![Schwarzwaelder-hengst](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Schwarzwaelder-hengst.jpg)
The Black Forest Horse (german: Schwarzwälder Kaltblut, italic=no) is an endangered German
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 light
draft horse
A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less often ...
from the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
of southern
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
History
Horse breeding in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
– in what is now
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
– is documented from the early fifteenth century in the records of the
Abbey of Saint Peter in the Black Forest
St Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest or St. Peter's Abbey, Schwarzwald (german: Kloster St. Peter auf dem Schwarzwald) is a former Benedictine monastery in the village of St. Peter im Schwarzwald, in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Bad ...
. A type of heavy horse, the ''Wälderpferd'', was used for forestry and farm work; it is conjectured that the Black Forest Horse derives from it. The main area of breeding lay between the northern
Hotzenwald
The Hotzenwald is a landscape and region in the Southern Black Forest in the county of Waldshut. Its headquarters was the ''Waldvogteiamt''.
Location and topography
The region of Hotzenwald is not precisely defined in the records. In a narr ...
to the south and the
Kinzigtal
The Kinzig is a river in southwestern Germany, a right tributary of the Rhine.
It runs for 93 km from the Black Forest through the Upper Rhine River Plains. The Kinzig valley and secondary valleys constitute the largest system of valleys in ...
to the north. Breeding was concentrated round the monasteries of St. Peter and of
St. Märgen; for this reason it was formerly known as the St. Märgener Fuchs.
A
breed association Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members o ...
, the Schwarzwälder Pferdezuchtgenossenschaft, was started in
Sankt Märgen in 1896, and a
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 ...
was begun in the same year. In 1935, in the
Nazi period, it was merged into the general stud-book for
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
. This was restarted after the War, in 1947, under the
French administration. The Schwarzwälder Pferdezuchtgenossenschaft was re-founded in the 1990s.
After the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, there were more than 1200 breeding
mare
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 ...
s registered. With the
mechanisation of agriculture and of transport, demand for working horses fell rapidly, and by 1977 the number of mares had fallen below 160. In 2007 its
conservation status
The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...
was reported by the
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
as "endangered". In 2017 a population of 88
stallions
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck ...
and 1077 mares was reported; in 2019 the breed was listed by the
in its category III, ''gefährdet'', "endangered".
A number of stallions stand at stud at
Marbach Stud
The Marbach Stud, german: Haupt- und Landgestüt Marbach, italic=no, is Germany's oldest state stud farm for horse breeding, has a history that dates back over 500 years. It is located in southwest Germany near Gomadingen in the Reutlingen distr ...
, where
artificial insemination
Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatme ...
is also available.
Characteristics
The Black Forest Horse is always
chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
with a
flaxen mane and tail; no other color may be registered. The coat varies from pale to very dark, sometimes almost black; this, with a pale or silvery mane, is the coloring called in German , "dark fox". Intentional
selection
Selection may refer to:
Science
* Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution
** Sex selection, in genetics
** Mate selection, in mating
** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality
** Human mating strategie ...
for flaxen chestnut coloring began in 1875. In a study of 250 horses of the breed published in 2013, two were found to carry
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
genes, but because they were chestnut, the silver was not expressed; it was thought to have been introduced by outcrossing to some other breed in the past.
The Black Forest Horse is a draft horse of light to medium weight, well muscled and with a short and powerful neck. The head is short and dry, the shoulders sloped, and the
croup
Croup, also known as laryngotracheobronchitis, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms o ...
broad and muscular. The legs are clean, without
feathering
Feathering is a technique used in computer graphics software to smooth or blur the edges of a feature. The term is inherited from a technique of fine retouching using fine feathers.
Paintbrush feathering
Feathering is most commonly used on a ...
, and the hooves broad and strong.
Uses
The Black Forest Horse was originally bred for work in
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
and
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
; it is now used in
harness
A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types:
* Bondage harness
* Child harness
* Climbing harness
* Dog harness
* Pet harness
* Five-point harness
* Horse harness
* Parrot harness
* ...
and, more and more often, as a
riding horse
A riding horse or a saddle horse is a horse used by mounted horse riders for recreation or transportation.
It is unclear exactly when horses were first ridden because early domestication did not create noticeable physical changes in the hors ...
.
References
See also
*
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
*
Hinterwälder Rind (cattle from the Black Forest)
Further reading
* Thomas Armbruster, Wolf Brodauf, Gerhard Schröder (2007–2013). ''Schwarzwälder Kaltblut - Geschichte und Geschichten'' (3 volumes, in German). Freiburg: Schillinger-Verlag.
{{Horse breeds of Germany
Horse breeds
Black Forest
Horse breeds originating in Germany
Animal breeds on the GEH Red List