Vladimirsky Heavy Truck

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 22:49

The Vladimir heavy draft is a heavy draft horse breed bred in the USSR. These horses played an important role in the restoration of the national economy of the USSR in the post-war years. In 1935, work began on the creation of the breed. A strong workhorse has always been needed in Russia. But such a need arose especially acute at the end of the 19th century, when heavy iron plows and harrows replaced the wooden plow and harrow. An ordinary peasant horse, though hardy, but weak in strength, could no longer cope with them, especially on the heavy loams of the so-called Vladimir opolye - the present Vladimir and Ivanovo regions.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the composition of the Gavrilovo-Posad state stables was replenished with stallions of the Clydesdale and Shire breeds, from which they obtained improved large crossbreeds of the heavy-draft type. Long-term breeding of high-blooded hybrids (mainly from Clydesdale stallions) around Gavrilovo-Posad, Yuryev-Polsky, Suzdal ended in 1946 with the official approval of a new breed - the Vladimir Heavy.

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The height in stallions is about 166 cm at the withers, in mares - 158-163 cm, chest girth 186, cannon girth 22.1. Stallions weight - 750-800 kg, mares - from 685 kg.

Exterior: Fairly large, dry, often with a convex profile reminiscent of the Clydesdale head profile; the neck is long and muscular, the withers are long, moderately pronounced; elongated body; not very deep chest, with rounded ribs; the back is not always straight; the croup is often deflated; dry, relatively high limbs; the hooves are large, firm and flat.

The Vladimir heavy truck has a gentle, balanced character and a pleasant temperament. They are energetic and agile horses. The breed is rather early maturing, young growth under normal conditions reaches a weight of 500 kg by 1.5 years. At 3 years old, horses enter the brood and for chores.

The suits are often bay, red-roan, red, less often gray.

Add to this a variety of shades of chestnut color - from golden to dark cherry, spectacular markings on the head and legs and profuse overgrowth of mane, tail and brushes. Neither give nor take - these horses got off the Vasnetsov paintings.

But the main value of the residents of Vladimir is their efficiency. Strong, enduring, agile, they are able to run 2 km at a trot with a wagon of 1.5 tons in 5 minutes. A step will cover the same distance, but with a load of 4.5 tons in 13-15 minutes. The stride of the Vladimir heavy-duty truck is unique - wide, with good reach, large grip. Vladimir heavy trucks were also widely used in the army.

These horses are unpretentious in keeping conditions. They are undemanding in attitude and care. The breed is fast-growing - by six months, foals can reach a weight of 200 kg.

They were widely used as improvers throughout Russia, up to Transbaikalia. Several years ago, the transition from Moscow to Vladivostok was successfully completed on two Vladimir heavy draft mares.

The Vladimir heavy trucks of the Gavrilovo-Posad stud farm have repeatedly been recognized as champions of the breed (stallion Kurgan, mare Krinitsa), became winners of annual competitions on horses of heavy-harness breeds (stallions Pevets, Kurgan, mares Korinka, Vengerka). In 1998, the mare Vengerka became the best among all heavy trucks in Russia in traction endurance tests, having overcome 420 meters with a load of 9 tons!

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During the creation and approval of the breed, no one doubted its necessity. In the postwar years, it was necessary to raise the national economy. It is no exaggeration to say that she, darling, became an indispensable assistant both in the field and on the farm, and at logging, construction sites, at first, she transported goods at factories and plants … But the rapidly developing scientific and technological progress began to supplant the horse.