Oldenburg Warmblood - The Small Town Horse with the Big Time Success

Of all the horses that were registered in 1987 with the German Equestrian Federation, approximately 8 percent were Oldenburg horses but that 8 percent represents one of the top lines in Germany. The percentage is small because the Oldenburg Warmblood is bred in a small area near the modern region of Lower Saxony surrounding the city of Oldenburg and few horses are available. This breeding area is historically confined to approximately 5,400 square kilometers in the center of the Hanoverian region. However, even though it represents the smallest breeding area in Germany, the Oldenburg horse is nevertheless one of the most important.

The early Oldenburg horses were developed as carriage horses and were well-known for consistency in conformation, great power, and coal black color. They were also famed for their gentle character and extreme willingness to work under saddle, in front of a carriage or in the fields. But breeders wanted a bit more from this horse, and so they combined the best of the best bloodlines from many elegant breeds, with the result being the production of a magnificent all-purpose saddle horse. Today, due to natural athletic abilities, the Oldenburg Warmblood is used for show-jumping, dressage, and three-day-event as well as occasional driving.

Unlike many other Warmblood breeds, the modern Oldenburg horse is the result of utilizing the best of all European bloodstock; and starting with Graf Johann XVI von Oldenburg (1573-1603), nearly every successive ruler has added at least one additional breed of horse to the Oldenburg Horse pedigree which was originally based on the German Friesian Warmblood horse. Graf Johann XVI von Oldenburg started the breeding farms in the Oldenburg region for the purpose of producing war horses. They were given as gifts to important rulers and war heroes. He used Turkish, Neapolitan, Andalusian, and elegant Danish stallions to improve his stable of Friesian horses, which were described as being large and strong.

When Graf Anton Gunther von Oldenburg (1603-1667) came into power, he became even more famous than his predecessor and traveled extensively throughout Europe. He brought back many elegant stallions from Naples, Spain, Poland, England, Tartary, and Barbary, but the breeds of these stallions are not on record. Unlike Graf Johann XVI, Graf Anton Gunther permitted commoners to use his stallions for breeding, and soon the 17th Century Oldenburg Warmbloods were in great demand throughout Europe. They served as elegant riding horses and tall, attractive carriage horses. King Leopold I, of the Holy Roman Empire, rode a black Oldenburg stallion through Vienna on his wedding day. His wife followed in a splendid carriage drawn by eight white Oldenburg horses. Graf Anton Gunther himself was famous for traditional dressage riding, most notably on his famous Oldenburg stallion, Kranich.

Along with the additions to the bloodlines from the Oldenburg rulers, the modern Oldenburg horses also owe some of their refinement to the introduction of the English Thoroughbred, during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The German-bred Hanoverian King, George I of England (1714-1727), together with his German successors to the British throne, took an interest in the horses that were bred in their country of origin and sent a large number of Thoroughbreds to Oldenburg to improve the local stock.

During the year 1820, a law was enacted that stated that only government-approved stallions could be used in a breeding program, and all stallions were forbidden. The first of the stallion testings was held that year, and as part of the performance tests, they were to pull a heavy sledge at the walk; trot before a light carriage; and work at least 1,000 meters under saddle. In current performance tests, the stallion demonstrates his endurance, speed, jumping ability, general courage, manner of going and rideability. A horse that may be handsome enough to be initially approved for breeding but that does not pass the performance test can not receive final breeding stock status. Therefore, those stallions who do qualify are truly the finest representatives of the breed.

The year 1861 brought about the founding of the Oldenburg studbook; and the requirement of hip and neck branding with a "Crowned O" for the identification of approved, registered horses. The foundation of two horse breeding societies by the Horse Breeding Act of April 9, 1897 was another major milestone. These two societies merged in 1923 to form today's Verband der Züchter des Oldenburger Pferdes e.V (literally: Society of the Breeders of Oldenburg Horses or Oldenburger Horse Breeders Society). By 1922, the Oldenburg registry contained 3,250 stallions and 34,000 mares.

