The Majesty of the Horse: An Illustrated History

COLOR

Spotted.

APTITUDE

Riding, light draft, showing, dressage, jumping, competitive horse sports

ALTHOUGH THE ACTUAL HISTORY of the beautiful Knabstrup horse is relatively short and dates back only to 1812, the spotted horses of Europe have ancestors that go back to prehistoric times. There can be little doubt that these horses, so highly prized for their coat coloring, were the distant relatives of the modern Knabstrup and other spotted breeds. Spotted horses are included in the paintings in the French cave of Pêche Merle, which date to approximately 25,000 years ago and are among the earliest extant depictions of horses. Although there is no proof that these spots were a representation of the actual horses and not the painter’s addition, perhaps for spiritual reasons, it is widely accepted that the spotted coat coloring, like the dun coat, has extremely primitive origins and probably developed as a form of camouflage.

Artifacts from Austria and Italy reveal decorative details of spotted horses dating to around 800 B.C.E., while there is a great deal of evidence for spotted horses heralding from Central Asia at a much earlier date, with the much sought-after horses of Ferghana often exhibiting this prized coat. By around 800 C.E., monks in Scotland were keeping and breeding spotted horses, and by the turn of the first millennium they had arrived in Denmark, as indicated by the Viking fresco at Skibby Church not far from Knabstrupper Hovedgaard. In the fresco, a procession of fine spotted horses carries three young princes, reflecting the very early association of these magnificently marked animals with nobility. Many centuries later they would be highly prized by the elite classes for their extravagant looks.

A spotted stallion appears on a fragment from a thirteenth-century tapestry in the Baldishol Church in Oslo, Norway, ridden by an eleventh- or twelfth-century knight; an equally majestic spotted horse ridden by one of the horsemen of the four seals is depicted in the Spanish Silos Apocalypse manuscript. By this time, spotted horses were popular across Europe, from Spain to Constantinople. Though it is rarely seen in the modern Iberian breeds, Spanish horses in particular exhibited the coat coloring, and they were in great demand in Austria, where they were highly regarded for use in the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, opened in 1572.

In 1562, King Frederik II of Denmark established the Royal Frederiksborg Stud to breed magnificent horses befitting a king, ones suitable for use in displays and ceremonies as well as in the cavalry. The Frederiksborg breed was one of the great successes of the stud, but it was also here that the Knabstrup started to take shape. The stud housed a number of Spanish horses in which the spotted coat coloring was prevalent, and later additional Spanish blood was introduced during the Napoleonic Wars when Spanish soldiers were stationed in Denmark and brought their horses with them. In 1683, the stud purchased a majestic black stallion called Superbe from the Spanish monastery and breeding facility at Jerez de la Frontera, again primarily to improve the Frederiksborg horse, but it was through Superbe’s line that the foundation for the Knabstrup was laid.

In 1812, a direct descendant of Superbe was bred to a spotted mare called Flaebehoppen (the Snivel Mare) who came to Denmark from Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. The mare was bought by Judge Lunn, owner of the Knabstrupgaard Manor in Holbaek, and once proved her worth by allegedly pulling a cart about 18.5 miles (30 km) in 105 minutes to transport Lunn’s son to the doctor in an emergency. The other horse that was in harness with her is said to have died, but Flaebehoppen was apparently back at work the following day. Whether or not the story is true is a matter of some debate, but it is clear that the mare was a horse of great endurance and speed. The foal she had from the Superbe line in 1813 was called Flaebestallion, and he became one of the foundation stallions for the Knabstrup breed. All of Flaebe’s foals were born with a distinctive spotted coat pattern, including her son Mikkel, who was famed for his racetrack record—he was apparently made to pull a farm cart carrying his owner to the track before he raced under saddle.

The Knabstrup is an extraordinarily versatile breed and was originally used in harness on small farms for pulling coaches, riding, and racing, as well as being used as a cavalry animal and later in the circus. They were used by Danish officers during the war in 1848–1850 but were not ideal cavalry mounts, as their eye-catching color made them easy targets. The breed then suffered in 1891 when twenty-two of the breeding Knabstrups at the Lunn’s stud were killed in a fire.

