The Trakehner

BREED PROFILE

BREED NAME: Trakehner OTHER NAMES: The East Prussian Warmblood Horse of Trakehner Descent BREED PURPOSE: Sports horses SIZE: 15.2-17 hands COAT COLOUR: Any solid colour PLACE OF ORIGIN: Lithuania ANCESTORS: Arab, Thoroughbred, Schweiken, Turkomen

With an intelligent, willing temperament and athletic build with great agility, the Trakehner is a popular sports horse with an impressive international record. Originally from East Prussia (modern-day Lithuania), the Trakehner shares bloodlines with Arabian, Thoroughbred and Turk breeds. These ancestors strengthened the Trakehner line, developing a horse with a robust constitution and hardy nature.

HISTORY

In the 13th century, East Prussia was colonised by the Order of Teutonic Knights. They set up a horse-breeding industry using the local Schweinken ponies as a base. The Schweinken, which may have had Konik roots, was a tough, hardy pony used mostly in farm work. This area and these breeding programmes led to the creation of the Trakehner.

In 1732, Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia founded the Royal Trakehner Stud Administration. This Administration became the principal source of stallions for Prussia, and the area soon became renowned for producing elegant coach horses that combined speed with stamina. Within 50 years, however, the emphasis switched from coach horses, to breeding high-quality mounts to serve as army chargers.

During the 19th century Thoroughbreds and Arabs were introduced to upgrade the breed further. Over the years the

The finely shaped head has wellspaced eyes and narrows at the muzzle, creating a handsome appearance

Long, elegant neck The well-shaped sloping shoulders give this horse easy movement

Well-proportioned withers Croup shaped for speed

Very powerful quarters

High-set tail

The well-formed legs have very strong joints, which add to the robust nature of the breed Strong limbs and joints

Short legs and cannon bones

Hard hooves

Thoroughbred became predominant. However, the Arab content always remained a powerful balancing element, to offset any deficiencies created by the addition of the Thoroughbred blood.

Considered the best cavalry horse of its time, the Trakehner was widely used in WW1. Although its population was halved during this war, it soon recovered. However, at the end of World War II the breed was again under serious threat when the Russians advanced on Poland and sent many horses back to Russia. Thousands of horses were taken by refugees fleeing in the opposite direction. Many of these horses including several hundred Trakehners were wounded or died on this perilous winter journey.

The Trakehners of today can all be traced back to the few hundred horses that survived after World War II. The animals were pushed to the limits of endurance and only the strongest and fittest were able to survive. Their offspring have since become renowned as hardy, brave horses with excellent movement that are well suited to a variety of equine sports.

Unsurprisingly then, the Trakehner has an impressive record in international sport. Trakehners dominated the 1936 German

SHOWING

The Trakehner’s slim build, muscular form and graceful posture make it one of the most common show horses in Germany. The breed’s intelligence, alert nature, and stable gait make it a popular riding horse.

Olympic team, which won every medal at Berlin. In recent years they have succeeded in dressage, showjumping and cross-country. Today they are bred all over the world, but predominantly in Germany.

A TOP QUALITY HORSE

The Trakehner is as near as any other breed to being the ideal, modern, all-round competitor. Perhaps because of the hardy base stock from which is derives, or the careful use of Arab blood at specified points in breeding programmes, it seems to have been better able than most warmbloods to absorb the best Thoroughbred qualities while still retaining its own distinct character.

FACTS ABOUT FAT IN HORSES

Fat often seems like a relatively innocent player in the horse’s body. However, new research shows that it has many more frightening and devastating impacts than we had previously realised.

Fat tissue is made up of adipose cells, otherwise known as adipocytes. In naturally occurring amounts, these cells play a vital role in providing backup energy for the body when needed, such as in the colder winter months (in more extreme climates than ours).

However, when adipose cells exist in large amounts, the body can’t cope with the chemicals they produce. These chemicals in excess flood the bloodstream and cause hormonal systems to go awry whilst also having toxic effects on organs and tissues elsewhere in the body.

This is how insulin dysregulation occurs and, subsequently, laminitis. So, a little bit of fat here and there can, in fact, be life-threatening to our beloved steeds and should never be ignored.