The Knabstrupper or Knabstrup is a Danish

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable 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 seve ...

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 sp ...

horse. It is principally a

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 ...

, but is also used as a harness horse and as a circus animal. It is broadly similar to the

Frederiksborger The Frederiksborger is Denmark's oldest horse breed. They were tremendously popular throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods and were considered luxury items. Today, the breed is rare, but has a loyal following. Stallions and mares undergo ...

, but often has a spotted coat. In the past, injudicious

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 rab ...

for this characteristic alone compromised its constitution and conformation. In the years after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the

mechanisation of agriculture Mechanised agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations. In modern times, po ...

led to a sharp fall in numbers, and by the 1960s no more than 100 of the horses remained. In the twenty-first century it is an

endangered breed An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, invasiv ...

, with a world-wide population estimated at little over .

History

The Knabstrupper descends from a single mare believed to have originated in Spain who showed qualities of endurance and speed, and was of an unusual colouration: a deep red () with a white tail and mane, and white flecks or "snowflakes" over her whole body and brown spots on her back. She was called Flaebehoppen, 'Flaebe's horse', because she was reportedly bought by a butcher named Flaebe from an officer of the Spanish army. He sold her to , who took her to his estate at Knabstrup Hovedgård in the ''kommune'' of

Holbæk Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the County seat, seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 30,903 (1 January 2025).Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

. There, in 1808, after a month of testing of her working capabilities, he

bred A breed is a specific group of breedable 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 seve ...

her to a

stallion. The stallion Mikkel, a grandson of this pair foaled in 1818, was a noted harness-racer and a foundation stallion of the Knabstrupper breed. In 1971, three Appaloosa stallions were imported to Denmark in the hope of adding new blood to the Knabstrupper breed; only two of them were used, and many breeders preferred to

cross-breed A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...

with

Danish Warmblood The Danish Warmblood or is a Danish breed of modern sport horse, established in the mid-twentieth century and used mainly for dressage and show-jumping. Like other European warmblood breeds, it is a performance breed: any suitable horse of ...

Holsteiner The Holsteiner is a horse breed originating in the Schleswig-Holstein region of northern Germany. It is thought to be the oldest of warmblood breeds, tracing back to the 13th century. Though the population is not large, Holsteiners are a domin ...

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 was established in 1731 and operated until 1944, when the figh ...

stock. As of 2024, crossing Knabstruppers with other breeds such as Thoroughbreds, Arabians and other warmbloods ''may'' lead to approval, but crossing with Appaloosas will not.

Characteristics

The horses usually stand between at the

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

; small or pony-sized ones have also been bred. The coat may be of any color except

piebald A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backg ...

palomino Palomino is a equine coat color, genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane (horse), mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. The palomino color derived from the breeding of Spanish hor ...

, but is most often spotted. A 2022 study found that Knabstruppers are predisposed to Equine Recurrent Uveitis.

Use

The Knabstrupper has long been used as a circus horse, and is well suited to

driving Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a land vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. A driver's permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met, and drivers are required to ...

and

equestrian vaulting Equestrian vaulting, or simply vaulting, is most often described as gymnastics and dance on horseback, which can be practiced both competitively or non-competitively. Vaulting has a history as an equestrian act at circuses, but its origins stre ...

. It is also used in

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

, show-jumping and

eventing Eventing (also known as three-day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where the same horse and rider combination compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

References

External links

Knabstrupper association of Europe
Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Denmark Animal breeds on the GEH Red List {{bots, deny=Citation bot