With the creation of the modern circus in the eighteenth century by the Englishman Philip Astley, the Knabstrup found a new role. Its smooth gait and tendency to have a broad, flat back made it an excellent horse for use in the circus, particularly for vaulting, and in this capacity Knabstrups traveled widely across Europe and even to Australia and America during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They are highly intelligent horses, which added to their aptitude for life in the circus and helped endear them to the modern rider.

Today the Knabstrup is a high-quality, beautiful horse. It is strong through the frame, and compact, and should be nicely put together with strong, clean limbs and hard feet. Unusually for horse breeds, the Knabstrup can be found in all sizes because of systematic breeding for color over other considerations such as size. This method of breeding has not always served the breed well, however, and did lead to a loss of quality in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; during this time, the breed suffered a deterioration in conformation and athleticism, though this has now been fully rectified. Today the horses are all-rounders and highly regarded athletes, equally suitable for pleasure and competitive riding.

NORIKER + SPOTTED PINZGAUER

ANCIENT – AUSTRIA – COMMON

HEIGHT

15.2–16.3 h.h.

APPEARANCE

Heavy but well-proportioned frame with a well-set head and neck and muscular hindquarters. Exceptionally strong limbs with a small amount of feathering and an abundance of mane and tail.

COLOR

The Noriker displays a range of coat colorings from dark to light chestnut, dappled and/or brindled.

APTITUDE

Heavy draft, riding, meat production

THE NORIKER IS ONE OF THE OLDEST heavy draft breeds of Europe and most probably descended from the prehistoric Forest Horse and the postulated Pony Type 2. The horses take their name from the ancient Roman vassal province of Noricum, which roughly equates to modern-day Austria south of the Danube River, and were bred by the Romans in this mountainous Alpine region. However, the horses are thought to have originated in the Pindus Mountains of Thessaly in northern Greece where they were bred by the Greeks as warhorses.

The Greeks were superior horse breeders and equestrians to the Romans and placed great stock in their horses. Although Greece does not have a particularly favorable habitat for breeding horses because of the climate and resulting poor grasses, Thessaly is more productive, and consequently many of the ancient Greek horse activities were based there. Thessalonian horses were greatly admired and bred along different lines for riding, packing, draft, and war.

During the Roman conquests, these heavy Greek warhorses from which the Noriker would later develop were taken across the Alps into what is now Austria. Following Greek precedents, the Romans established a number of systematic horse breeding programs to breed horses for purpose, and through this the Noriker developed. The horses were kept and bred at high altitude among the valleys and peaks, where they became very sure-footed and hardy. A major center for the early breeding of the Noriker was the Roman Juvavum stud farm, situated close to what is now Salzburg. Many centuries later, the Salzburg area remained strongly identified with the Noriker breed, primarily through breeding programs that were implemented in local monasteries.

Very early in its history, the Noriker was developed as a versatile heavy horse capable of pulling great weights, packing goods in mountainous areas, and even being ridden. Despite its size and bulk, it remains a very versatile breed and, because of the unusual smoothness and length of its stride, also makes a useful riding horse. Its marvelous temperament, paired with great intelligence and spirit, has made it an extremely popular horse through the centuries. Today the Noriker breed accounts for approximately 50 percent of Austria’s horses, and it is still widely used in mountainous forest areas for hauling timber.

By the Middle Ages, the Noriker had developed to be a small, compact, but incredibly strong horse for its size. From around 1565 most of the Noriker breeding activities were managed by monks in the monasteries around Salzburg, and in 1574 the Archbishop of Salzburg established the first public breeding facility and the studbook. Subsequently, a rash of stud farms sprang up, and there was some introduction of Spanish, Italian, and French blood to improve the Noriker’s height and elegance. This proved successful, and the horses became extremely popular for use in jousting tournaments.

