Belarusian Harness Horse

The Belorusskaya was bred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, principally in the western part of what is now Belarus,^[6]: 226 which was for much of the twentieth century the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The aim was to create an agricultural draught horse adapted to local conditions, capable of working on sandy, swampy or woodland terrain.^[4]: 321 Local mares, many of them of Polesian type, were put to imported stallions. The majority of these were of the Norwegian Dølehest draught breed, but there was also some Ardennes and Brabant influence.^[5]: 443 By the 1980s the breeding programme was close to completion;^[4]: 273 two volumes of the stud-book had been issued, in which 616 mares and 135 stallions were recorded.^[4]: 321

In 1980 the total breed population was some 93000, of which almost 28000 were pure-bred.^[4]: 321

The breed was officially recognised in Belarus in 2000.^[6]: 226

The Belarus Harness Horse usually stands between 148 and 157 cm at the withers.^[5]: 443 The average height for mares is about 150 cm, and for stallions and geldings is about 3 cm more; average body weights are 495 kg and 540 kg respectively.^[2] The coat may be of any of the usual dark colours; striped dun and yellow also occur.^[5]: 443

The Belarus Harness Horse was initially bred for use in agriculture; it is also used to produce mare's milk and horsemeat.^{[5]: 443 [6]: 226} The milk yield is approximately 9 kg per day, but may exceed 2500 kg in a lactation of 180 days.^[5]: 443