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Organization: mbp IT GmbH at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1993 15:03:46 CET From: Dr. Lutz Massonne Newsgroups: rec.equestrian Subject: German Warmblood Breeds - Intro (1/14)

A Short Introduction to German Breeds

As this topic pops up from time to time, I have tried to write a summary of the German breeds and their characteristics. At first let me apologise for my attempts to translate German texts into English. Please feel free to contact me if parts are unclear, wrong or my wording is clumsy at my e-mail address LMASSONN@ESOC.BITNET or my X-400 address C=DE;A=DBP;P=ESA;O=ESOC;S=MASSONNE;G=LUTZ . I will try to improve this text(s) to make it some sort of FAQ and will be happy for any corrections or additions. The texts are translated from three (German) books and referenced as follows: (1): Pferde und Ponys by Georgie Henschel, 1986, Delphin Verlag, Muenchen, ISBN 3-7735-3109-5 (english original: horses and ponies, 1979, Grisewood&Dempsey Ltd.) (2): Rassepferde by Leni Fiedelmeier, 1987, Prisma Verlag, Guetersloh, ISBN 3-570-01841-5 (3): Das Pferd von A-Z: Rassen, Zucht, Haltung by Gerhard Kapitzke, 1989, BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Muenchen, ISBN 3-405-13275-4

The definition of Warmblood

Warmblood does not specify a certain blood temperature, but the average temper of light to medium heavy riding and cart horse breeds. These breeds originate in crosses of Thoroughbred horses with rural or draft horses or from mixtures of different warmblood breeds. After some time these crosses have stabilised their appearance into distinct breeds. As they originate from different lines with different purposes, the appearance of the warmblood breeds lies between the extremes Thoroughbred and draft horse. Thus, all breeds which are not definitely Thoroughbred, Draft or pony are classified as warmblood. However, this applies only in Germany. International practice defines crosses and mixtures as "part-bred" or "half-bred".

Breeding Regions

The crude ASCII picture below shall outline a map of Germany
and the respective breeding regions.
              .   .
              .   .
       North  Denmark     Baltic Sea
        Sea   !___!             __     East Prussia--->
              !    \           /  \        ......
........______!     \__________!   ______..         Ho=Holstein
Nether ! .  .  .. Ho   .           .     !          Ol=Oldenburg
lands  ! .Ol.    ..    .    Me    .      !          Me=Mecklenburg
       1 ....      ......        .       ! Poland   Han=Hannover
       !                 ........   Br    \         SAn=Sachsen-Anhalt
B  ____.......  Han     .     .            \        W=Westfalen
e  !  .       .         . SAn .         ....\       Rh=Rheinland
l  !   .  W   ..       .      .   ......     \      Br=Brandenburg
g  !Rh  .   ..  ...   ............   Sa     /       Th=Thueringen
i  !   .....       ...    Th   .     ______/        He=Hessen
u  !...    .   He    .......   _____/               Zw=Zweibruecken
m  !   Zw  .      ...       ...\                    Wu=Wuerttemberg
   !__     .........            \                   Sa=Sachsen
      !____.       .             \                  Bay=Bayern
           !  Wu   .     Bay      !
           !       .             / Tchechoslovakia
   France  !       .             !
           !_____________________!

           Switzerland      Austria

Stallion Testing:

According to German law, all stallions to be used for breeding of warmblood and Arabian horses have to undergo a test between the age of 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 years before they are allowed to breed. Tested is pulling power in front of the sled, gaits and strides in front of the trot cart, ability to canter and jump under the rider on the trail and on the racetrack, the overall physical ability and the character. Stallions of Thoroughbred and Trotter breeds are tested for speed and endurance. And just to add some recent historical perspective, I add one text I wrote some time ago on the topic of the East German breeds:

Breeds in the former German Democratic Republic:

The former East German state unified all different breeds to the "Edles Warmblut" (Noble Warmblood) breed, all bearing the brand of the former Prussian Neustadt stud (which is now the Brandenburg state stud). This breed (Edles Warmblut) contained the Brandenburger breed, the Mecklenburg breed, the Saxony and Thuringian breeds, they were centrally marketed and sold. Additionally, there was the "Schweres Warmblut" (Heavy Warmblood) breed which contained the carriage horses. These horses had all the Neustadt brand (An arrow witch a winding snake) and a letter E or S, designating the type (E=Edles; S=Schweres Warmblut) Now after the unification of Germany, the newly formed states (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Saxony, Thuringia) all have formed (or re-established) their state studs and will also sell and register the horses under different breed names. I think (but do not know for sure) that also new brands will be used, as the Neustadt brand will be used exclusively for Brandenburg.