TRAKEHNER HORSE BREED

TRAKEHNER DRESSAGE

Horse breeds: Trakehner

Of all horse breeds, the Trakehner is one of the most prized for show jumping and dressage. In fact, these warmbloods seem to have been designed with these two disciplines in mind. 

The Trakehner has an overall rectangular body, with a medium to long back and sturdy legs. They have an incredible sense of balance, along with strong, muscular hindquarters. 

These horses are smart too, and they take well to training. 

The Trakehner has risen from its military past and has performed amazingly well in the show ring.

The Trakehner's history dates back to the Middle Ages, when knights in the Baltic region used them as war horses. 

The Teutonic Knights discovered the native Schwaikerpferd horses in the 13th century during their crusades against the Prussians. They were small primitive horses. The knights bred them for the military. The Ostsiedlung (east settlement) farmers used the horses later for light utility work.

HOUSE IN TRAKEHNEN - 
 PRUSSIA - NOW POLAND

King Friedrich William I of Prussia started the main stud Trakehner in 1732, in Trakehnen in East Prussia (now Yasnaya Polyana, Russia). The forest was cleared between the river Pissa and Stallupoenen and Gumbinnen. In 1739, the king gave the stud to crown prince Friedrich of Prussia, who sold stallions to get money. When the king died in 1786, the horse became a state property and was named Koeniglich Preussisches Hauptgestuet (royal Prussian main stud) Trakehnen.

From 1817-1837, Arabian, Thoroughbred, and Turkish blood was added to the stud's line. A Thoroughbred named Perfectionist, by Persimmon, won the Epson Derby and St. Leger in 1896. He sired the great Trakehner stallion, Tempelhueter, and most of today's Trakehners can be traced back to this source. Arabian blood was introduced to off-set some of the flaws seen in Thoroughbreds.

East Prussian farmers brought their mares, known for their hardiness, to Trakehner stallions. Trakehners developed into much sought-after army remounts because they were sure footed, intelligent, and athletic. By 1918, 60,000 mares were being bred to Trakehner studs each year.

After the Treaty of Versailles, the breed was again changed to produce farm horses. Trakehners were interbred with Ararad, Dampfross, Hyperion, Pythagoras, and Tempelhueter. The resulting offspring possessed much substance and bone, yet were refined and elegant.

In the 1920s and 1930s, you could see the Trakehners' real performance. They won gold and silver in two Olympics and won nine times the Czechoslovakia's notoriously challenging steeplechase. By the 1930s, the breed was really catching on, and there were about 10,000 breeders and 18,000 registered mares.

Trakehners were used in World War II, making a return to their cavalry past. When the Russians appeared, causing flight and expulsion, the breed was nearly destroyed. The main studs and their handlers were allowed to evacuate on 17 October, 1944. 

Their escape to the West sent the horses on a dangerous journey that caused the deaths of many horses. They had to cross the frozen Vistula Lagoon, with very little food and no shelter. While on the ice, they were bombed, and only a small number of horses made it. 

The horses which were left behind were bred into the Kirov, Mazury, and Pozan horse breeds, and then into the Wielkoposki. After the war, from the tens of thousands of Trakehners, only 600 broodmares and 50 stallions were left.

The last original Trakehner died in 1976 in Gilten. He was 35 years old. 

Since then, the Trakehner has often been used for crossbreeding. Trakehner blood can refine and improve other horse breeds, especially mounts intended for jumping and dressage. These two disciplines are very demanding of their equine participants, and the Trakehner fits the bill nicely.