Arabians Horses And Hungarian Horses Breeders Of The Dutch

When people think of Holland Horses, the familiar images that spring to mind are usually picturesque windmills, cobalt blue Delft pottery, colourful tulip fields, and the legendary Hans Brinker; but we hardly ever imagine horses. After all, this country contains only 750,000 acres with much of that being former wetlands not exactly prime horse breeding country. However, for centuries Holland has been one of the most influential countries for producing horses. The Dutch were responsible for developing the mighty Friesian, the horse that carried knights to the Crusades. They were also the horses of choice for the King’s Household Cavalry in Britain during the reign of Charles II, and most importantly, the Friesian was the ancestor to the Shire and the Oldenburg.

Arabian Horses Stronger and Muscular

The Dutch Horses also created three breeds of horses specifically to till their complicated soil-the Dutch Draft for the heavy marine clay in the provinces of Zeeland and North Brabant, the Groningen to work the salty clay soil of the north; and the Gelderlander for the sandy soil indigenous to the middle of the country. Later, in the 1950s, when tractors replaced draft horses, the resourceful Dutch used the Gelderlander and Groningen to develop a warmblood of their own to fill the world wide demand for sport horses.

The Gelderlander was bred in the province of Gelder and is somewhat of a variation on a theme of the Groningen. The differences between the two breeds can be found in the Gelderlander’s finer, less drafty build and flashier action. The Gelderlander’s breeding, which began over 100 years ago, is a mixed bag of genes from all over the world including Cleveland Bays, roadsters, Arabians Horses, Hungarian horses and half-bred horses from the United Kingdom, the Orlov Trotter from Russia and of course, the Dutchman’s favourite, the German Oldenburg. Later, Friesian blood was introduced as well as Hackney, which may be responsible for its expressive movement.

Arabian White Horses

Today the Gelderlander is prized as a competitive driving horse, which is no surprise since coach work is what it was initially bred to do. But it is still used as a large riding horse, and a few are even seen in jumping competitions. Their conformation remains much the same today: plain but impressive, with a lofty action. However, even with its many uses, the Gelderlander remains a rare breed with only 300 mares and 10 stallions in existence. Breeders are working to keep bloodlines pure despite that the breed has been absorbed into the Dutch Warmblood studbook.

HUnggarian Horses

The Sydney Olympics gave Dutch Warmbloods a chance to really shine. In show jumping, the breed was best represented by Jeroen Dubbeldam and his partner De Sjiem, who made their home country of Holland proud by winning the individual gold. Markus Fuchs and his horse Tinka’s Boy helped the Swiss team win the silver, and later at 2001 the couple was crowned world champions at Gotborg. American dressage rider Guenter Seidel and Foltaire helped their team win the bronze, and British dressage rider Emile Faude gave England their best score in years with Rascher Hopes.

Hungarian Hores

The Gelderlander isn’t just a capable carriage horse. As mentioned earlier, this horse was one of the foundation breeds for the Dutch Warmblood, and Ian Millar’s Big Ben, one of the greatest showjumpers in the world, was half Gelderlander. Big Ben was considered such a huge part of Canada’s competition history that in 1996, he was the very first animal athlete to ever be inducted into their Sports Hall of Fame.