A unique expedition to restore the Polesian horse breed took place in the Stolin district. The expedition was led by Elena Makeeva – Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of the National Coordination Centre for Access to Genetic Resources of the Institute of Genetics and Cytology at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
The expedition group also included Tamara Drakina – chief livestock breeder overseeing horse breeding at “Belplemzhivobyedinenie”, and the head of the institution for promoting principles of sustainable territorial development “Green Technologies Workshop” Natalia Shilina.
The Polesian horse breed is a population that has been formed over centuries in the territory of the Pripyat Polesie, among the vast swampy and forested lowlands along the flow of the Pripyat, Horyn, and Pina rivers. In professional terms, it is called the Polesian aboriginal horse population, or simply – the Polesian horse. A characteristic feature of our population is a phenomenal resistance to adverse environmental factors.
Thanks to this, the horse has survived in Polesie for centuries. Another unique feature of the Polesian horse is that it carries the genetic material of the forest tarpan, which was completely wiped off the face of the Earth as a result of human activity. The last herd in the wild was destroyed in 1879.