History of Sporthorse Breeding
September 8, 2010The breeding of the Sporthorse or warmblood, as we know it today, only really started after the end of the second world war, however warmblood breeding had begun long before that. The German born Kings of England, George I and George II, were sending Thoroughbred Stallions back to Hanover to improve the local stock and produce animals for riding, driving and agriculture in the early 1700′s and George II also founded the state stud at Celle in 1735. Before the unification of Germany in 1871 the various states had their own breeds of animals e.g. the Hanoverian and the Westphalian. After unification the organised breeding areas came under the control of breed societies and they maintained detailed records of pedigrees for the horses that they were breeding. Another important event in the production of the sporthorse was “The Flight” of the Trakehner horses in 1944 when a number made the long trek from East Prussia to the safety of West Germany. When the modern sports of show jumping and dressage were developed after the second world war, the mainland European countries realised that a different type of animal was needed to be able to compete at the highest levels and therefore they took their old established native and working draft animals and upgraded them using a controlled infusion of selected and performance tested blood i.e. Thoroughbred, Arab and Trakehner and because there was a genetic compatibility between them the stock was refined and the modern warmblood came into being.
Almost all warmblood breeding was founded on the principal of developing a product that was commercially viable. For that reason the exchange of superior breeding information became an acceptable practice between countries although the various breed societies still maintained their own individual stud books. In order to achieve and maintain their aims a strict selection method was developed which excluded horses that lacked willingness, intelligence or a passive temperament. By employing systematic and consistent evaluations using trained and certified judges, severe culling quickly brought the stud books to the high standards that we see today and the results are beautiful animals with excellent temperaments, functional movement, soundness and athletic ability. This structured breeding programme has had a profound effect as horses from Europe are selling all over the world.
In the mid 1980′s sales of.the prominent Irish bred horses started to decline as international dealers were flocking to Germany, Holland and France to buy their superior stock. Although Ireland was continuing to produce half bred and three quarter bred animals they were only yielding a few exceptional animals. Britain was also lagging behind with just a few breeders realising the significance of what was happening in mainland Europe. Only the eventers produced in Britain were standing their ground as they were using mainly thoroughbred blood. The Irish recognised that they would have to change to compete with Europe and they have set up their own genetic evaluation. By using their own sporthorse population with selective use of European stallions such as the Holsteiner Cavalier Royale they are proving to be successful again.
Meanwhile the British still refused to believe that it is possible to breed a show jumper or dressage horse and carried on with their secret breeding making no records, having no documents and worst of all breeding from inferior mares. The few serious breeders struggled almost being ridiculed for their efforts. In 1990 Scotland also recognised the need for a structured breeding program and with the help of the KWPN they formed the SDWA and invited certified trained judges to officiate and critique their horses. 98 horses were brought forward in 1990, 155 in 1991 and 105 in 1992 and so on. Since then the Scottish have trained their own judges and horses are showing a steady improvement in quality and ability.
In February 1996, at the KWPN stallion selection finals, the new WBFSH was launched to the world press. This 330 page guide offered invaluable information to breeders of sporthorses, it was the first time data had been published about stallions and the order they ranked using the performance of offspring in international competitions. Using the WBFSH international breeders can now check on the records of any stallion whereas before they had to rely on unverifiable information given by the stallion owners. This has given breeders undisputable facts and figures. Serious British breeders sighed with relief to have this guidance as the British Data Base had come and gone without a lot of impact.
The British Stud books are starting to raise their game by introducing grading and higher levels within stud books. The young horse evaluations for four year olds was launched and this has started the ball rolling as soon after the BEF introduced the Futurity which offers breeders a window for their stock. It gives breeders a chance to compete with their overseas cousins and has led to the birth of the NED.
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