of age or more. Until approximately the same age, valuable brood mares can be used. It has been established that the offspring obtained from too old parents is inferior in quality to the offspring obtained from full-aged parents (aged 4-14 years). But the practice of domestic horse breeding indicates that individual stud stallions are used for up to 24-30 years or more: in the Oryol trotting breed, these are Vysplychivy, Kvadrat, Otboy, Uspekh; in Russian trotting - Low Hanover, Bill Hanover, etc. There are also mares whose breeding use ended at the age of over 25 years. Mares of the Oryol trotting breed Arfa, Dubrava, and Firebird were used until 26 years of age, and mares Battle, Citizen, Kadetka and Babushka Victoria were used until 28 years of age. All of them gave birth to foals until the end of their lives. Longer use of high-quality offspring of stallions and mares is economically justified.
In mares, heat lasts 5-7 days with fluctuations from 1-2 to 14-16 days, that is, much longer than in other farm animals (in sows 48 hours, in cows and sheep - 18-20 hours). This circumstance creates certain difficulties when choosing the optimal timing of insemination of mares. One of the reasons for the frequent celibacy of mares is the mismatch between the timing of their insemination and ovulation.
The presence of heat in mares is determined by its behavior: frequent urination, redness of the mucous membranes of the genital organs, blinking in a loop, leakage of fluid from the vagina. But in most cases, the presence of hunting cannot be determined visually. Therefore, in horse breeding, when conducting manual mating, special test stallions are used to identify this.
Mating begins on the second day of heat; intervals between matings of two days are based on the fact that sperm in the mare’s genital tract retain mobility and fertilizing ability for up to 48 hours. This makes it possible to use stud stallions more economically, saving them from unnecessary cages.
A foaled mare comes into heat on the 6th-10th with fluctuations from 5 to 15 days. The first heat of suckling mares is usually shortened, but strong, and mating during this period is most effective. That is, a significant part of mares are capable of fertilization 5-10 days after foaling, which is unusual for any type of farm animal.
The manifestation of sexual cyclicity in mares is highly dependent on environmental conditions. The conditions of feeding, care, maintenance and use of mares at work have a great influence on general condition body and its sexual function. Feeding has a particularly strong influence. With insufficient and especially inadequate feeding, when the mare does not receive the necessary nutrients and vitamins, their sexual function is impaired - the development of follicles is slow, the heat drags on for a long time and is sluggish.
Excessive strenuous use of mares at work can also cause sexual dysfunction.
One of the objective indicators of a stallion’s reproductive ability is the quantity and quality of his sperm. The volume of a stallion's ejaculate, depending on its live weight, can range from 40 to 200 ml. Sperm contains up to 98% water and 2% dry matter, represented mainly by proteins. The number of sperm in 1 ml of ejaculate can range from 200 to 400 million. During the breeding season, its concentration may decrease by half. Normally, stallion sperm is milky in color with a grayish tint and odorless. Stallions that produce pink, red or greenish semen with a putrid odor are not allowed to mate.
3. Mating methods
In horse breeding there is the concept of breeding season. This is due, on the one hand, physiological characteristics horses, and on the other hand, the requirements for the optimal construction of the entire technological cycle of reproduction and rearing of young animals. In horses, the seasonality of reproduction is quite clearly expressed. The processes are most active in the last month of winter and spring.
In the industry, there are two main types of horse keeping: stable-pasture and herd. For the first, hand or cook mating is used, as well as artificial insemination; for the second, shoal mating in herds is used. The breeding season for stable-pasture breeding usually lasts from February 15 to mid-July. Mating of early foaled mares can begin as early as February 1st. When keeping herds, mating begins with the appearance of the first grass and ends no later than August. The process of manual mating is the most complex in its organization and technology.
For manual mating, it is necessary to have a special breeding arena on the farm - a room measuring at least 12 by 12 m and a height of at least 3 m. The soil in the arena should be soft, preferably a thick layer of sawdust.
Before the start of the breeding season, the horses of the production team must be prepared for it. Preparation of mares does not require special events. You just need to maintain their normal fatness and use mainly roughage and succulent feed in feeding, limiting the supply of concentrates. The preparation of stud stallions is a much more complex process. At least 2 months before the start of mating, the stallion must be transferred to increased feeding rates. He should now be given 2.5 food units. for every 100 kg of live weight. In addition to traditional food, the diet should include carrots, grass meal, or sprouted oats. Old stallions or sires with high load It is necessary to include animal feed in the diet - 4-5 chicken eggs per day or cow's milk skim. It is good to add yellow millet. The volume of concentrated feed during this period should be about 60% of the diet. At the same time, it is necessary for stallions to have sufficient exercise in the form of walks in the paddocks, work under saddle or in harness and on the line. Before mating, the stallion must be unshackled and its hooves thoroughly cleaned.
