The homeland of the Kustanai horse breed is Kazakhstan. It was bred in the Kustanai region, which has long been distinguished by its developed herd horse breeding. The breed was obtained by complex reproductive crossing of Kazakh mares with Kalmyk, Don, Streltsy, Orlov-Rostopchinsky, Anglo-Arab, as well as high-blooded and purebred riding stallions, in stable-pasture and cultural-herd conditions in the Kustanai and Maikul stud farms of Kazakhstan and at the Troitsky stud farm in the Chelyabinsk region. The Kustanai breed was officially approved in 1951.
Currently, Kustanai horses have an average height (about 160 cm), a dense physique and a strong constitution. Their head is small with a straight profile and wide forehead, the neck is straight, the withers are muscular and of medium size, the back is wide, strong, the loin is level, the croup is short and has a normal slope, the shoulder blade is long and obliquely set, rib cage deep, long ribs, dry and bony limbs with correct posture.
The color is mostly red and bay, rarely gray.
Kustanai horses are unpretentious and economical, adapted to herd keeping. They are distinguished by high performance, great endurance and agility.
There are three types of horses cultivated in the breed: basic, riding and steppe.
Stallions of the main type are used as improvers of the local Kazakh horse. Riding horses are widely used in equestrian sports. Representatives of the steppe type are used in meat herd horse breeding.
Kustanai horses are improved by purebred breeding, selecting them based on size, breed and performance. There are five lines in the breed: Zeus, Dictor, Reed, Burelom and Zaboya.
The best breeding stock is concentrated in the Kustanai and Krasnodon stud farms of the Kustanai region and in the Saryturgai stud farm in the Turgai region.
Horses of the Kustanai breed are the happy owners of a harmonious physique. They are quite tall and have a strong constitution. The Kustanai breed of horses is undemanding to living conditions and is very hardy in any work process.
The Turgai region is rich in good pastures, rivers and lakes with fresh water. There were many forest clearings in which horses could wait out a snowstorm or any other bad weather. Local residents have long bred horses here and have experience in horse breeding. However, the horses were not large, although they had a massive body, since mostly the food was only pasture, and also because of the low technique of breeding horses. The Kustanai breed of horses originated from them. Since there were snowfalls and frosts, many local horses died. An example can be given: 1896. At this time, there was only 8 kg of coarse feed per head. But it was impossible to graze horses during snowfall, as a result of which more than a million horses died from jute in 1880, then the disaster repeated itself, but the losses were much smaller.
Some animals were taken to other regions - approximately 9 thousand. They were transported to the Urals and Perm, Samara and Orenburg, the Volga region and Chelyabinsk, Kazan and Vyatka zemstvos. The Kostanay region is characterized by
The Kostanay region is characterized by the fact that the winters here are very long, the frosts are quite severe, and the winds are strong. The minimum precipitation level is 170 mm, the maximum is 300, it is very hot in the summer, but a cold wind can blow.
In the Kustanai stable there were all kinds of stallions, mostly riding ones, and mating was carried out only by hand. At first, as soon as the stable opened, there were less than 80 stallions, but later it became much more - about 300. Dodunkov, a horse breeder from Astrakhan, provided producers from his herds. Local mares and stud stallions gave birth to a small number of offspring at first, a maximum of 11 foals, but then permission was given to allocate stallions to be in schools. As a result, the number of foals increased slightly, but even if the year was excellent for grazing horses, more than 40 foals did not appear.
A nursery was created at the stable in 1898, where only Kazakh horses purchased in Turgai were kept, in the amount of 330 heads, of which there were 300 mares, and 30 stallions. The nursery had to improve the existing horses without using other breeds. This was strictly monitored; the Main Directorate of State Horse Breeding sent its inspectors to monitor the purity of the blood and the living conditions of the horses. When in 1902 one of these inspectors discovered Don half-breeds in the herds, he immediately ordered their immediate exclusion.
Young offspring
The nursery used a variety of methods to raise young horses and maintain the entire stock. For this purpose, Kustanai stallions were separated from mares and kept separately, while the locals did not do this. This was followed by separation according to the age of the horse. So, for example, 1-2 year olds grazed separately, and 5 year olds grazed in another place. At the same time, seven-month-old foals were separated from their mothers, placed in barns and kept there, the mares were not milked, they were considered ready for mating only at 4 years. Adult mares were grazed in the steppes year-round, and were given hay in winter.
