Dutch Warmblood horses are exceptional sport horses that have
recently been prominent in the international equestrian. Some of the Dutch Warmblood
superstars include Calypso, Next Milton, Big Ben, Ampere, Ommen, Zucarlos, Linky,
Eastern Sunrise, Pascal, Ideaal and many more.
Dutch Warmblood horses are sport horses that have evolved from
Dutch Gelderlander and Groningen horses. Gelderlander horses come from the light sandy soils of
central Holland; they are a stylish chestnut horse of medium stature. Groningen
horses come from the heavy clay soils of northern Holland and are a large, heavy,
black horse.
In the heyday of coaching in the 19th century, horses were imported
to Europe from England - the Norfolk Trotter, the Yorkshire Coach, the Cleveland
Bay, the Hackney - to be crossed on the native mares, becoming the ancestors of
the modern sport horses of today's foremost horse-breeding countries and regions.
As horse use grew to include more farm work, the breeding goal changed. The farm
horses had to be all-round horses honest and tractable enough for plowing, yet stylish
enough for carriage use and for riding. As farm mechanization progressed after World
War II, the breeding goal was redirected toward producing pleasure sport horses.
During this process of ‘modernization’, there was again considerable foreign influence
from France, England (Thoroughbreds), and Germany (Holsteiners and Trakehners).
Even today, the Dutch horses continue to be influenced by imported
blood, but the special qualities (temperament, adaptability and soundness) which
have made the Dutch Warmblood horse unique, continue to be treasured and cultivated.
Although the word "breed" denotes to most English speaking horsemen a
closed studbook (like that of the Arabians and Thoroughbreds), it has a different
connotation in the European Warmblood breeding community. Breed refers to the "breeding
area" as much as to the strict purity of the bloodlines. Each breeding area
sets its own breeding goals and style of administration which, despite shared background
and bloodlines, gives specific qualities and characteristics to its horses.
Today in Holland there are three distinct types of horses bred.
The most numerous and internationally important is the "Rijpaardtype"
or Riding Horse Type a distinctly modern, elegant sport horse bred for athleticism,
good character and soundness. International jumpers, dressage horses, combined driving,
and vaulting horses are selected from this category.
In addition, there is the “Tuigpaardtype” or Show Driving Type
- an extravagant, stylish, high stepping carriage horse which is shown rather like
the American Fine Harness horse. These horses have mostly Gelderlander blood, with
an infusion of Hackney.
The
third type is the "Basistype" or Basic type - a stylish all-round horse
reminiscent of the earlier Gelderlander, useful for riding, driving, and farm work,
and important for maintaining the gene pool of the old Gelderlanders that is still
used in the breeding of the Riding and Show Driving types.
About Dutch Warmblood Horses
