"Kholstomer" (Russian: Холстомер|p=xəlstɐˈmʲer), also translated as "Strider", is a work by Leo Tolstoy that has been referred to as “one of the most striking stories in Russian literature”.[1] It was started in 1863 and left unfinished until 1886, when it was reworked and published as "Kholstomer: The Story of a Horse". Georgi Tovstonogov staged it in his theatre in 1975. The horse was played by Yevgeni Lebedev. This story prominently features the technique of defamiliarization by adopting the perspective of a horse to expose some of the irrationalities of human conventions.[2]
Strider's altruistic life is recounted parallel to that of his selfish and useless owner. At the end of the story Strider dies but his corpse gives birth to a new life - that of wolf cubs: