The Sokolsky, or Sokolka, is a horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

 breed that originated in Poland. It is used for heavy draft and farm work, and are a tough breed with great stamina.

History

The Sokolsky was developed in the 1900s, and has been heavily influenced by Belgian

Belgian (horse)

The Belgian Draft horse or Belgian, also known as Belgian Heavy Horse, Brabançon, or Brabant, is a draft horse breed from the Brabant region of modern Belgium, where it is called the or Flemish: . It is one of the strongest of the heavy breeds...

, Ardennes

Ardennes (horse)

The Ardennes or Ardennais is one of the oldest breeds of draft horse, and originates from the Ardennes area in Belgium, Luxembourg and France. They are heavy-boned with thick legs and are used for draft work. The Ardennes is found in many colors, although black horses are very rare and are not...

, Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, Dole Gudbrandsdal

Dole Gudbrandsdal

The Dole Gudbrandsdal, Dølahest or Dole is a draft- and harness-type horse from Norway. The Dole Trotter is alternately considered a subtype of the Dole Gudbrandsdal and a separate breed; it is also considered a part of the Coldblood trotter type...

 and Anglo-Norman stock. The result of this breeding is a heavy draft horse that is not excessively large, with stamina, toughness,and good gaits.

Breed Characteristics

The Sokolsky breed usually stands between 15 and 16 hands high, and is chestnut

Chestnut (coat)

Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...

 or bay. They have a slightly heavy head with a straight profile, set on a long, broad, and muscular neck. Their shoulders are well-formed and sloping, resulting in their good gaits. They tend to have deep chests, pronounced withers, a short, straight back, and a muscular, sloping croup. Their legs are strong and well-formed.