ORIGIN AND USE OF LEISURE HORSES BY THE ENTITIES OF AMATEUR HORSE BREEDING IN KHERSON AND KHERSON REGION

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to study the zootechnical parameters and features of using horses in the horse breeding organizations of Kherson, to identify the specific character and prospects of the development of leisure horse breeding, including amateur equestrian sports. The research on the growth and development indexes was conducted with the help of commonly used methods. The analysis of sports performance was conducted in accordance with the existing instruction on the valuation of pedigree horses. The intensity of using horses was determined by the horse-hours according to the generally accepted methods. All the results obtained were processed using the methods of mathematical statistics. According to the research, the average total number of the livestock in the horse breeding organizations was 15.4 heads. The most represented group is sports horses, which make up 34.9% of the total number. The next group is the working horses used to provide various services – 31.7% of the total number. The most common breeds in the region are the Ukrainian riding horse and the Western-European horse (23.8%), followed by the Shetland ponies – 19.0%. Most breeds are represented by 1 to 6 heads; the main sex-age groups of the horses of the equestrian organizations in the region are pedigree and sports horses, the total number of which was 36 heads or 57.1% of the livestock. The mare’s average age varied within the range of 6.8 ... .14.5 years. On average, the oldest mares were the thoroughbred riding and Budjonnivska breed horses (14.5 and 12.5 years respectively), the youngest were the Shetland ponies (6.8 years). The average sports performance rating was 4.91 points. The horses of the Ukrainian riding breed (5.13 points) had the highest estimation; the thoroughbred horses had the worst estimates (4.50 points). In spite of the fact that in the recent years the horse-breeding organizations of the region were mostly provided with the horses of the Western-European breeds, according to the indexes of sports performance (4.83) they are less demanded horses. The main type of services in the area of leisure horse breeding was rent, which occupied 41.7% of all the services provided. The Shetland ponies played a major role in providing this type of service (46.5%). The average load was 143.13 horse hours / head; the highest proportion (23.3%) had the horses of the Ukrainian riding breed, the Shetland ponies and the unimproved horses of the local breeding. Under the conditions of Kherson region, the entities of amateur horse breeding play a major role in the development of the industry. The scattering of the livestock in a different breed direction hinders the assessment of horses and pedigree work with them, but in general the creation of breeding reproducers of horses of the Ukrainian riding breed and the Shetland pony is promising for the region on the whole. The main directions of further improvement of the horse-breeding area of the region are strengthening the requirements for the measurements of the mares of the Ukrainian riding breed, paying more attention to the assessment of sports performance and increasing the intensity of using horses in the area of leisure horse breeding