Heavy warmblood
The heavy warmbloods (German: Schwere Warmblüter) are a group of horse breeds primarily from continental Europe.
The title includes the Ostfriesen ("East Friesian") and Alt-Oldenburger ("Old-Oldenburger"), Groningen, and similar horses from Silesia, Saxony-Thuringia, and Bavaria.
They are the ancestors of the modern warmbloods, and are typically bred by preservation groups to fit the pre-World War I model of the all-purpose utility horse.
European horses in the Middle Ages could fall into several categories, though as a group they were likely common, small, and primitive by modern standards.
As the availability of firearms grew, heavily armored knights and their heavy mounts became impractical "relics of the past.
Organized horse breeding began in Oldenburg under Count Anton Günther (1603–1667), who brought popular stallions from Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Poland.
The Karossier were considered luxury items, noble carriage horses with high-stepping gaits, and so they were purchased by State Studs for use in other regions of Germany, but were also sent to Poland, Austria and Hungary, France, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
War and the appearance of the horse-powered tractor in the 20th century increased the demand for heavier horses, which Oldenburg and East Frisia supplied.
In the 1980s a new preservation society was formed, and with the help of horses from Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Moritzburg State Stud, the breed was saved.
In 1866, the advisory board of the Principal and State Stud of Marbach presented a plan to breed an economical horse for Württemberg - a warmblood suitable for agriculture.
The goal was to produce a horse ideal for the "Master and Farmer", inexpensive to feed, diligent and powerful at the plow.
Systematic breeding in the region dates back to 1558, when the first duke, Albrecht IV, imported popular Neapolitan and Spanish stallions.
While the primary registries are the Horse Breeders' Associations of Saxony-Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, this studbook has proven to be the most liberal, accepting heavy warmbloods registered in Westphalia, Baden-Wurttemberg, Weser-Ems, Bavaria, and Berlin-Brandenburg.
The registry institutes the same studbook inspection process, aiming for a powerful, elegant horse about 15.2hh with an active, efficient trot, longevity, soundness, and an even temperament.
In 1969 the NWP merged with the Gelderlander breeding society to form the KWPN, or Royal Warmblood Horse Studbook of the Netherlands.
A private association, "Het Groninger Paard" or The Groningen Horse, was formed in 1982 and recognized by royal decree in 1985.
While breeders in Groningen used other horses bred on the heavy Frisian soil - the Alt-Oldenburger, East Friesian, and Holsteiner - those in Gelderland more often used half-bred French stallions as outcrosses.
The successive merger with the NWP in 1969 - forming the Royal Warmblood Horse Studbook of the Netherlands or KWPN - further convoluted the identities of the Gelderlander and Groningen.
