Kabardian breed hogs limelight

The presence of five Kabardian breed of horses from Kazakhstan has created a lot of interest in the endurance fraternity here during the European Open Championship.

The breed, which has been grazing the mountains in the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea to the south of Russia, first made an impact during the Dubai World Endurance Championship in January 2005.

Nikolay Melbard on Bleshk finished ninth and though the horse was later eliminated, it was more due to Melbard's over-enthusiasm in trying to finish further up as he recorded over 35kmph in the last loop.

But the horse's performance was noted and soon the endurance fraternity began to dig details of this well-built breed.

Albert Mishkhozhev, who boasts of the best stable of mares and stallions of Kabardian horses, said he was looking forward to the offspring after cross-breeding with Purebred Arabian mares and stallions.

Speaking to Gulf News yesterday Albert said the Kabardian breed had proved itself as an endurance horse for well over 400 years.

"Do not judge them by their performance here. We had to drive nearly 5,000 kms to reach Compiegne. We left on August 16 and reached here on August 23. They did take the journey well but you can expect a better display in the World Junior Championships in Bahrain in December," he said.

Albert is hugely confident that the cross-breeding will bring out better results. "The Kabardian breed has very strong hooves and legs as they graze on the mountains, which are rich with calcium content.

"Some of the Kabardian stallions have covered Arabian mares and Barb mares. The offspring from the Arabian mares have the beauty and temperament of a Purebred Arabian and with the extra strength in the legs you can get better endurance horses hopefully," Albert said.

"We also have the Persik [one of the most successful sires of endurance horses] bloodline in Kazakhstan and we will be covering Kabardian mares with this line of Arabian stallions, so that we can expect the best of both," he added.

Albert owns around 200 mares and 62 stallions, all Kabardian, the breed which lives in the open mountains even during the harsh winters.