The Tersk is a breed of horse originating in Russia from the 1920s. It was created to replace the almost-extinct Strelets Arabian breed. Of the Strelets Arabian breed only two stallions, both grey, and a few mares survived. To create the breed, these two Strelets stallions and the mares were sent to Russia to the state stud of Tersk in 1925 and bred with three Arabian stallions and some crossbreed mares – Arab-Don, Strelets-Kabardin and a few crossbred Hungarian Gidrans. The Strelets horses were not bred together as the breed was considered to be too inbred already. The breeding programme was widely regarded as a huge success and the product was the Tersk – a fast, bold and striking new breed.
The Tersk generally stands at around 15hh. The horses look very similar to Arabians and have inherited the Arabian’s light and elegant movement. The horses are quick learners and very intelligent. They are skilled all-rounders competing in dressage, show jumping and endurance racing.