By the 1930s, the aim of the Oldenburg breeder was to produce an all-purpose saddle horse. In 1950, the French Anglo-Norman stallion, Condor, (who was 62.5% Thoroughbred), was added to make Oldenburg horses even more elegant and refined and founded a new stallion line. This line produced a very consistent type of heavy, well-moving, mostly black in color, well-tempered Oldenburg mares. No other breeding area was able to achieve the success that Oldenburg reached with stallions of French origin; and the results of these cross-breedings were then combined with even more elegant and famous sport-horse-type stallions from France, along with Trakehners and Hanoverians.

Most of the breeding of Oldenburg horses today is in the hands of private individuals, but closely controlled by the Oldenburg Breeding Society. Private breeders are able to travel throughout Europe and the United Kingdom, while state-controlled breeding societies are limited by funding and other restrictions to their local stock. Many mare owners from the surrounding Hanoverian breeding area bring their horses to Oldenburg stallions despite the fact that breeding fees are often twice as much as those offered by government-owned Hanoverians.

Currently there are around 409 actively breeding stallions in the breeding area in 122 breeding stations with approximately 7,300 registered broodmares producing 4,100 foals per year, which makes Oldenburg one of the largest German Verbands.

As a result of using the finest bloodlines of France, England, Ireland, and Germany, the modern Oldenburg is slightly taller and extremely elegant in contrast to many other German Warmblood horses. But despite its size, the modern Oldenburg is a compact horse with relatively short legs; yet a long, strong neck inherited from its days as a carriage horse; and large hooves that are able to bear the weight of such a large animal. Oldenburg horses are accepted in a variety of colors, but usually black, brown or gray are seen. The Oldenburg has kind eyes that mirror the horse's calm tractable nature. With so many different bloodlines and breeds that make up the Oldenburg Warmblood, precise confirmation takes a backseat to overall performance quality.

The secret of the horses with the "Crowned O Brand" lies in knowing that in Oldenburg, quality is the only breed standard that counts.


About Crystal Eikanger

Crystal Eikanger is a freelance writer, web designer, video editor and voice talent working as Ei-Kan Productions on www.rentacoder.com as well as other freelance sites. www.HorseClicks.com is a popular website filled with classifieds of horses for sale, horse trailers, tack, and horse related properties.

The Foundation of All American Gaited Breeds - The Mountain Pleasure Horse

The Mountain Pleasure Horse is the gaited breed that existed in Kentucky over 160 years ago and from which breeders developed Tennessee Walking Horses, American Saddlebred Horses and Rocky Mountain Horses. Long before these other gaited breeds, the Mountain Pleasure Horses quietly existed and were being bred on the steep hillsides in Eastern Kentucky, where they were being selected for gait and disposition with an eye towards working in the fields and for riding. They were known as Mountain Horses or Kentucky Saddlers or Country Saddle horses and were the pride of the region for their hardiness, smooth gait and sweet, willing dispositions. But just as importantly, these rugged, reliable, smooth-gaited horses came to be the foundation of other breeds in the United States.

There are several breeds of Mountain Horses that have been developed in the Appalachians of Kentucky and sorting them out can get confusing when all the breed association sites say much of the same thing, but in different ways. For example, in writing this article, I came across this comment from the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association (MPHA) website: "Horses registered in the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association are often referred to as Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses. Several gaited breeds of horses are included in the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association's registry, the Mountain Pleasure Horse being one of them. Whereas, the Mountain Pleasure Horse and the Rocky Mountain Horse are "breeds" of horses, the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse normally refers to the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association registry. [...] many horses registered with the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association are also doubled registered with the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association." However, on the website of the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association (KMSHA), it states that "the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse and the Spotted Mountain Horse breeds, each with their own distinctive characteristics and genetic DNA markers, are recognized by the University of Kentucky, Equine Parentage Testing and Genetic Research Center as their own unique breed of Horse."

The Mountain Pleasure Horse breed existed 100 years before the existence of the Rocky Mountain Horse, even though neither registry existed until 1989. Blood typing research by the University of Kentucky has shown that the Mountain Pleasure Horse is the parent stock of all other American gaited horse breeds, including the Rocky Mountain Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse, and American Saddlebred. In 1994, Brereton C. Jones, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, recognized the Mountain Pleasure Horse to be the oldest gaited American breed of horse through a Commonwealth of Kentucky Proclamation based on this blood typing information.