The influence of Spanish blood in the breed is apparent in the Noriker’s great quality and the freedom of its movement, but the Spanish horses also significantly introduced the spotted coat. The spotted Norikers, particularly prevalent around Pinzgauer, became known as Pinzgauer-Norikers and are now often called Spotted Pinzgauers. These horses are essentially the same breed as the Noriker, but they have a specific leopard-spotted coloring that was officially acknowledged in 1903 when a studbook for the Pinzgauer-Noriker was opened.

2 | MARTIAL GRACE (#ub65569e1-d86f-5be3-8058-611085338b70)

In modern times, the horse has become largely, but by no means universally, part of the leisure industry. Throughout history, however, it was primarily as a means of transportation and a tool for warfare that the horse reigned supreme. Its role as a warhorse ultimately led to the development of numerous different types and breeds—from the fine, wiry, and agile Arabian horses of the Moorish armies to the larger, heavier weight-carrying steeds of the armored knight, and the fast, tough horses of the Mongol warriors. The various battles for land domination meant that horses of different breeds were spread across the world, particularly during the Roman Empire (c. 27 B.C.E.–c. 476 C.E.) and the sixteenth century, when Spanish conquistadores descended on South America, taking their Spanish horses with them. Today, the majority of South and North American horse breeds trace their roots back to the influence of the Spanish horse. Of great interest in this respect is the American Indian nation, which had never seen horses before it was assailed by white warriors on horseback. In fewer than one hundred years, American Indians adopted the horse into their culture and became expert equestrians.

In warfare, the development and use of the saddle and stirrup had a profound impact on the effectiveness of cavalry soldiers. Some of the earliest saddles date to the Scythians, and were felt or cloth pads. The Romans are thought to have developed the first solid tree saddle, which had the great advantage of dispersing weight across the horse’s back. This allowed the horse to be used harder and for longer periods without becoming unduly sore. The first stirrup took the form of a toe loop and is thought to date back to around 500 B.C.E. and to India. After this came the single stirrup, which aided mounting, and the first pair of stirrups originated in China in around 322. The Mongols rapidly adopted the paired stirrups because these gave a great advantage during battle. They rode with their stirrups short, which allowed them to stand in the saddle and shoot arrows, as well as giving them great downward thrust with a sword for use against the enemy. The use of stirrups probably spread to Europe through invaders from Central Asia from around the eighth century.

Horse breeding took on entirely new significance under the impetus of the Prophet Mohammed (570–632), the founder of the Islamic religion. To spread the word and power of Islam, he needed horsemen on swift desert horses ready to mobilize into action. The horse was treated as a reverential being, called the “supreme blessing” in Islam, and was looked after and bred accordingly. By the eighth century, the Islamic Empire had spread to incorporate North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), India, and Indonesia, eventually reaching the Great Wall of China. The conquests were almost universally won from the back of the desert-type Arabian horses.

In Europe, there was a renewal of Christian faith and a concerted effort by the Germans and French to develop new methods of warfare to halt the spread of Islam. This focused on their cavalry, which was reorganized by Charles Martel (c. 688–741), first minister to the Frankish king. In contrast to the Moors’ light cavalry, made up of swift desert horses, Martel designed a heavy cavalry incorporating large bodies of armored knights and horses to attack in close formation and present an impenetrable “wall” of soldiers. Native French horse stock, such as the early Percheron, Boulonnais, Ardennais, and Limousin, was bred to fine Asian horses acquired during the Crusades to produce a more agile warhorse. These horses were weightier in frame than the light cavalry of the Moors but were also agile during battle maneuvers. Martel’s defeat of the Moors at the battle of Poitiers in 732 was one of the earliest occasions when European soldiers used stirrups. His victory represented a change of fortunes that saw the beginning of the Moors’ expulsion from Europe. It also marked the beginning of the Age of Chivalry, a time inextricably bound to the ideals of moral order and to the mounted knight.

