Sokolski horse

Sokolski

Photograph from 1975
Conservation status	FAO (2007): not listed[1]: 92
Country of origin	Poland
Distribution	Podlaskie Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship
Use	meat draught power traditional ceremony
Traits
Weight	Male: 800 kg[2] Female: 650 kg[2]
Height	Male: 160 cm[2] Female: 156 cm[2]
Equus ferus caballus

In harness, photograph from 1975

The Sokolski, Polish: Sokółski or Koń sokółski, is a Polish breed of draught horse. It is named for the town and county of Sokółka, near Białystok in north-eastern Poland, where it was first bred in the 1920s.[2] It derives from cross-breeding of local Polish mares of Polish Coldblood type with imported Trait Belge and Ardennais stock.[2][3]: 496  It is distributed mainly in the voivodeships of Lublin and Podlasie.[2] It is clean-legged; the usual coat colour is chestnut.[3]: 496 

The draft horses bred in Poland can be subdivided in a few horse types of which the most widespread and consolidated are Sztumski and Sokólski horses. Sokólski horses are shaped primarily due to the environment near Białystok in North-Eastern Poland, which is known for its harsh climates and poor soil quality. Sokólski were primarily small in size but adapted to their colder and poor living conditions they were soon characterized as draught horses. Sokólski were not able to be transported due to their body mass, so they later became suitable for various sledging and riding tasks.[4]

References

1. Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Accessed June 2017.
2. Breed data sheet: Sokólski/Poland. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2017.
3. Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
4. Gurgul, A., Jasielczuk, I., Semik-Gurgul, E., Pawlina-Tyszko, K., Szmatoła, T., Polak, G., & Bugno-Poniewierska, M. (2020). Genetic differentiation of the two types of Polish cold-blooded horses included in the National Conservation Program. Animals, 10(3), 542. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10030542

Further reading

• Jan Nozdryn-Płotnicki (1966). Koń sokólski (in Polish). Warszawa: Państwowe Wydaw. Rolnicze i Leśne.
• Tadeusz Gajdzis (2008). Koń sokólski: natura – chwała – legenda (in Polish). Białystok: Agencja Wydawniczo–Edytorska EkoPress. ISBN 9788392435174.