Hrvatski hladnokrvnjaci na sajmu MESAP 2018

The Croatian Coldblood ( hr, Hrvatski hladnokrvnjak, german: Kroatisches Kaltblut) is an

autochthonous Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to: Fiction * Autochthon (Atlantis), a character in Plato's myth of Atlantis * Autochthons, characters in the novel ''The Divine Invasion'' by Philip K. Dick * Autochthon, a Primordial in the ' ...

medium-heavy

horse breed A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a lim ...

draught 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 ...

originating from

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Characteristics

The typical Croatian Coldblood ranges from to high.

Stallion 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" nec ...

s can weigh up to . Its head is medium-sized and refined, with small ears, but with large eyes and

nostril A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbi ...

s. It has medium short, arched and muscular neck, wide and deep chest, broad and muscular breast, as well as powerful legs with broad hooves. Most Croatian Coldbloods are

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

seal brown Seal brown is a rich dark brown color, resembling the color of the dyed fur from the fur seal. Usage The specifications for the U.S. Army Air Corps Type A-2 jacket (regulation summer flying jacket), adopted in 1931 and the most familiar among a ...

. Of the remaining horses, approximately 10-15 percent are

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, and less than 10 percent are

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 ...

gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

, flaxen chestnut, while the other colours are very rare. They are considered mild and obedient,

easy keeper Easy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Easy'' (film), a 2003 American romantic comedy film *''Easy!'', or ''Scialla!'', a 2011 Italian comedy film * ''Easy'' (TV series), a 2016–2019 American comedy-drama anthology ...

s, willing workers and adapt well to various conditions and

climates Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

. Earlier, they were used for pulling

waggon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

s or 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 ...

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 ...

, but today they have lost their importance as draft animals and are being widely used for

horse meat Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Eurasia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3 million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early existe ...

production.

History

The history of the breed dates back to the first half of the 19th century, when it was begun to

crossbreed A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

local

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 sport. ...

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 ...

in central Croatia with imported quality

stallion 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" nec ...

s of

Noriker The Noriker horse, also called the Norico-Pinzgauer and historically known as the Pinzgauer horse, is a moderately heavy Austrian draught horse breed. The Noriker is considered indigenous to the central Alpine region of Europe, and is believ ...

breed. Some other breeds were involved later, like

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

and

Percheron The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well muscled, and k ...

. At the beginning of the 20th century the breed was widespread toward east (

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

) and west ( Gorski kotar and

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

regions). In the last few

decade A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

s, the Croatian Coldblood was the most numerous horse breed in Croatia in general. The total number of the registered population in 2008 was 5,334 or 33.77% of all horses (15,796) in Croatia. The number of horses of the breed was increased by 10.74% in the last four years, from 5,334 in 2008 to 5,907 in 2012.

References

Croatian Coldblood – an authentic Croatian horsebreed

Croatian Coldblood in the scientific work „Analysis of horse breeding and equestrian sports in the Repubulic of Croatia“

Croatian Coldblood in 2012 – the most numerous breed in Croatia (''in Croatian'')

Croatian Coldblood (with average height at the withers: 150-160 cm) in a brochure of State Institute for Nature Protection (''in Croatian'')

Genetic structure of three Croatian horse breeds: implications for their conservation strategy

Horse breeding in the Republic of Croatia – present situation and perspectives (summary in English at the end)
{{Geographical regions of Croatia Horse breeds originating in Croatia Horse breeds Mammals of Europe Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy

Characteristics

History

See also

References