TERSKY HORSE-BREEDING FARM No. 169

Foundation year - 1889. Totally ruined in the Civil War years, it was restored under a Government Decree of February 11, 1921 on establishment of the Tersky Horse-Breeding Farm issued on the initiative of S.M. Budyonnyi.

The farm was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1949 for development of the Tersky horse breed.

Personnel - 470.

Its history traces back to the 1880s when Count Stroganov and Prince Shcherbatov, travelling through the Northern Caucasus, came upon a small farmstead at the foot of Mount Zmeika and decided to build there a stud farm for breeding pure-bred Arab racers. There are over 250 horse breeds worlwide today but only "Arabs" are called horse aristocrats. The Arab blood breed, endowed with many valuable traits for selection, serves as a planned improver of many contemporary horse breeds, including the Trakenen, Donskaya, Budyonnovskaya, Kabardinskaya, Lakaiskaya and other breeds. The farm selectionists' strenuous efforts for over twenty years now have culminated in development of the Tersky breed, an Arabian horse good for cavalry, equestrian sport, and horseback hunting and tourism. A fine example of the breed is the snow-white stallion Symbol riding which Marshal G.K. Zhukov reviewed the Victory Parade in June, 1945.

The Tersky Horse-Breeding Farm takes part in numerous international auctions and stages its own auctions attended by horse connoisseurs and breeders from the USA, Poland, Italy and Australia. Prices on "Russian Arabs" range from several thousand to several million dollars.

The farm also pursues livestock breeding, including dairy farming, and cropping, thus providing a stable feed-and-fodder base for the animals.