The Belgian Warmblood or is a Belgian

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of warmblood sport horse. It is bred for

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

, for show-jumping and for

three-day event Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This e ...

ing. It is one of three Belgian warmblood breeds or

stud-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

s, the others being the

Zangersheide The Zangersheide is a Belgian breed or stud-book of warmblood sport horses. It is one of three Belgian warmblood breeds or stud-books, the others being the Belgian Sport Horse and the Belgian Warmblood. It is bred at the stud of the same name ...

and the

Belgian Sport Horse The Belgian Sport Horse, nl, Belgisch Sportpaard, italic=no, french: Cheval de Sport Belge, italic=no, is a Belgian breed of warmblood sport horse. It is one of three Belgian warmblood breeds or stud-books, the others being the Belgian Warm ...

– to which it is quite similar.

History

Breeding of the Belgian Warmblood was begun in 1937. It was initially bred as an agricultural riding horse, as in the northern or Flemish-speaking part of Belgium the breeding of saddle horses was restricted in order to protect breeding of the

Belgian Draught The Belgian Draught, french: Trait belge, italic=no, nl, Belgisch Trekpaard, italic=no, is a Belgian breed of draught horse. It originates from the Brabant region of modern Belgium, and is one of the strongest of the heavy breeds. The breed as ...

or Brabant heavy horse. After this restriction was lifted in 1954, a breed society, the Fokvereninging van het Landbourijpaard, was formed; a

was opened in 1955. The foundation stock of the Belgian Warmblood included jumping horses from France and the Netherlands, as well as Hanoverians and Holsteiners from Germany. The first stallion show for riding horses in Belgium took place, illegally, in 1953. Without native riding horses or all-purpose heavy warmbloods, Belgian breeders had to import stallions and mares. Over the course of 50 years, the BWP accrued a mare base of over 3,500 broodmares and produced a significant number of international-quality show jumpers. In 2010, the BWP was ranked fourth in the FEI/WBFSH International Show Jumping standings, below only the KWPN-Dutch Warmblood, Selle Français, and Holsteiner stud books.

Characteristics

As a warmblood horse, the Belgian Warmblood is characterized not by uniformity of coat color, appearance, or pedigree chart, but by uniformity of purpose. Like other warmbloods, Belgian Warmblood breeding horses are subjected to rigorous studbook selection. The most reliable way to positively identify a Belgian Warmblood is by the brand on the left thigh. Belgian Warmblood foals receive this brand during their foal inspection, when they are given a passport and deemed free of obvious defects. Between three and four years old, Belgian Warmblood stallions are presented to a jury in a ''Hengstenkeuring'' or stallion licensing test. The licensing test consists of a veterinary inspection, subjective evaluation of the stallion's conformation and jumping ability without a rider, and evaluation of the stallion's qualities under saddle. Stallions that do not achieve the desired marks in the licensing test are not eligible for the stud book. To retain status in the stud book, stallions must participate in competitions for young show-jumping horses called the "Classic Cycle".

Mares A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...

take part in similar conformational evaluations, but judgement of a mare's qualities as a riding horse are elective. The horses vary in size and substance; heights are usually in the range at the withers.

Use

Over the past 20 years, research has supported observations regarding the high

heritability Heritability is a statistic used in the fields of breeding and genetics that estimates the degree of ''variation'' in a phenotypic trait in a population that is due to genetic variation between individuals in that population. The concept of h ...

of jumping ability compared with that of dressage-quality gaits.

References

{{Horse breeds of Belgium and Luxembourg Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Belgium Warmbloods