Trakehner

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Trakehner
A Trakehner performing dressage
Country of originPrussia
Breed standards

Trakehner is a light

Trakehnen from which the breed takes its name. The state stud [de] was established in 1731 and operated until 1944, when the fighting of World War II led to the annexing of East Prussia by Russia, and the town containing the stud renamed as Yasnaya Polyana
.

The Trakehner typically stands between 15.2 and 17 

closed stud book which allows entry of only Trakehner, as well as few selected Thoroughbred, Anglo-Arabian, Shagya and Arabian
bloodlines.

Characteristics

Owing to its Thoroughbred ancestry, the Trakehner is of rectangular build, with a long sloping shoulder, good hindquarters, short cannons, and a medium-long, crested and well-set neck. The head is often finely chiseled, narrow at the muzzle, with a broad forehead. It is known for its "floating trot" – full of impulsion and suspension. The Trakehner possesses a strong, medium-length back and powerful hindquarters.

Trakehners are athletic and trainable, with good endurance, while some are more spirited than horses of other warmblood breeds. Trakehners breed true to type, due to the purity of the bloodlines, making it valuable for upgrading other warmbloods.

History

Landstallmeisterhaus in Trakehnen
Ostpreußische Elchschaufel moose antlers, the Trakehner brand
Verden/Aller

for their cavalry and stud horses, crossed on local animals.

In 1732 King

Frederick II of Prussia
, who often sold stallions to make money. After his death in 1786 it became state property, named Königlich Preußisches Hauptgestüt Trakehnen.

Between 1817 and 1837 the stud added

St Leger
in 1896. He was to be the sire of the great Trakehner stallion Tempelhüter, and most modern Trakehners can be traced to these two stallions. The Arabian blood was added to offset possible flaws of the Thoroughbred.

East Prussian farmers were encouraged to bring their mares, by then known for their hardiness and quality, to Trakehnen's stallions. This enabled the rapid transformation of the breed into much sought-after army remounts: sure-footed, intelligent and athletic. By 1918 60,000 mares per year were bred to East Prussian stallions.

In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles limited Germany's army to 100,000 troops and so the breed's focus was again turned to producing horses suitable to farm duties. For this purpose, sires of heavier conformation (build) were used, the most successful being Ararad, Dampfross, Hyperion, Pythagoras and Tempelhüter. These stallions, while refined, possessed much substance and bone. Their influence is still seen on the modern Trakehner.

It was during the 1920s and 1930s that the breed was recognized for its performance abilities in competitive disciplines. Trakehners won gold and silver medals in two Olympics, including six gold medals in Berlin in 1936, and won Czechoslovakia's notoriously challenging Velká pardubická steeplechase nine times. In the 1930s there were more than 10,000 breeders and 18,000 registered mares.

In the 1930s and early 1940s Hauptvorwerk Trakehnen and its 15

Vistula lagoon
without proper rations or shelter. It is considered one of the toughest tests to which an entire breed of horses has been submitted.

Refugee convoys were bombed while on the ice by the

Pozan (or Poznan), which developed into the Wielkopolski. After the war, the breed, which once numbered tens of thousands was reduced to approximately 600 broodmares and 50 stallions in West Germany. The last original Trakehner was Keith, born there in 1941, who died in November 1976 in Gilten
shortly before his 35th birthday. On 23 October 1947 the East Prussian Studbook Society was dissolved and the Association of Breeders and Friends of the Warmblood Horse of Trakehner Origin, known today as the Trakehner Verband, was created. Among the greatest obstacles the organization faced was that unlike other German breeds, the Trakehner had no mother state and could not depend on government funding. The re-establishment of the breed originally depended on the determination of its members and the largesse of others.

True pure-bred Trakehner show the Ostpreußische Elchschaufel (East Prussian moose horn) branding (see Image above).

The modern Trakehner

The modern Trakehner excels in dressage

Today in Germany the breed is considered a federal responsibility, with its governance falling under both the Trakehner Verband and the Trakehner Gesellschaft mbH; the latter handling all business operations.

Stallion inspections are held in Neumünster, Germany, each October and approved stallions are required to complete extended performance tests, which rate the horses' gaits, temperament, jumping ability, and suitability over a cross country course, before being given full breeding licenses.

The Trakehner is used as a "refiner" of other breeds, allowing an infusion of Thoroughbred and Arabian blood without the risks often involved in first generation outcrosses. Influential stallions include Abglanz for the

Oldenburg, Marco Polo for the Dutch Warmblood, the stallions Ibikus and Donauwind for the Danish Warmblood, and Polarstern for the Swedish Warmblood
.

While Trakehners compete in nearly all equestrian disciplines, they are particularly prized as

World Equestrian Games. Trakehner mare TSF Dalera BB, ridden by Jessica von Bredow Werndl, is the no.1 ranked dressage horse in the world as at September 2023,[1] and has won gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for both team and individual. Dalera has also won individual gold medals at the 2022 and 2023 Dressage World Cup.[2]

Famous Trakehners

  • Abdullah (horse) (1970–2000), on the USA's gold medal-winning show jumping team at the 1984 Olympics
  • Lloyds TSB
    's iconic TV adverts in the UK
  • Windfall II (1992– ), in the USA's bronze medal-winning team eventing team at the 2004 Olympics
  • Larissa (1989-), 4-star event horse with many top placings both nationally and internationally. She won the team silver at the Pan-American games in 2003.[3]
  • Beatos (1976-1998), By Kosmos x Beatrine. Trakehner Stallion. Bred in Germany, became the iconic Lloyds Bank Black horse in 1989. Competed in Dressage and Showjumping.

References

  1. ^ "TSF Dalera Bb (105AH62)".
  2. ^ https://inside.fei.org/media-updates/it%E2%80%99s-brilliant-back-back-double-jessica-and-dalera
  3. ^ "Larissa". BruceMandeville.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.

External links