- Russian Trotter - |
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 The Russian Trotter was developed in Russia to create a horse with greater trotting speeds than those demonstrated by the older Russian trotting breed, the Orlov Trotter. In the years between 1890 and 1914, 156 American Standardbred stallions and 220 mares were imported to Russia. The American Standardbred was the best and fastest in its field, so it was decided to crossbreed it with the Russian Orlov Trotter, Early crosses produced a fast, but small animal of lesser quality. Further selective breeding produced a larger trotting horse of a better quality. The best of the early progeny interbred using further infusions of Orlov and Standardbred. By 1950, the breed characteristics had become fixed the the Russian Trotter gained official recognition. There are, however, still periodic infusions of both pure Orlov and Standardbred blood to maintain the breed's qualities. Although the Russian Trotter is a faster animal, it still lacks the quality and refinement of the Orlov, and does have some conformational defects. The Russians have imposed certain breed standards on the Trotter to improve the overall standard of the horse: a height limit of not less that 15.3 hh for mares and 16 hh for stallions, a girth measurement of approximately 6 ft. 1 in.; and a bone measurement below the knee of 7 3/4 inches. The Russian Trotter has a good temperament and is quiet but energetic, and easy to train. In appearance, it has a plain but well-set head, a long and muscular neck, a wide and deep chest, long, sloping, muscular shoulders, and a long, straight back. They have strong legs with clearly defined tendons. They do frequently have a defect of the limbs whereby they are slightly knock-kneed and often sickle-hocked, causing the feet to move outwards in a semicircular motion, known as dishing. Although technically a defect, this does allow them to find their pace more easily when lengthening the stride, and therefore can be an advantage when racing. They are also rather too light in bone, and have very upright and long pasterns. Their coat is usually bay in color, but can be black, gray, or chestnut, and they stand at between 15.3 and 16 hh.
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