By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Film about Karabakh horses has been premiered in Russia.

The short film "Dace" is a story of a love of Latvian artist Dace Strauss for graceful Karabakh horses, Report informed.

The film was directed by Anar Omarov and Ava Ismailova and produced by Ilgar Samadov and Batyr Matakaev.

The filmmakers decided to present three heroes from different eras. One of these heroes was Yashar, who recalls the Karabakh horses before the war, and after a while, realizes that they are no longer in their homeland.

Though this is mostly a feature film, it is based on real events, when the main character regains inspiration, having visited an almost abandoned farm of Karabakh horses in Azerbaijan for the first time.

The film starred Azerbaijani and Russian actors and was shot both in Russia and Azerbaijan. 

Organizer Damiral Sultanzade noted the importance of holding such events since the Karabakh horse breed is now on the verge of extinction and is going through its difficult period.

The Karabakh horses on the screen, belong to the private horse breeder Yashar Guluzade. He has been breeding these horses for 22 years. Yashar was the one who first introduced Latvian artist Dace Strauss to the ancient breed of riding horses from Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Karabakh horses are mountain horses, so they are not very tall, 1.48-1.52 metres (up to 15 hands).

They are slim, with attractive faces and are kind and gentle by nature. Despite their delicate appearance, they are known for their stamina and have been very successful racers.

Their suppleness also made them the ideal mount for traditional games like Chovgan and Sur-papa.

Chovqan, a traditional horse-riding game played on Karabakh horses, is inscribed on UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Back in 1956, Queen Elizabeth II was presented with the Karabakh horse Zaman, who for the first time represented the ancient horse-breeding culture of Azerbaijan in Great Britain.

The Karabakh Horse is considered one of the rare species in the world and the oldest in Asia and the Caucasus.

This stunning horse breed has a small, well-defined head, a straight profile with a broad forehead, and large nostrils. The neck is set high, average in length, muscular and elegant.

The color of the Karabakh breed can be red, buckthorn, brown, bay, gray or golden-red, which is also called the "golden glow".

Karabakh breed horses were presented at the celebration of the anniversary of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.