The Schleswig Coldblood (german: Schleswiger Kaltblut, italic=no, da, Slesvigsk Koldblod, italic=no) is a

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 medium-sized draught horse originally from the historic Schleswig region of the Jutland Peninsula, which today is divided between modern Denmark and Germany, and from which its name derives. It is found primarily in the northern German state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

, and also, in smaller numbers, in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. It shares the origins, ancestry and much of the history of the Danish

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

breed, and shows some similarity to the British Suffolk Punch. It is used in agriculture and forestry, and to draw coaches and wagons.

History

The Schleswig Coldblood originates from the area of the

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ( ...

, in the southern part of the Jutland Peninsula, and has its origins in the

horse. In about 1860 an imported English stallion, Oppenheim LXII, either a pure-bred or a part-bred Suffolk Punch, was introduced, and became the foundation stallion of the breed. In 1888 the breeding 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 sport. ...

s and coldbloods was separated, and in 1891 various associations of coldblood breeders in Schleswig were brought together in the , and systematic breeding began. The

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

V.S.P in an oval on the off hindleg was chosen to identify registered horses and is still used today. In 1893 the stallion Aldrup Munkedal 839 was born, a son of Munkedal II 585 and a descendant of Oppenheim LXII; he won the king's prize at the Jubilee celebrations in Odense in 1900, and 70,000

crowns A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

were offered for him. From after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, all Schleswig Coldbloods descended from this stallion. By 1910, the Verband recorded 12,000 breeding animals. Through regional agricultural shows, the Schleswig Coldblood became widely known and was sold throughout Germany. The division of Schleswig between Denmark and Germany in 1920, in the aftermath of the First World War, meant the loss of a large part of the breeding area and was a major setback. However numbers rose again, and in 1949 reached a peak of about 450 stallions and 20,000 or 25,000 brood-mares in the hands of more than 15,000 breeders spread throughout Schleswig-Holstein, though more concentrated in the north. In 1958 two French stallions were added to the breeding stock. In the years following the Second World War the mechanisation of agriculture, with the replacement of agricultural horses with tractors, led to a dramatic decline in numbers. By 1976 there were no more than sixty mares registered. The breed association closed and the remaining animals were registered in the Schleswig-Holstein horse register in Kiel. A society for the protection of the breed was soon formed, and in 1991 this became the , or Schleswig horse breeders' association. Since 1997 numbers have remained stable at about 200–250; in 2013 there were 189 mares and 26 stallions. The Schleswig Coldblood was listed as "endangered" by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2007. In 2013 it was in Category II: "seriously endangered" on the

Rote Liste The , full name , is a red list of threatened breeds of domestic animal published annually by the Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen, the German national association for the conservation of historic and endangere ...

of the

Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen The or GEH is a German national association for the conservation of historic and endangered domestic animal breeds. History The GEH was founded on 5 December 1981 in the Rottal, in Lower Bavaria in southern Germany. It has about 2100 memb ...

, the German national association for the conservation of historic and endangered domestic animal breeds, and was listed as "minimally endangered" by the European Association for Animal Production. Since 2012 a sub-population, the , or roughly "Hanoverian coldblood of Schleswig origin", has been included in the Schleswiger Coldblood breed; in 2012 there were a total of 62 – 4 stallions and 58 mares.

Characteristics

The Schleswig Coldblood stands between .

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 are, on average, about taller than mares. It has a short and straight head with kind eyes and a broad forehead; a short, cresty neck; powerful shoulders; a long body with good depth in the

girth Girth may refer to: ;Mathematics * Girth (functional analysis), the length of the shortest centrally symmetric simple closed curve on the unit sphere of a Banach space * Girth (geometry), the perimeter of a parallel projection of a shape * Girth ...

; powerful hindquarters; short and stocky limbs with some

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...

. It is usually flaxen chestnut in colour, though grey and dark colours can occur.

Uses

The Schleswig Coldblood was bred for use as a working horse. It was used on farms and for hauling timber from forests, to pull omnibuses and brewery wagons in cities, and for heavy work in the military. It is still used in agriculture and forestry, and for pulling wagons.

References

{{Authority control Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Germany Horse breeds originating in Denmark Animal breeds on the GEH Red List Draft horses