The breed was built on a mare base of all-purpose farm and carriage horses, today called the Alt-Oldenburger.

The breeding of Oldenburg horses is characterized by very liberal pedigree requirements and the exclusive use of privately owned stallions rather than restriction to a state-owned stud farm.

Until the 17th century, horses in the region of Oldenburg were likely small and plain, but strong enough to be used to work the heavy soil of the Frisian coast.

His successor, Count Anton Gunther (1583–1667) not only brought back from his travels the most desirable horses of the time, but made the stallions available to his tenants.

As private breeders, mare and stallion owners had and retain greater freedom in purchasing breeding stock, and as a result Oldenburg and Ostfriesen horses were exported far and wide.

The first foreign stallion imported to improve the riding horse qualities of the Oldenburg mares was Condor, a dark bay Anglo-Norman.

In 1972 added flair came to the Oldenburg from the French Anglo-Arabian stallion, Inschallah x, who donated his expressive gaits and dry features to his offspring.

The slogan of the German Oldenburg Verband is that "Quality is the only standard that counts," evidenced by their liberal acceptance of a wide variety of pedigrees and colors.

There are several other auctions throughout the year in Vechta featuring selected youngsters, köraspirants, elite riding horses and broodmares.

The Oldenburg Verband places special emphasis on mare lines, many of which trace back to the Alt-Oldenburg ancestors.

There they compete not only for the States Premium - originally a bribe to keep breeders from exporting high-quality broodmares - but for the title of Champion Mare.

However, highly sensitive, independent horses are not suitable for most amateur riders, who make up the majority of the horse-buying market.

The stallions and elite mares are scored on their interior qualities: temperament, character, constitution, and willingness to work, as well as rideability.

Therefore, within the Oldenburg Verband, breeders have the tools to choose the route of high-performance horse, or one more suitable for the amateur rider.

All the same, in 2006 the Oldenburg Verband was #11 in the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) ranking of studbooks with the greatest prevalence in international eventing.

One of the earliest Oldenburg horses to reach the highest echelons of sport was Volturno, a black stallion born in 1968, member of the 1976 silver-medal German Olympic eventing team.

Bred to be courageous, cautious, powerful, scopey, and correct over fences, the Oldenburg Verband was #7 in the WBFSH ranking of studbooks in show jumping.