A troika is a traditional Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n harness driving combination, using three 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...

s abreast, usually pulling a sleigh. It differs from most other three-horse combinations in that the horses are harnessed abreast. The middle horse is usually harnessed in a horse collar

Horse collar

A horse collar is a part of a horse harness device used to distribute load around a horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plow. The collar often supports and pads a pair of curved metal or wood pieces, called hames, to which the traces of the harness are attached...

 and shaft bow

Shaft bow

A shaft bow is an element of horse harness that is attached to the front of the shafts of a horse-drawn vehicle and joins them by arching high above the neck of the horse. Use of the shaft bow is widespread in the area east of the Baltic Sea . A shaft bow is also used in traditional harness in...

; the side horses are usually in breastcollar

Breastplate (tack)

A breastplate is a piece of riding equipment used on horses. Its purpose is to keep the saddle or harness from sliding back....

 harness. The troika is traditionally driven so that the middle horse trot

Trot (horse gait)

The trot is a two-beat diagonal gait of the horse, where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time. There is a moment of suspension between each beat....

s and the side horses canter

Canter

The canter is a controlled, three-beat gait performed by a horse. It is a natural gait possessed by all horses, faster than most horses' trot but slower than the gallop, and is used by all riders. The speed of the canter varies between 16-27 km/h , depending on the length of the stride of the horse...

; the right-hand horse will be on the right lead

Lead (leg)

Lead refers to which set of legs, left or right, leads or advances forward to a greater extent when a quadruped animal is cantering, galloping, or leaping. The feet on the leading side touch the ground forward of its partner. On the "left lead", the animal's left legs lead...

 and the left-hand horse on the left lead. The troika is often claimed to be the world's only harness combination with different gait

Horse gait

Horse gaits are the various ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.-Classification:...

s of the horses.

The term "troika" is sometimes used to refer to any three-horse team harnessed abreast, regardless of harness style or what horse-drawn vehicle

Horse-drawn vehicle

A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load...

 is used.

At full speed a troika can reach 45–50 km/h (28–31.1 mph), which was a very high speed on land for vehicles in the 17th-19th centuries, making the troika closely associated with the fast ride.

The troika was developed in Russia during the 17th century, first being used for speedy delivering of mail and then having become common by the late 18th century. It was used for travelling in stages where teams of tired horses could be exchanged for fresh animals to transport loads over long distances. Prior to this time, only groups of three or more people could use three horses, and a single person or two people had the right to only drive a single horse or a pair.

During the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

, the upper classes would use a troika driven by a livery

Livery

A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...

-clad postilion

Postilion

A postilion rider was the driver of a horse-drawn coach or post chaise, mounted on one of the drawing horses...

. Decorated troikas were popular in major religious celebrations and weddings.

The troika was a part of both urban and rural culture. The horses usually driven in a troika were generally plain and rather small; for example the Vyatka horse was not taller than . However, the wealthy preferred to use the elegant Orlov Trotter

Orlov Trotter

The Orlov Trotter is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot, noted for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse. The breed was developed in Russia in the late 18th century by Count Alexei Orlov at his Khrenovskoy Stud farm near the town of Bobrov...

.

The first troika competitions were held in the Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 hippodrome in 1840. The troika was also exhibited at the 1911 Festival of Empire

Festival of Empire

The Festival of Empire or Festival of the Empire was held at The Crystal Palace in London in 1911, to celebrate the coronation of King George V...

in London.