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The Orlov Trotter The Orlov Trotter

A robust and typey carriage all-rounder.
A perfect candidate for driving sport.


The Orlov trotter is the oldest and most popular “stud” breed in Russia. Orlovs are not as fast as the Standardbred and French trotters, but are more robust, massive, endurable, sure-footed, strong, and tough. Their trotting action is more impressive. Orlovs are extremely valued in Russia as ameliorators of local breeds.

A troika of Orlovs
A troika of Orlovs
Possible uses

Orlov trotters are very popular in Russia and several other countries, especially Scandinavian, for harness racing. Orlovs make ideal troika horses. The tall and massive Orlovs are liked by Russian mounted police. Of course, many Orlovs and especially Orlov crosses are used by farmers as a light carriage horse.

Orlovs raced in Moscow
Orlovs raced in Moscow
Driving potential


Nowadays, more and more Orlovs are used in driving sport. Their swift, balanced trot, combined with their courage, endurance, powerful drive, and surefootedness make Orlovs ideal driving horses.

Conformation

The Orlov has the conformation of a typical light harness horse. It is taller and bulkier than the Standardbred, more robust and sturdy, better boned and muscled. The ideal Orlov combines height with a light, powerful build and an overall elegance of conformation based on good proportions throughout the skeletal frame. He has a clean, medium-sized and properly set head with a direct or slightly dished profile, often somewhat coarse. There is a distinct Arab flavor in the set of the eyes and the width of the forehead. The poll and mane are long and thick. The long, swan neck is set high on the shoulders.
The withers are long. The back, as befits a trotting horse, is inclined to be long and straight. The loins are wide and muscular. The croup is broad and powerful. The shoulder is of medium length or long, and well sloped. The legs are fine and set square, boney and clean with well defined joints and tendons. Some horses are sickle-hocked. The pasterns are shortish. The hoofs are correct and hard.

Average measurements of Orlov trotters

mm Stallions Mares
Height 160 160
Body length 164 163
Chest girth 181.5 184
Bone below the knee 20.3 20.1

Colors

The predominant color, derived largely from Arabian influence, is gray (46%); there are also blacks (28%), bays (20%), and chestnuts (5%).

Temperament disposition

The Orlov trotter is a versatile and willing worker. He has a quiet temperament.

Types

There are four types:
Large and massive. Horses of 160 cm and higher. They have a well-developed barrel, a long body and relatively short legs. They are fairly fleshy, some individuals have weaker tendons and ligaments. This type is slower than other types.

Medium-sized and massive Somewhat smaller animals, with a dryer constitution, well-bodied, with good tendons and ligaments.

Large and rangy. Horses with a dryer and stronger constitution, stronger and longer legs, and a smaller chest girth. They mature slower and have good distance qualities.

Average. The bulk of the breed.

History

Legend has it that an idea to produce superb Russian horses first occurred to the Orlov brothers, when they, favorites of Catherine the Second, were meeting her on a road when she was dashing from Tsarskoye Selo to St.Petersburg to head her coup de t’etat against her husband Peter III. But en route, of all the moments, her coach came to a grinding halt, because her fancy European horses couldn’t stand the pace. The officers rushed to a nearest bawdy tavern, borrowed a set of hardy but unattractive nags and harnessed them onto the imperial coach to haul Catherine to her destination. Catherine’s and the Orlov’s lives hung on a thread.

This unglamorous episode put one of the brothers, Alexey, in mind of producing some time in the future a Superb Horse. And so, when retired, Alexey Orlov got round to it, breeding in parallel a Superb Trotter and a Superb Mount (Orlov-Rostopchin). And both of his undertakings were a huge success. Orlov trotters were the first breed developed in Russia with method and perseverance.

Beginnings

In the latter half of the 18th century, in the era of Russo-Turkish wars, Orlov brought to Ostrov stud near Moscow a large number of Arabians, among them the silvery gray Smetanka, and the brown Sultan I, Arabian stallions of outstanding distinction. Both of them were used by Orlov during one season only and fell to leave two daughters and six sons, among them Polkan I out of a dun Danish mare that carried much Spanish blood.