The breeding herd was bred to graze only in good weather conditions. The rest, that is, young horses and sires, were kept separately, usually in barns. In addition to hay, concentrates and oats were given to young animals and stallions. In 1902 there were already more than 500 heads, of which 23 were stallions, and 306 mares. The circulars indicate that from October all horses were transferred to oats. The supply of hay was very large - 170 thousand poods, and if converted to modern system calculations, then 36 centners, per 1 horse annually. But this reserve could easily be extended for 2 years. There was also a sufficient amount of oats, almost 15 thousand poods, that is, 11 centners annually. At the same time, the queens were not given oats.
Due to good conditions By maintaining and feeding the local horses became larger and larger, their physique improved. Each foal was much larger than its ancestor, more harmonious, that is, generations changed in better side. In addition, the Kustanai breed of horses underwent selective selection. For this purpose, horses with suitable parameters were selected: height and correct body composition.
Versatility of the breed Options
The Kustanai breed of horses has certain parameters recorded in the state book (Volume No. 1).
So, for example, manufacturers were measured, while the measurements are average, they are indicated in centimeters:
- Chest circumference – 180 or more.
- Length (oblique) - 156.
- Height (measured to the withers) – 155.
- Pastern girth – 20.
These animals are successfully used both in harness and under saddle, in horse travel and in national equestrian games, as well as in races and a wide variety of types of equestrian sports. These are massive Kustanai horses on low legs, successfully combining certain features of Kazakh and Don breeds.
The heads of Kustanai horses are medium-sized, with humps, and set rather low, and they are very long. There are Adam's apple type necks. As for the withers, they are long and high. The lines of the backs of the animals are excellent, and their croup is often short and drooping, among other things. The chest is wide and deep, and the forequarters are very strong and dry.
Muscular development Brushes are not available. And well repulsed. The pasterns of these horses are of normal slope and have an average length. Their hooves are small, but very strong. The levers and muscles are very well developed. The color of the Kustanai horse breed is roan, black, gray, bay and red. This horse breed was always differentiated into three types at once - basic, riding and steppe.
The main type includes those horses that successfully manage to combine the properties and characteristics of both riding and steppe types. Kustanai horses were bred on special horse breeding farms of various state and collective farms in the steppe territories of Western Kazakhstan. The breeding core of the breed happened to be concentrated precisely in the Maikul and Kustanai stud farms. Actually, this horse breed itself was bred during the time period starting from 1887 to 1951.
Since the twenties, hard work began to develop a new breed at the Kustanai stud farm. And already from the thirties, horses of this breed were bred, taking into account two different types of breeding technologies. The first of them belonged to the stable-pasture species, which occurred in the process of manual mating and weaning of young animals, at the age of six to eight months.
But the second method was of a cultural herd nature, with year-round grazing and keeping in sheds during any bad weather, along with feeding with concentrates and hay, along with shoal mating. The very first of the named technology options was used at the Troitsky and Kostanay stud farm.
Voronaya and red color But the second option, in the Maikulsky plant, as well as on breeding farms. The formation of two intrabreed species was carried out at once. Such as steppe and riding. Livestock with greater blood at the time of purebred riding breed had a concentration in the riding form. But in the steppe, the Upper Don-Kazakh and other crosses, which were bred “inside”, became especially widespread.
Surprisingly, the fertility rates of Kustanai horse breeds on individual farms can reach as much as ninety percent. Despite the wide variety of technological modes of cultivation processes, Kustanai horses can often have a life expectancy that will exceed twenty years.
In the Kustanai breed there are three intra-breed species, six families and five lines. As many as three volumes of the Gosplemkniga were published. And the leading farms include the Saryturgai and Krasnodar stud farms. And also the Kostanay regional experimental station, which was previously a stud farm. Purebred breeding with limited corrective crossing with a purebred riding horse breed is considered very promising.
Breeding stallion Abstract Modern use
In some Kazakh cities, with the help of these breeds of horses, police officers carry out regular patrol service, and the townspeople no longer pay any attention to this, they are so used to it. The cavalrymen also purchased about 30 horses from local horse breeders. It is worth noting that a Kustanai breeding horse costs about $3,000 or more. At the same time, the regional budget allocated money for the acquisition. If previously the farms were not very large, and the owners bred simple and small horses, now the situation has changed radically. Local tribal forms are expanding, creating best conditions, and the breed has become larger and much more attractive in appearance.
To patrol areas in the suburbs, the police use the Kustanai breed. The Kustanai horse is quite large and can scare people who have gathered a crowd in the wrong place. However, this is done only as part of riot control to disperse the crowd.