The principles of heavy cavalry were continued by Martel’s grandson, Charlemagne (c. 742–814), who founded the Holy Roman Empire in 800, and expelled the Moors from northern Spain. There was a continued demand for warhorses and a need to increase their size and weight-carrying abilities in line with the increasing weight of armor. The European warhorses of the Middle Ages tended to be described by type, rather than by specific breed. The most expensive and sought after was the destrier, the medieval charger. These horses were kept as stallions and were noted for their power, size, and speed. They were only ridden during battle. The knight would ride his palfrey to the battle, leading the destrier, then change horses at the last minute. Palfreys were also expensive and were a lighter weight riding horse. Palfreys were bred and trained to pace, a trot where the legs move in lateral rather than diagonal pairs. This results in a much smoother ride, which was appreciated by the knight in his unwieldy and heavy armor. Coursers were also used in battle and for hunting, and were lighter than the destrier and faster than the palfrey. Rounceys were a more general-purpose horse suitable for riding or for warfare. They were cheaper than destriers, palfreys, and coursers, and were used by soldiers of more restricted means.

Two hundred years after Charlemagne’s endeavors, the knights of Christendom renewed their activities with the start of the Crusades in 1095. These military campaigns were waged to restore Christianity across Europe and the Holy Land, but it seems political and geographic power played an increasingly significant role. One of the great heroes of the Crusades was Rodrigo Díaz, better known as El Cid (c. 1040–99). El Cid was a valiant warrior whose victories against the Moors saw him heralded as the savior of his country. Almost as famous is El Cid’s horse, Babieca, who came from the Spanish horse breeding area of Jerez de la Frontera and was in all probability one of the ancestors of the Andalusian, also referred to as the Iberian Warhorse. Spanish- and Portuguese-bred horses were among the most highly prized of warhorses. They had been bred to an improved size, and combined a weight-carrying capacity with tremendous agility and athleticism, which, when complemented by their trainable temperament, placed them at the top of their league.

As the knights of Christendom sped across Europe on their mighty warhorses to meet in battle the Moors on their desert-bred Arabians, an entirely different scenario was playing out across central Asia. Here, the indomitable Mongol Hordes, riding their far from elegant Mongol horses, were rapidly claiming territory to left and right. Led by Genghis Khan (1162–1227), these warriors—on their tough, fast, and thrifty Mongolian horses—cut a swath through central Asia, taking what they wanted and destroying everything else. Genghis Khan mobilized one of the largest and most effective cavalry of all time, completely reliant on an endless supply of Mongolian horses. Eventually, his bloody empire stretched from the Mediterranean to the Pacific—won and ruled on horseback. The Mongolian horse, which is unprepossessing to look at, but incredibly tough and quick, was dispersed widely through this area and has had an influence on many of the desert-bred breeds.

By the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the requirement for extensive heavy cavalry in Europe had decreased, but the skills, horsemanship, and bravery associated with the knights of chivalry persisted.

The Riding School, or High School, became an essential component of every nobleman’s education. Alongside the Riding School, there was also the popular sport of jousting, which had similarly and more obviously developed from the battlefield. Jousting activities began in around the eleventh century, first as a means for practicing battle skills, but by the fifteenth century it had turned into a sport full of pageantry.

The earliest Riding School was opened in Naples in 1532 by Federico Grisone. He sought to train horse and rider to perform athletically in perfect harmony and balance, deploying classical nimble movements that had been developed and utilized in battle (side stepping, twirling, backing up, rearing, and controlled kicking out). His school was extremely popular and led to a demand for suitable horses, ones that were agile and noble, while also having a calm and forgiving temperament. The Iberian breeds fit this mold perfectly. The most famous of the Riding Schools and the oldest still in existence is the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, which was established in 1572 as part of the Hapsburg Court. The school uses only the regal Lipizzaner horse, bred especially at the Piber Stud near Vienna. These magnificent white horses are exercised daily in the baroque splendor that is the Winter Riding Hall, built in 1735.

