Holstein (horse)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses of the word, see Holstein
The Holstein is a breed of horse originating in the Schleswig-Holstein region of northern Germany. It is thought to be the oldest of warmblood breeds, tracing back to the 13th century. There are relatively few Holsteins, however, they still excel in a variety of disciplines.
[edit] Breed Characteristics
The Holsteiners usually are a bay, dark bay, or black (although other colors are found) and are 16-17 hands high. They have powerful hindquarters, making them great jumpers, with strong bone, excellent movement (needed for dressage), and sloping shoulders, making them great gallopers. They generally have strong limbs, a long, crested neck, and strong feet. They have a broad back and a well set tail.
[edit] History
The Schleswig-Holstein marshlands of Germany have been breeding horses since 1225. It was famous for its war horses in the middle ages, and then, in the 16th to 18th century bred popular coach horses after refining their horses with Spanish, Neapolitan, and Barbary blood. In the 19th century, the demand for a faster coach horse and for a lighter cavalry horse encouraged the breeders to lighten the breed with British Stallions. The most influential were three Yorkshire Coach Horses, all of which traced back to the Thoroughbred stallion Eclipse. They made the Holstein into a high-stepping carriage horse, as well as a horse strong enough for agricultural work.
In th 1960s, the Holstein was refined yet again, using Thoroughbreds. Most were imported from Britain and Ireland, and they were used to make the beed more athletic. The most influential were Cottage Son, Ladykiller, and Marlon. Ramzes, a Polish Anglo-Arabian, and Cor de la Bruyere, a Selle Francais, were also very influential. The result was a success, producing a group of stallions very important to modern sport horse breeding: Landgraf by Ladykiller, and Ramiro, a grandson of Ramzes out of a Cottage Son mare.
Holstein blood has been infused in many other sport horse beeds, including Dutch, Danish, and British Warmbloods. Today, the Holstein is high in demand, especially in dressage and showjumping.
