Heilongjiang Horse

Heilongjiang Horse

　　【Germplasm Origin】 Heilongjiang Province, Shuangcheng, Keshan, and Baiquan Counties

　　【Major Production Area and Distribution】 The major production area is located along the Heilongjiang River basin in northern Heilongjiang Province, within the Songnen Plain. It is distributed across Shuangcheng, Keshan, and Baiquan counties in Heilongjiang Province.

　　【Breeding History】

　　The Heilongjiang Horse is a new breed developed through complex crossbreeding of multiple breeds based on the local horse stock. Starting in 1950, breeds such as the Large and Small Ardennes, Soviet Heavy Draft, Friesian, Orlov Trotter, Soviet Thoroughbred, Don, and Kabarda were introduced to improve the local horses. Due to the large hybridization area, the use of many improved breeds, and diverse hybridization methods, more than 60 hybrid combinations were created. The main method involved alternating crosses between light and heavy breeds with the local stock, followed by grade breeding with heavy breeds and alternating crosses; grade breeding with light breeds and alternating crosses was rarely used.

　　 In 1960, based on the hybrid improvement, and according to needs and possibilities, a breeding program was formulated, and planned reciprocal crossing was carried out.

　　 Self-breeding began in 1965. The offspring from reciprocal crosses retained the bloodlines of the local, light, and heavy breeds: the local horse's blood was generally preserved at 25%. The blood of the light and heavy breeds, depending on the crossbreeding process, was maintained at 25–50%. This combined the advantages of different breeds. To consolidate the strengths of superior stallions and maintain a rational breed structure, line breeding was initiated from the start of self-breeding. By the time the breed was formed, eight lines had been established.

　　 In 1975, the Heilongjiang Livestock and Poultry Breeding Committee organized an acceptance team for the Heilongjiang Horse breed. They evaluated 7,605 Heilongjiang Horses across 22 breeding sites in 10 representative units, achieving a qualification rate of 99.4%, confirming that the breed met the breeding target requirements and was officially recognized as a new breed.