When the races were held in 2013, it was the Kustanai people who became the winners. In addition, 2013 brought victory to the breed in running at distances of 80 and 120 km, where the Kustanai won the Kazakhstan championship. It is not for nothing that the Kustanai horse is considered the national pride of the Kazakh people. There are plans to cross the Kustanai horses with purebred horses of two other breeds: English and also Arabian.
It was bred in the period 1887-1951 on horse breeding farms in Western Kazakhstan. It was created on the basis of crossing the Kazakh steppe horse with Astrakhan, Don, half-blooded, Streltsy riding stallions.
The Kustanai breed has a harmonious physique, relatively large stature, a strong constitution, endurance at work and unpretentiousness to living conditions. They can be effectively used in harness and under saddle, in horse travel and games. It is a massive breed with low legs, including all the advantages of purebred Kazakh, riding and Don breeds. The animal's medium-sized head is located on long neck. The horse's withers are high and long, and the back line is straight with a short and drooping croup. Well developed muscles, small but strong hooves. The most common colors of the breed are red and bay.
The species is divided into three types: main, riding, steppe. The main type corresponds to horses, which include features of the riding and steppe types. The riding type has the characteristics characteristic of a purebred riding breed. Horses are demanding in terms of housing and feeding conditions. They are least adapted to the conditions of herd life compared to steppe horses. But if they are fed well, they are able to demonstrate high performance. The steppe type is characterized by increased massiveness with a pronounced presence of features of the Don and Kazakh breeds. Well adapted to herd keeping, they quickly become overgrown with fat. They are a dairy breed and are quite fertile. Fertility rates for individual farms sometimes reach 90%. The average life expectancy at times exceeds 20 years. The data are well adapted to the sharply continental climate.
They have stable defects, which include biting, periodic rocking from side to side, being in a state of restlessness, and self-harm of parts own body. The defect of biting is that the horse grabs the edge of the feeder with its teeth, swallowing air. After the development of this defect, the horse begins to swallow air without grasping anything with its teeth, provoking the appearance of air bite. To rid the animal of this vice, a belt is fixed on its throat, preventing the animal from swallowing movements. If the horse sways from side to side, to eliminate this defect it is necessary to increase physical activity. To relieve the animal from anxiety, it should be used intensively in work.
The history of the Kustanai horse breed began in 1889. The Kostanay region has been a leader for many years herd horse breeding Kazakhstan. It was here that the Kustanai breed of horses was bred. Local Kazakh horses were then kept in herds. They were remarkably adapted to the conditions of year-round grazing. However, they were distinguished by their short stature and the presence of unproductive movements in them.
Farm breeds began to be used in order to improve the quality of the local horse stock. This would make it possible to obtain a high-quality and cheap army horse. It was with the aim of achieving similar results that the decision was made to organize state stables: Orenburg, Kustanai and Turgai. The state stables were rich in stallions that represented purebred horse, Don, Streltsy, Kalmyk and other breeds.
At the same time, low efficiency was inherent in the absorption crossing of horse sires belonging to factory breeds with local mares. The harsh conditions that characterize herd keeping were difficult for high-blooded crossbreeds to withstand. Later, it was decided to create a breeding nursery on the territory of the state stable, with the aim of improving the local Kazakh horses, taking advantage of breeding, the basis of which would be transformations within one breed.
Young horses of any age were provided with basic barn housing throughout the winter, including feeding from oats and hay. An army combat horse had to meet a certain number of requirements, which the animals still failed to meet, despite the improvement in their quality.
Leap forward in the twentieth century
At the beginning of the twentieth century, crossing Streltsy and Don stallions with Kazakh mares was common in nurseries. The sires that characterize the purebred riding breed were suitable for mating with the resulting crossbreeds. The feeding and maintenance of the breed was also given a higher level. TO good results cited samples of interbreeding within a nursery, which was not effective in conditions corresponding to nomadic horse breeding, which were primitive. Strong legs, a massive body and good movements have become the main differences between three-breed crosses.
In the twenties of the same century, the state stable and nursery were transformed into the format of the Kustanai stud farm, where platform work was carried out aimed at breeding horses representing a new breed. Reproductive crossing had a major role, which included breeding work. Smooth racing served for testing and training young animals. 
The end of the thirties was marked by the removal of the Maikulay stud farm from the Kustanay stud farm. It also paid increased attention to selection work aimed at developing a new breed. Twenty years later, Kazakhstan was already famous for its significant range, rich in good riding horses. Soon a new domestic breed was approved, which everyone now knows as the Kustanai.
The authors of the work include not one, but several names, a whole group of creators, including professors. Cultural herd maintenance now has a very beneficial effect on these horses. 
