Perst

Many words have been said about Perst. He was born at the First horse Army breeding farm. His dam was Stadia, a Don mare and his sire - Argon, an Arab stallion. At the age of three he was brought to Saint Petersburg to be sold.

Perst has always been a very expensive horse; he was brought from the First Horse Army breeding farm Export department. He had an excellent exterior and has always been looked upon as a high-priced subject of sale that had to be always ready to be sold.

They did not feed him, either due to ignorance, poverty or just wishing to break his spirit. However they protected him from any injuries and scratches that could lower his price. A protocol veterinary examination of Perst when he just arrived at our place revealed a bad case on thrush in his feet, extreme emaciation, leg edema, cystitis, horrible helminthiasis etc. During the next half of the year while living with us, he gained weight and underwent a course of medical treatment. Vets visited him almost daily.

The photos that I posted at the Photo Gallery show clearly what kind of character this horse has.
Only within my memory Perst bucked off one famous circus rider. He was a friend of Alexander and was allowed to ride Perst. And when Alexander offered another famous three-day event master to ride Perst just at a walk, the master answered ‘No way, I have two children!’ Then he crushed against the wall of the manege a world-famous French master.

While Alexander worked him using bits there was no success, everything even got worse. Once he refused to use the bits Perst has changed, cheered up and began to demonstrate some wonders of dressage.

Alexander’s work with him without bits, halters and mostly without saddle is illustrated in the book Horse Encyclopaedia, in his film and in the Photo Gallery.