During this period, twice, a month and two weeks before the start of mating, it is necessary to check the stallions' sperm. Under a microscope, the following is determined: sperm concentration, which should not be lower than 200 million in 1 ml. At least 60% of sperm should have motility (forward movement). Pathological forms cannot be more than 30%. Survivability in a glucose-yolk medium at a temperature of 3-5 o C is desirable for at least 100 hours.
The normal load on a stud stallion during manual mating with the condition of performing rectal diagnostics of follicle development in mares can reach 60 heads per season. This value depends on many factors: the age and health of the stallion, its potency, etc. It is advisable to give the stallion no more than 6 cages per week. During a breeding mating, no more than 40 mares can be planned per stallion.
Manual mating is carried out in a breeding arena. A mare with a tail bandaged to the length of the rib and tied to the neck with a weak twine (preferably a gauze bandage), with the external genitalia washed, is held by the groom by the reins of the halter. Strict mares are recommended to wear a breeding harness. The stud stallion is bred by two grooms in a special breeding bridle on long leashes, at least 6 meters long. The cage usually lasts 1-2 minutes. After mounting, it is advisable to lead the stallion and mare on the reins for a few minutes.
In addition to manual mating, when keeping horses in stables, cooking mating can also be used. At the same time, every day a group of mares, assigned to match a specific stallion, and this stallion are released into a stable stall (pen) during the bright part of the day. The stallion himself identifies the mares in heat and covers them. Such mating is less labor-intensive, but can be dangerous for the stallion, as some aggressive mares can injure him. This mating is tiring for stallions, and it should be prescribed far from the best manufacturers. Such mating turns out to be more effective for mares that do not come into heat for a long time, which are stimulated by communication with the stallion.
In horse breeding with stable-pasture keeping of horses, the method can also be used artificial insemination. It is divided into insemination with fresh diluted sperm and frozen sperm. Insemination with freshly diluted sperm can be successfully practiced in large horse breeding farms and at breeding stations. This method allows one ejaculate to inseminate 3-4 mares within a day or even more. It eliminates the possibility of transmission and spread of certain infectious diseases. In European countries this method is extremely widespread. In our country, such insemination is still used very limitedly.
The use of frozen sperm makes it possible to inseminate mares located at a great distance from the stallion, inseminate mares many years after sperm collection, and obtain foals from mares with reproductive disorders. But this method is quite complicated and not very effective. In practice, no more than half of mares inseminated with frozen and thawed semen become pregnant.
Mowing mating is common in herd horse breeding. During the breeding campaign, herds of mares are divided into schools of 20-25 heads. A stallion is released into each school, who finds mares in heat and covers them. The stallion is kept in a school during the entire breeding period. The fertility rate of mares is 95-100%.
4. Maintenance of a pregnant mare and foaling
Preserving the pregnancy of mares must be taken care of from the earliest stages of foaling and foaling. Mares are more at risk of abortion than females of other farm animals. The greatest danger in this regard today is infectious diseases. The most dangerous among them should be considered rhinopneumonia, with strong outbreaks of which up to half of the mares and more can abort. Influenza, paratyphoid fever and other diseases also cause serious damage to pregnancy. To prevent these diseases and loss of pregnancy, all horses in the production team must receive preventive vaccinations in a timely manner, as well as ensure optimal conditions maintenance and feeding.
Among the causes of other types of abortions, the most dangerous are feed poisoning from poor-quality feed. Often the cause of abortion is watering mares cold water. Water for drinking in winter should have a temperature of at least eight degrees. Grazing of pregnant mares on cold dew and especially on frost-covered grass is also dangerous. Possible reason abortions may result in bruises, falls and other mechanical impacts on mares in recent months foaling. Operation of mares in various types worker and sports use in recent months it has also been dangerous.
