Holsteiner Horse

The Holsteiner is a breed that comes from Holstein in Germany. It dates from the 1300s and will be a cross between the original Marsklandshastarna and Spanish horses.

During the 1800s the Holsteinerhastar was crossed with the English Thoroughbreds and Yorkshire Coach stallions, with the result that the Holstein horse was developed with a good gallop and an excellent temperament. Today the Holstein is one of the world’s most prominent horse breeds.

Like most other German Warmblood horses the Holstein breed had its origins in ancient German domestic horses developed from the 1300s and used in farms and for transport in Germany. The development of the Holstein also began in the mid-1300s when the breed was created by crossing the domestic farm breeds with imported Spanish horses and oriental Arabian pure blood horses.

Even old Italian breeds of horses may have been part of the development of the Holstein. From the 1500s and even into the 1700s the Holsteiner was a sought after animal in Europe fi as a driving and farm horse for its versatility and speed.

The Holstein was also included in the development of several other German Warmblood horses including the famous Hanoverian. In 1680 the dukes of Holstein stud in Esserom, the farmers began to use a stallion called Mignon.

He was a grey and cream horse and with the stallion as the foundation sire he was used to produce the famous creamy white horses that would be included in the London’s Royal Mews until 1920.

The Holstein petitioner was by now appreciated as a strong, sustained cart horse with elegant movements. But Holsteinerhastarna was hardly any elegant horses and not particularly fast.

During the 1800s breeders would develop a petitioner further with an import of the fast English thoroughbred. The Holstein Arab outwardly curving nose profile began to disappear and the horses had a nobler straight nose profile.

The movements became refined toward galloping horses and all movements improved, and wagon horses from England were introduced so that the animal developed a calmer temperament. The Holstein petitioner was bred to be a better looking yet powerful horse that was used as a wagon horse, riding horse and also in the Army as breeding horses for cavalry re mounts.

When the breed standard was introduced it was placed at the stud were these horses were mainly bred Traventhalstuteriet founded by the Prussians in Schleswig-Holstein in 1867.
This stud is no longer without a breeding centre, and in recent years is in Elmshorn where the responsibility of the breed’s development resides. After the Second World War, however, new horse types were required for the various disciplines and growing interest in equestrian show jumping and dressage.

Farmers were now concentrating on improving the Holstein petitioner further. More English thoroughbred was added to the Holstein over the years than at any other Warmblood horse. The Holstein petitioner became more and more of an athletic all-around horse than a carriage horse.

Attributes
The Holstein petitioner is an athletic horse who is excellent in both dressage and show jumping. The Holstein has a withers of about 160-175 cm, and the usual he colours are grey, brown, black and brown and more rarely, black and chestnut.

It is a fairly broad and deep horse with long, muscular and shapely neck, with legs that are strong with hefty hooves. The head is long with straight or a slightly convex nose profile, and large nostrils. His eyes are lively and expressive, while the ears are long and variable.

The modern Holsteins is very reminiscent of the earlier versions of the breed but the breed has developed a nobler look and more regular, rhythmic gaits. The high action which was desired in the carriage horses is still seen in some of the modern horses today.

The Holstein petitioner is a clever, very brave and easy to use horse and is calm and has a stable temperament, a characteristic of the German farmers have been very keen to keep.

Uses
The Holstein Arens has its own brand, which is sometimes burnt or frozen onto the horses. The Holstein is an athletic all around horse that originally served as a all round farm and carriage horse, where during the early 1900s became the Holsteinerhastarna known for his excellent jumping ability and since then has been bred with the thoroughbred breed to become one of the worlds best jumping horses.

The Holstein breed has a long track record in riding sports from being the breed that has achieved world champion status in dressage, with a Holstein horse called Garnet.

One of the world’s largest jumping horses was a Holstein named Meteor and ridden by Fritz Thiedemann. Fritz Thiedemann was very fond of the Holstein petitioner and used no other breed of horse during his active career.