The Kisber Felver ( hu, Kisbéri félvér, link=no, which means half-bred from

Kisbér Kisbér (german: Beer) is a town in northern Hungary, in Komárom-Esztergom county. It is the administrative centre of Kisbér District. The town was first mentioned in 1277. Royal Stud Kisber was home to the Imperial-Royal Stud where a Thoro ...

) is a rare

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 ...

breed developed at the former Kisber Stud in Hungary. The Kisber Felver is not widely known, but has merit in sport horse disciplines. Only a handful of people continue breeding Kisber Felver horses today.

History

The Kisber Stud was founded in 1853, and initially bred

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

s. It successfully produced racehorses and was the origin for champions such as the unbeaten mare

Kincsem Kincsem (; Hungarian for "My Precious" or "My Treasure"; March 17, 1874 – March 16, 1887) was a Hungarian Thoroughbred racehorse who has the longest undefeated record of any racehorse after winning all of her 54 races. The next closest in this ...

, who was entered in

The Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. Through a carefully controlled breeding program, a distinct horse type evolved. The Kisber Felver was bred by crossing

Thoroughbreds The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are con ...

with

Furioso Furioso may refer to: Horses * Furioso, a Hungarian Thoroughbred stallion foaled in 1836, foundation stallion of the ** Furioso or Furioso-North Star horse breed of Hungary * Furioso (horse), a British Thoroughbred stallion foaled in 1939 * Furi ...

Trakehner Trakehner is a light warmblood breed of horse, originally developed at the East Prussian state stud farm in the town of Trakehnen from which the breed takes its name. The state stud ( :de:Hauptgestüt Trakehnen) was established in 1731 a ...

Arabians The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...

Anglo-Arabian The Anglo-Arabian or Anglo-Arab is a crossbred, part-Arabian horse that now also has its own status as a horse breed. It is the result of a Thoroughbred (hence, the prefix "Anglo") being crossed with an Arabian. The cross can be made betw ...

s, and

Selle Français The Selle Français (SF) is a breed of sport horse from France. It is renowned primarily for its success in show jumping, but many have also been successful in dressage and eventing. An athletic horse with good gaits, it is usually bay or ...

, while maintaining the a high ratio of Thoroughbred blood. The Kisber Felver is a relatively young breed, developed over the past hundred years, and they display good conformation, athletic ability, movement, and a lively temperament. Like many other horse breeds, the Kisber Felver was endangered during the World War I and World War II. In 1945, more than half of the breeding stock were taken as war spoils. 150 Kisber Felver horses were imported for the US Remount, but were sold at public auction in 1947 when the remount disbanded. Unlike other European imports such as the

Lipizzan The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner ( hr, Lipicanac, cz, Lipicán, hu, Lipicai, it, Lipizzano, sr, Lipicaner, sl, Lipicanec), is a European horse breed, breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroqu ...

er, the imported Kisber Felvers were widely

crossbred 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 ...

, reducing the count of purebred animals. In 1961, the Dalmand Stud took hold of the remaining purebred Kisber Felvers. The stud has continued the breeding to the day.

Characteristics

Kisber Felvers are a sporthorse breed developed to perform in a variety of modern sport horse disciplines. They stand between and can be any solid color but are often bay or chestnut. All stallions intended for breeding must be inspected and licensed by the breeding committee.

External links

Oklahoma State University page
{{Equine, state=collapsed Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Hungary