Preparing for foaling requires first of all cleaning the stall and laying a thick layer of clean straw in it. Feeding the mare at the first signs of approaching labor should be reduced; concentrates can be completely eliminated or given in the form of liquid porridge or mash. A few days before foaling, the mare's udder increases in size, takes on a rounded shape, the nipples swell, become elastic and point to the sides. Just before foaling, drops of colostrum appear at the ends of the teats. The mare's loop swells and relaxes, and there may be a slight leakage from it. At the beginning of foaling, the mare becomes restless, shifts from foot to foot, and looks around at her belly. Then the mare lies down and begins to push, as a result of which the fetal bladder ruptures and amniotic fluid comes out. Then labor begins. First, the foal's front legs appear, then the head and body. Usually foaling lasts 15-20 minutes. In most cases, the mare does not need assistance. The born foal, as a rule, frees itself from the membranes. There is practically no retention of the placenta in mares. The umbilical cord most often breaks on its own. If it does not break, then it should be cut, but not immediately after the foal emerges, but after about ten minutes, when all the blood from the placenta has entered the foal’s body.
Almost immediately after the foal is born, the mare begins to lick it. This is very important point. Firstly, it dries the baby and thereby protects him from colds, and secondly, it massages and thereby improves his blood circulation. The amniotic fluid licked from the foal by the mare has positive impact on the involution of the uterus and contribute to an earlier onset of heat.
Within the first hour of independent life, a born foal stands on its legs and must suckle its mother. The mare's colostrum contains, along with a large amount of nutrients, immune proteins that ensure the little foal's resistance to a number of diseases. If the foal cannot find the udder or the young mare is reluctant to allow the calf to suckle, it is necessary to help him get it to suckle. It is very important to ensure that the newborn’s original feces are separated. If constipated, the foal may develop peritonitis and die. In such a situation, you should give a warm enema with a decoction of flaxseed.
5. Raising foals
By age, foals are divided into sucklings (from birth to weaning), weanlings (after weaning and until the end of the current year), yearlings, 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds without taking into account the date of birth (January and June foals will be in the same age group).
In the first month of life, foals satisfy their nutritional needs only from mother's milk. The average daily gain in their live weight during this period is 1.2-1.7 kg or more, and milk consumption is up to 10 kg per 1 kg of gain. Healthy foals suckle their mother very often (up to 50 times a day). Due to high growth energy and a gradual decrease in mothers' milk production, starting from the second month, suckling foals are fed oats and wheat bran. The amount of feeding is determined depending on the mother's milk production, breeding value, breed and individual qualities of the foal. For the foal to develop properly, it is necessary to accustom it to eating plant foods as early as possible. To do this, from the end of the first month of life, in a separate feeder, he is given rolled oats mixed with bran and mineral supplements. Then crushed corn, barley, and cake are introduced. The foal learns to eat grass and hay while being with its mother.
A suckling mare is usually pregnant as a result of the current year's mating. From the 6-7th month of her pregnancy, intensive growth of the fetus begins, and milk secretion sharply decreases. Therefore, in horse stables, foals are weaned from their mothers at 6-7 months of age. Foals of purebred riding and trotting breeds are marked with small tattoo pliers on inner surface lower lip 1-2 months before weaning. Before weaning, it is necessary to clarify the description of the color and markings of foals.
Weaned foals of purebred riding and trotting breeds are mainly kept in stalls of 1-2 heads. Immediately after weaning, some foals become very anxious, throw themselves at the door, partitions, and often injure themselves. Therefore, in the first 2-3 days they are closely monitored. Weanlings of half-blooded, draft and local breeds are often kept in groups of 10-20 animals. Foals in such groups should be equalized in age and development so that the strongest and most pugnacious ones do not offend the weaker ones, especially during feeding. After weaning, foals and fillies are kept separately.
For young animals, active exercise is necessary (for breeding animals, a walk of 6-8 km), which relieves them of obesity, helps strengthen their constitution, better development of cardiovascular and respiratory systems, muscle and bone tissue, strengthening the tendon-ligamentous apparatus of the limbs. Regardless of how weanlings are kept, they are brushed daily and certain areas of the body are washed.
Starting from the suckling period, it is necessary to cultivate a good disposition in the foal by treating him kindly, giving him good care, and accustoming him to handling, for which it is useful to give him pieces of sugar, bread, carrots and other delicacies from his hands. Angry, restive horses are the result of rough, inept handling of a foal during its upbringing, as well as during riding and dressage.
Security questions
- Breeding work in horse breeding
- Biological features of horse reproduction
- Mating methods
- Maintenance of a pregnant mare and foaling
- Raising foals
