Holstein Horses

The Holstein warmblood horse name is derived from its place of origin, the province of Schleswig-Holstein.

Summary

The modern day Holstein horse is a top class all round horse that excels at dressage and show jumping.The Holstein is of international standard. Many of todays top showjumping and dresssage horses are Holsteins.

Characteristics

Registerd Holstein horses carry the Holstein brand which is depicted by an "H" in crowned shield.

Registered Holstein horses usually stand between 16 to 17 hands and can only be bay, chestnut, black, grey or brown. No other colours are permitted.

The Holstein horse height and build vary on the individual horses parentage, but overall the Holstein has a muscular strong body  and powerfull hind quarters which gives the Holstein excellent jumping ability.

History

The Holstein is thought to be the oldest of all the continental horse breeds, their ancestry can be followed back to the 13th century.

The Holstein horses were used as war horses in the middle ages, the In the 16th and 17th century there was a need for coach horses, so the heavier war horse was refined using Neapolitan, Barbary and Spanish bloodlines, to develop a lighter type of horse, that was suitable for coach work. Later on in the 19th century there was a need for a more athletic faster coach horse consequently the Holstein was improved by adding blood from Yorkshire coach horses, which themselves were high in thoroughbred blood.

In the 1960s the Holstein breed was refined once again, using Thoroughbred blood from Britain and Ireland. The breeders were also aware of the success that the breeder of the Oldenburg had when they infused French blood, as a result of the Holstein breeders also introduced French blood in to the Holstein breed.