The Belgian Warmblood or is a Belgian breed of

warmblood Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds primarily originating in Europe and registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian spor ...

sport horse A sport horse or sporthorse is a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term is usually applied to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving, but ...

. It is bred for dressage, for

show-jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ...

and for three-day eventing. It is one of three Belgian warmblood breeds or stud-books, the others being the Zangersheide and the Belgian Sport Horse – to which it is quite similar.

History

Breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and ra ...

of the Belgian Warmblood was begun in 1937. It was initially bred as an agricultural

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 ...

, 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 or Brabant heavy horse. After this restriction was lifted in 1954, a

breed society 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 of ...

, the Fokvereninging van het Landbourijpaard, was formed; a stud-book was opened in 1955. The

foundation stock Foundation bloodstock or foundation stock refers to animals that are the progenitors, or foundation, of a breed or of a given bloodline within such. Many modern breeds can be traced to specific, named foundation animals, but a group of animals ma ...

of the Belgian Warmblood included jumping horses from France and the Netherlands, as well as

Hanoverians The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house orig ...

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 warmblood The heavy warmbloods (german: Schwere Warmblüter) are a group of List of horse breeds, horse breeds primarily from continental Europe. The title includes the Ostfriesen and Alt-Oldenburger, Ostfriesen ("East Friesian") and Alt-Oldenburger ("Old-O ...

s, 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 A pedigree chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence and appearance of phenotypes of a particular gene or organism and its ancestors from one generation to the next, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses. Definition The word pedigre ...

, but by uniformity of purpose. Like other warmbloods, Belgian Warmblood breeding horses are subjected to rigorous

studbook selection Studbook selection is a process used in certain breeds of horses to select breeding stock. It allows a breed registry to direct the evolution of the breed towards the ideal by eliminating unhealthy or undesirable animals from the population. The rem ...

. 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 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 ...

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 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 The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle a ...

Use

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