There are 17 different genetic markers which, along with their variations, total 125 specific items that indicate EXACTLY the type of horse that the blood sample came from and the parents it had. A chart has been developed by Dr. E. Gus Cothran, geneticist in charge of blood typing - parentage verification at the University of Kentucky's Pathology Department, that clearly shows the linkage between all the gaited horse breeds and the full chart traces all the way back to the Przewalski horse. Additional information, generated by worldwide testing, has outdated this particular chart for some breeds, but the Caspian is shown to be the ancestor to all modern horses, with the exception of the Przewalski.

Sam Tuttle tapped into the Mountain Horse Heritage by crossing native Mountain Pleasure Horse stock with Tobe, a stallion carrying an unusual chocolate color, and his descendants eventually spawned the Rocky Mountain Horse Association breed registry, and the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse.

But the key difference between the Mountain Horse registries is the genetic foundation. Fewer than 17 percent of the foundation horses of the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association carry any trace of the Tobe bloodline, which is also present in the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse. Aside from the chocolate color, there are also various physical characteristics and slight variations in gait among the horses descended from Tobe bloodlines that generally are not present in the Mountain Pleasure Horses.

But in spite of the Mountain Pleasure Horse being behind so many other breeds, it is a rare breed in itself. There are approximately 3,000 Mountain Pleasure Horses registered in the United States and it is considered rare enough that the American Livestock Breed Conservancy has listed its status as "Watch", along with the Rocky Mountain Horse.
The Mountain Pleasure Horse ranges from 14.2 to 16 hands and weighs 900 to 1100 pounds. The head should be medium sized with a broad face which is neither dished nor protruding. The breed has bold eyes and well shaped, medium-sized ears. The neck is gracefully arched and medium in length with a naturally proud carriage. The horse should have a wide and deep chest and an ample mane and tail to round out the appearance.

Any coat color is acceptable, including bay, black, chestnut/sorrel, roan, gray cremello, buckskin, palomino, and chocolate and in some lines, golden-coated horses predominate. While there is no restriction on white markings, spotted coats are not encouraged by the MPHA for either breeding or showing, but color is not considered a criterion of quality either.

In showing the Mountain Pleasure Horse, two gaits are used in the ring. The Mountain Walk is a flat walk, such as a trail walk and is used for entering and exiting the show ring. The Mountain Pleasure Gait is a lightly collected, low, moderate rack, evenly spaced four-beat, square, lateral gait with moderate speed and extension and without exaggerated knee or hock action. The gait can be heard as the horse moves such that one can count four distinct hoof beats that produce a cadence of near equal rhythm, and the gait is initiated by the hind leg. It is a natural pleasure gait such as a single-foot or mountain running walk, though neither is more desirable than the other as long as it is performed naturally and consistently. The gait is smooth and easy to ride, and from the saddle it feels relatively action-free with only a slight front to back motion. It is a surefooted gait because each foot moves independently and separately -- the horse always has one foot on the ground and three in motion.

Unlike some gaited horses, no action devices, aids or harsh training methods are necessary or allowed. The gait is natural and is bred into the horses through many generations of selective breeding.

Today, the MPHA registration books are closed. Any offspring resulting registered Mountain Pleasure Horse parents is eligible for permanent registration provided that parentage is confirmed by blood typing. In addition, all horses submitted for registration must demonstrate that they possess gait by sending a videotape to the MPHA.

The Mountain Pleasure Horse has a superb memory and once trained, remembers their lessons well. Veteran trainers are amazed at how fast this breed can learn. But then, the Mountain Pleasure Horse is a very intelligent horse with a willing disposition that also loves attention.


About Crystal Eikanger

Crystal Eikanger is a freelance writer, web designer, video editor and voice talent working as Ei-Kan Productions on www.rentacoder.com as well as other freelance sites. www.HorseClicks.com is a popular website filled with classifieds of horses for sale, horse trailers, tack, and horse related properties.