The Black Forest Horse (german: Schwarzwälder Kaltblut, italic=no) is an endangered German breed 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 oft ...

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

– 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. 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 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 ...

, the Schwarzwälder Pferdezuchtgenossenschaft, was started in Sankt Märgen in 1896, and a stud-book 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 i ...

. 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 opposi ...

, 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 fo ...

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 conservatio ...

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 Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen in its category III, ''gefährdet'', "endangered". A number of stallions stand at stud at Marbach Stud, 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 treatment ...

is also available.

Characteristics

The Black Forest Horse is always chestnut 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 strateg ...

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 Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

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 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 t ...

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. ...

; it is now used in 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 ...

History

Characteristics

Uses

References

See also

Further reading