Live Life Team
This is an extremely rare Asian sight hound breed, originating from the steppes of Russia.
It was developed from hunting dogs kept by various native tribes, in countries as far removed as Afghanistan and western HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstan” o “Kazakhstan”Kazakhstan. Thus, its true origins are uncertain. However, it has strong links to sight hound breeds found in Central Asia and Poland.
The first standards for the Hortaya were laid down in the 1950s, but these are unrecognised outside the Russian borders. There are fewer than 4000 dogs worldwide, and the majority of those are kept by remote huntsmen in the steppes, who have little interest in dog shows or maintaining stud books.
The Hortaya is a very variable breed, with many types and subtypes. The FCI refuses to issue an international standard, since every region has its own “ideal” strain, depending on the environment and the hunting quarry. To the layman, therefore, two dogs from different areas would look like two separate breeds.
In size the dog ranges from medium to very large. In all cases it is robust and muscular, but with an elongated, finely moulded bone structure. The coat is short and dense and can be almost any colour or combination of colours.
The main requirements of a good Hortaya are an extremely keen sense of sight, robustness and stamina over rough terrain, and the ability to survive on scraps. The dog has suffered centuries of being fed such poor quality food that a high protein diet would kill it.