Khrenovoye
Khrenovoye

Count Orlov was not happy with the climate of his Ostrov stud and was looking for a suitable place. At last he found such a place at Khrenovoye in the Voronezh region, south of Moscow. That black-soil steppe area was perfect for horse-breeding — vast open grass-lands, many springs with clear water, dry climate. What impressed Count Orlov was the fact that the place was favored by Tarpans, Russian wild horses. In 1778 he moved his stud to Khrenovoye to start the famous Khrenovoye stud.

Count Orlov with Bars I
Count Orlov with Bars I

Polkan I was bred to a substantial, free-moving gray Dutch mare to produce the grey Bars I, one of the founders of the breed. V. Shishkin, Count Orlov’s stud manager, described Bars I: “He was large and well-balanced, light and strong, and had a superb trotting action.”
Count Orlov was happy with Bars I and concentrated on consolidating his qualities in the progeny. He bred Bars I to mares of similar conformation. Among them were Arabian, Danish and Dutch mares as well as English half-breds and Arab/Mecklenburg crosses. Count Orlov carefully avoided in-breeding.

Lebed
Lebed

The horses were kept out in the steppe and well fed. This toughened them and made them strong and impervious to hardships. Rigorous selection and culling strengthened the desired qualities.
Count Orlov prohibited to sell stallions and mares in foal from his stud, since he wanted to maintain the monopoly of the then new breed. But later on Orlovs began to be bred by dozens of studs. Many Orlovs were exported.

Droshky.jpg (15271 bytes)

A Russian Drozhky, presented to Queen Victoria's husband,
Prince Albert. It is drawn by an Orlov wearing a typical Russian harness
that includes the arch, or douga.

Orlovs rained supreme on the track till the end of the 19th century, when Standardbreds and later French trotters made their appearance. There was a crisis. Many breeders began to bring Orlov mares to Standardbred stallions. The resulting cross, which came to be known as the Russian trotter, was faster all right, but he was not as useful and impressive as the Orlov in a practical carriage in town, even less so in a troika in the steppe.

Soviet period

In the Revolution, the Civil war and World War II many Orlovs were lost, and so Soviet breeders had to work hard not only to restore but to improve the breed. To begin with, all the Orlov studs were reorganized. In 1931 a Horsebreeding Trust was organized, and regular work began with all the breeds, first of all with the Orlovs. In 1937-38 all the Orlov studs were inspected. A further stock judgment was performed in 1947 to show a drastic improvement in the size and other quality of the breed.

Present time

Now the breed is in a crisis. The number of Orlovs is declining, and so does the number of trotter tracks. The producers of Orlov trotters have to learn hot to run their studs in a market economy. Some Orlovs continue to be exported, mostly for driving.

Racing

Orlovs began to be raced in the early days of the breed. At first the trotters were raced over 1 furlong several times. Later Orlovs began to be raced at 3 verstas, or 3200 m, (1 versta was about 1 kilometer) again with two heats, and to get a prize a horse had to win both heats. If nobody won both heats, a further heat over 2-3 verstas was ruled.

In the 1870s in Moscow for six years in a row a 30-versta race was held. Orlovs used to cover that distance in 1 hour 8-20 min. Later on this race was discontinued, among other things because breeders tended to enter only second-rate horses. In 1834 a Trotting Society was established in Moscow, and regular races began. In winter trotter and troika races on the ice of the Moskva-River in Moscow and the Neva in St.Petersburg were quite popular.

Now Orlovs are raced on 000 tracks in Russia.

Racing records

1836 — 3 verstas — 5 min 45 secs

1867 — 3 verstas — 5 min 08 secs

1890 — 3 verstas — 4 min 54 secs

1894 — 3 verstas — 4 min 46 secs

1900 — 3 verstas — 4 min 36 secs

1909 — 3 verstas — 4 min 32 secs

1910 — 3 verstas — 4 min 25 secs

1934 — 3 verstas — 4 min 20 secs

Present record — 1 mile — 1 min 57.2 secs

Stud book

An Orlov Stud Book is issued by the Russian Institute of Horse breeding.

Troika, the ultimate Russian horse resource centre All the information and photographs for this section were kindly provided by Troika, the ultimate Russian horse resource online. For further information on Russian horses and horsemanship please click here
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