Breeding stallions are distinguished by the following average measurements in centimeters, which are recorded by the state book, within the first volume:
- Chest circumference – more than 180.
- Oblique length - more than 156.
- The height of the withers is more than 155.
- Pastern girth – about 20.
They are represented by the following main suits: and red.
These horses are divided by experts into two types:
- The steppe type is more characterized by the massiveness of horses; the Don and Kazakh breeds with their degrees of traits are clearly expressed in them.
- The riding type includes lightweight horses, reflecting the purebred riding breed.
Not only general view, but constitutional features also distinguish this pair of types.
Cavalry present
Some cities in Kazakhstan are already accustomed to police patrolling the streets on horseback. thoroughbred horses Kustanai breed. Approximately 30 horses are currently available to the cavalrymen of several cities. All animals were purchased from local breeding farm owners. Every horse is worth more than three thousand US dollars. They were purchased within the framework provided for by regional budget expenditures. Previously, owners of small farms bred horses locally. The horses were short and looked very simple.
Police mainly use horses to patrol suburban areas. If so big horse rushes at a crowd of people, it will look very scary, however, it can help to easily disperse them, if necessary, foreseen by the restoration of public order.
Horses of the Kustanai breed easily won the races in 2013. This year has been particularly successful for this breed. They also became two-time champions of Kazakhstan in running 80 km and 120 km. It is also planned to create national pride for Kazakhstan by crossing the Arabian and English with the Kustanai breed.
The Kustanai breed of horses comes from Kazakhstan. Its history began at the end of the 19th century, when the need for army combat horses arose. The blood of the Don, Streltsy and purebred riding breeds flows in the veins of these animals. Today, Kustanai horses are used by the police to patrol city streets and show good results in sports competitions.
Origin and development of the breed
Local Kazakh horses were distinguished by their endurance and were well adapted to the climate of the Turgai region, where winters are quite harsh and summers are very hot. In this area, a cold wind constantly blows, and the humidity is at high level. Kazakh horses easily tolerated such conditions, but in some respects they did not meet the requirements for combat horses. In this regard, it was decided to improve the breed.
In 1887, 2 state stables were opened - Turgai and Kustanay, and 3 years later - Orenburg. These stud farms purchased stud stallions belonging to the following breeds:
- Kalmyk;
- Don;
- thoroughbred horse;
- Streltsy.
Crossing Kazakh mares with factory horses did not give the expected results. The resulting crossbred descendants turned out to be unadapted to the local climate. Then, in 1898, a breeding nursery was organized, where local Kazakh horses began to be bred in purity, selecting the best individuals for further breeding work. From childhood, foals were accustomed to herd keeping.
The best mares were crossed with stallions of the Streltsy and Don breed lines, and their descendants were infused with the blood of thoroughbred riding horses. The crossbreeds obtained in this way met the stated requirements - they had a massive body and strong limbs, and were distinguished by productive movements.
In 1920, the breeding nursery was transformed into the Kustanai stud farm, where selection work continued. The breed was registered in 1951.
Description of the Kustanai horse
The following characteristics and measurements have been determined for this breed:
- height from 1.55 to 1.6 m;
- the oblique length of the body must exceed 1.56 m;
- metacarpus in girth – 20 cm;
- chest circumference – at least 1.8 m.
Attention! In addition to the main one, there are 2 more types of Kustanai horses - steppe and riding. The first one has a massive build. The genes of these horses are dominated by the characteristics of their Don ancestors. Representatives of the second type are lighter and faster; they have to a greater extent adopted the genetic characteristics of their purebred English ancestors.
External features:
- dry build;
- small, regular-shaped head with a straight profile;
- large dark eyes;
- dry neck of medium length;
- well defined forearms;
- limbs are sinewy, strong;
- deep chest;
- croup oval, compact, muscular;
- The predominant colors in the breed are bay, red, roan, black.
Modern use
The main breeding centers for Kustanai horses today are the stud farm in Krasnodar and the village of Sarytorgai, which is located in the Atyrau region of Kazakhstan. The stud book consists of 3 volumes. It records intrabreed types of horses, and also contains detailed information about 6 families and 5 ancestral lines.
Today these horses are used by the police of Kazakhstan. Law enforcement officers patrol the busy streets of cities, riding Kustanai horses, because they have proven themselves to be hardy and fast animals. During the races organized in 2013, representatives of this breed became winners.
Horses of the Kustanai breed line are the national pride of Kazakhstan. These are hardy, strong, unpretentious and obedient animals, adapted to the difficult local climate. Scientists plan to inject blood into the breed in the near future Arabian horses to improve it.
