Generally dark in color, it is a muscular and heavy-boned breed, similar in type to other light draft and driving horses.

[3] Horse-breeding has been an important facet of Hungarian culture since its settlement, due largely to its geographic location and open plains.

During the 18th century, the Hungarian court and aristocracy began to follow the tastes of their western neighbors for Iberian types.

These Austrian breeds are known for the features of their Spanish-Neapolitan ancestors: thick, high-set neck, elegant but heavy head, short back and agility.

[4] Demand for suitable mounts for the courtiers and aristocrats outstripped the production by private breeders, and so during his reign Joseph II instructed the building of a number of state stud farms.

[4] The State Stud of the Hungarian Royal and Imperial Court, Mezőhegyes, was founded in 1784 to help meet the demand for horses.

[4] Fulfilling these demands led Mezőhegyes to develop several different breeds and strains: the Arab-influenced Gidrán, half-bred Furioso-North Star, and the heavier Nonius.

[1][2] The Prince of Lobkowitz, who in 1854 became the head of Mezőhegyes, stressed the importance of fixing the type – that is, making the characteristics of a breed of animal genetically homogenous – of the horses.

This goal was achieved by linebreeding, though the one season that Nonius Senior served his own daughters was notably unsuccessful: of the 33 foals, 11 died while only 2 were broodmare-quality and 1 was stallion-quality.

[4] However, with more experimentation, the Nonius breed emerged as a uniformly heavy but elegant military driving and carting horse.

[6] Communist Hungary was not supportive of horseback riding, and in the years between 1947 and 1961, more Hungarian horses were killed for meat than were casualties of the war.

[9] In 2000, the State Stud-Farm Estate of Mezöhegyes was added to the UNESCO Tentative List (which makes it eligible to be nominated for the WHL), due to being a "major centre and organisational example of the highest standard horse-breeding and animal husbandry.

[4] The Combined Driving World Championships are held every 2 years, and the most competitive event features teams of four horses.

[12] Smaller members of the breed with larger amounts of Arabian blood in their ancestry are more sought after as riding horses.

[7] The heavier horses are still commonly used for draft work, and are well-adapted to the "heavy terrain" of the Great Hungarian Plain.