The pinnacle of the Riding School endeavors lay in the exercises above the ground, or the airs above the ground. These maneuvers were loosely based on those used on the battlefield, and the Iberian breeds that excelled in battle also excelled in these exercises. There were originally a number of these movements, but today only three are performed: the levade, the courbette, and the capriole. In the levade, the horse must sit back on its haunches with its front legs bent; for the courbette the horse maintains this position and springs forward on its hind legs; and to achieve the capriole the horse must then leap from this position into the air vigorously extending its hind legs out behind it. The agility of the Iberian breeds is second to none, and it is in this respect that these horses also surpass others in the dangerous arena of bullfighting. The Iberian or Spanish horse is the mount of choice for the Spanish and Portuguese cowboys because it is able to move swiftly and smoothly after cattle in the working place and nimbly avoid the bull in the arena. In fact, many of the exercises performed in the bullring are an extension of those seen in the Riding School.

The development of gunpowder weapons from the mid-sixteenth century saw a decrease in the deployment of heavy cavalry and a move toward professional infantry-led armies. The Hungarian Hussars were among the most famous and effective of light cavalry units. They relied heavily on their fast horses and were known for their frequent use of “lightning strikes,” sudden and deadly surprise attacks on the enemy. Hungary has an established tradition of breeding top quality horses that dates back to the Magyar horsemen of the ninth century, when they settled in the Carpathian basin. Through subsequent centuries, Hungary built a reputation for producing the finest horses for use in the military, based on native stock with heavy Arabian influence. During the eighteenth century, this was centered on the studs of Bábolna and Mezohegyes. From Bábolna came the Hungarian-bred Shagya Arabian; Mezohegyes produced the Nonius and Furioso, and from the former Kisber Stud came the Kisber Felver, developed during the mid-nineteenth century.

Although the costs of supporting a heavy cavalry were prohibitive, it was still deployed occasionally. Termed cuirassiers, the “modern heavy cavalry,” which replaced the knights of the Middle Ages, was seen in French, British, Russian, and German armies to the twentieth century, although in small numbers. As armies became more organized, specific horses were bred as army riding horses, commonly called “remounts.” The Russian Don, for example, earned great fame during the Russian/French wars in the winter of 1812. Napoleon’s army and horses could not withstand the Russian climate; those that survived fled back to Paris, pursued by the Russians on their wily Don horses, which had thrived.

The Boer War (1899–1902), fought between the British Empire and the Dutch-speaking Boers of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, saw horrific loss of equine life, thought to number approximately 400,000 horses on the British side alone. These included the native South African horses, the Boer Horse and Basuto, British horses, and huge numbers of the Australian Waler. World War I also had a devastating effect on many horse breeds and resulted in the death of millions of horses. However, they were used to great effect on the Eastern Front, where the Australian Waler was deployed in its thousands. The Indian Marwari fought bravely at the Charge of Mughar Ridge at Haifa, Israel, 1917, but were also heavily relied on across the Western Front where they were used as pack animals, for transportation, draft purposes, and fighting. Significantly, too, the horse was used by nearly all the nations involved, including, but not limited to, Germany, Russia, Poland, Japan, Turkey, North Africa, Australia, France, and the United States. Horses were used again during World War II, although less so in the face of improved vehicles.

The spread and exchange of breeds from east to west during wars and conflict is hugely significant in relation to the development of modern horse breeds. However, regardless of the specific breed, the feats of bravery and heroism exhibited by horses during warfare are quite extraordinary, and indeed humbling. There are many honorary monuments scattered across the globe that pay homage to our most loyal and indispensable friend.

NORTH AFRICAN BARB

PREHISTORIC – NORTH AFRICA – COMMON

HEIGHT

14–15.2 h.h.

APPEARANCE

An attractive head with a ram-like profile and almond-shaped eyes. Neck is well-arched and shoulders are sloped and powerful. Withers are well-defined, the back is short, and the croup is sloped with a low-set tail. Chest is wide and hindquarters are muscular.