Hanoverian Horse

The Hanoverian is a breed originating in Germany and is one of the best known and most widely distributed of the European Warmblood horses.

Breeding to produce a combined agricultural and cavalry horse began in the state stud in Celle, which was founded in 1735 in the current Lower Saxony in Germany. The breed performance is well documented including a variety of Olympic victories in both jumping and dressage. The breeding of Swedish Warmbloods with Hanoverian horses is frequently done.

The Hanoverian competition horse has made a reputation as an excellent sport horse with the credentials from both dressage and show jumping arenas. The
Hanoverian competition horse is said to have originated from the Celle Stud in Lower Saxony, but before that the horses were bred in Hanover and derived their name Hanoverian from here and were popular among royalty.

Elector Ernst August of Hanover in 1628 to 1691 had a coat of arms adorned with a white horse of Hanover and the famous “cream” horses were bred at the demand of Electress Sofia of the Palatinate at the Royal Residence of Herrenhaus.

The Hanoverian breed was also used as a wagon horse in the royal house in England dating back to George I’s time from 1727 and presented to George V’s government at the end of the 1800s.

In 1727 when George I became king of England, Germany began to import the future thoroughbred horse to refine the rather ordinary breeds in that country. The foundations blood lines of the Celles Hanoverian stud were low, so a black colt from another German Warmblood horses, the Holstein was introduced.

The Holstein breed had an enormous impact on the Hanoverian breed and on the stud as a whole and continued for 30 years after the stallions had arrived at the stud. Additional thoroughbred blood lines were added in the breed development resulting in a hasttyp that exhibited with freer movement.

The new blood lines exhibited of such quality that the breed became an all round animal from a small horse racehorse mix to becoming good enough for both riding and driving, while it became so strong that it could handle more farm work.

All the horses in Celle data base are registered from the beginning, and their records first start and the end of 1700 resulting in very detailed pedigrees for all their horses.

During the Napoleonic Wars the stud was emptied stud of all breeding horses and the breed’s future seemed threatened when stud rebuilt in 1816. Then there were only 30 of the original 100 stallions at stud guided left. The stud once again imported the English thoroughbred horses to build up large horse populations again.

The stud also borrowed horses from the stud farm in Mecklenburg where many of the horses were evacuated during the war. By the mid 1800 most Hanoverian horses shared at least a thoroughbred ancestor which resulted in the animals being too light for farm work.

Farmers tried to breed a heavier version with the help of domestic heavier horses. When the First World War broke out, the Celle stud had 350 stallions. But contrary to the Napoleonic Wars this war generated an increased horse population thanks to Hanoverian breeds being used as draft horses for the artillery and 1924 there were over 500 horses at stud.

A new stud was built to keep all the horses, with the top 100 stallions moving across. This stud was only in use until 1961 and the number of stallions had varied widely, with the fewest during World War II when the animal no longer had a role in the army and instead were being slaughtered for food.

The Hanoverian breed also received a major setback when the breed showed significant differences in their appearances and quality where they were found, and another German Warmblood horse, the Trakehner, was taken to the Celle stud and were included in the breed.

During the 1960s a breed standard was introduced to create a uniform character and appearance. The increasing demand for equestrian horses of high quality helped Hanoverian breed to acquire a name outside Germany.

Today the breed is still popular in the riding world and the Celle stud has had over 8000 mares covered each year by stallions at stud and in various stallion depots.

Attributes
The stylized H: et which is the Hanoverian Arens own seal
Featured Hanoverian vary in type and shoulders, but the medium is between 160 and 175 centimetres, and horses are more stylish than its predecessors as a result of breeding with the English thoroughbred.

The Hanoverian breed is famous for its perfect movements and their talents in the equestrian world. Some horses have very high body strength a legacy from the time when the Hanoverian was mostly used as a wagon horse.

The Hanoverian Breed has its own brand often with his own seal, a stylized H with two horses’ heads at the top of the two long lateral lines.

The Hanoverian breed is also popular for its calm temperament, which is difficult to find in other Warmblood horses. The horses are also beautiful with a medium-sized and relatively long and well shaped neck and well-developed withers.

Typical of stallions in the race is neck with a slight bend.
The Hanoverian can weigh 500 to 600 kg and is a typical Warmblood horse. It has strong legs and broad, well-formed chest. The hooves are strong, tough and well formed, some of which improved significantly when this was the breed’s great weakness.

The weak hooves were bred out using selective breeding and difficult achievement tests for stud selection. The Hanoverian breed is well suited for dressage, show jumping and eventing.