Holsteiner Verband
Janne Bugtrup
Heritage of The Holsteiner Horse
By Donata von Preußen H
istorians agree that horse breeding in Schleswig-Holstein was in full bloom already in the early Middle Ages. Over the course
of many centuries, Holsteiners earned a reputation as strong, yet elegant carriage horses all over Europe. In the sixteenth century, horse export was already of great importance. King Philip II of Spain (1527-1598) is said to have used only Holsteiner stallions for his Cordoba stud farm. Later, Louis XIV of France also discovered the usefulness of heavy Holsteiner cavalry mounts. Te famous riding master de la Guérinière made use of the Holsteiners’ suitability for airs above the ground. In the nineteenth century,
the breeders succeeded in adapting their horses to the requirements of a new de- mand. Te vanishing of heavy cavalry from the battle fields towards the end of the nine- teenth century meant a wa- tershed for Holsteiner breeding. As passenger traffic by horse-drawn luxury carriages increased, the horses’ gaits were required to be “high-stepping and ground-covering” in order to make progress on muddy roads. In 1883, the existing local horse breeding associations
joined to form the “Verband der Pferdezuchtvereine in den Holsteiner Marschen.” At the same time, the first studbook was issued by Georg Ahsbahs of Sommer- lander Riep. In 1935, this society and the “Verband des Schleswig-Holsteiner Geestlandes,” established in 1896, merged into the “Verband der Züchter des Holsteiner Pferdes” with the brand established in 1944 still used today.
Today’s Structure To meet the requirements of globalized horse breeding, the delegates representing the individual breeding dis- tricts agreed to an organizational restructure in late 2015.
Recently retired at 18 from a long successful jumping ca- reer, Casall stands with his rider Rolf-Göran Bengtsson.
Te Holsteiner Verband is now based on three pillars: the parent organization in Kiel (headed by breeding director Dr. Tomas Nissen) and two limited companies, dealing with the stallion management (Norbert Boley) and the marketing (Ronald Schultz), in Elmshorn. Te heart of the Holsteiner Verband is the Elmshorn facility standing 32 Holsteiner Verband stallions, with AI expert Gérard Muffels in charge of the modern stallion depot. World famous Casall, no doubt the Holsteiner Verband’s most in- demand sire, is enjoying his re- tirement from competition here as well. In 2018, Elmshorn has seen the grand opening of the Herbert-Blöcker Arena, which provides perfect conditions for the annual dressage and show jumping state championships and the elite mare show. In ad- dition, it hosts the foal auction and the spring riding horse auc- tion.
Te mare and stallion books are being kept in Kiel. Effective
verband data management is instrumental in controlling the breeding program. Moreover, the Kiel office manages the registry and coordinates the various selection and evaluation panels elected by and from the breeders—foal and mare inspection committees, stallion grading com- mittee and stallion re-evaluation committee. Te mare families are of particular importance in
Holstein. Georg Ahsbahs, who compiled the first stud- book published in 1896, traced the mare families back to the beginning of the nineteenth century, assigning numbers to every family (stem). Te Holsteiners still use this stem system, which is the envy of many other breed associations. In the nineteenth century, the mares were already be-
ing evaluated and graded on six traits: lineage, size, color, elegance, movement and bone structure. Today’s evalu- ation process is still based on this method, but has been honed and adjusted to contemporary requirements. More
SPECIAL HOLSTEINER SECTION Warmbloods Today 41
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