Second coin from the "Horses" series. Don horses were made famous by the Don Cossacks, who between 1812 and 1814 helped drive Napoleon?s troops from Russia. The first type of Don horse, called the "Old Don," evolved from semi-feral Russian steppe horses and Oriental horse breeds such as the Karabakh horse, Turkmenian, and Arabian that were brought to Russia as a product of Cossack raids. This horse was used as the foundation for the current Russian Don. During the early 19th century, the breed was improved through the addition of Orlov Trotter, Arabian, Thoroughbred, and Karabakh blood. During the second half of the 19th century, the Don breed was in high demand as cavalry horses.