The Rottaler is a German breed of riding and

carriage horse Driving, when applied to horses, ponies, mules, or donkeys, is a broad term for hitching equines to a wagon, carriage, cart, sleigh, or other horse-drawn vehicle by means of a harness and working them in this way. It encompasses a wide rang ...

heavy warmblood The heavy warmbloods (german: Schwere Warmblüter) are a group of horse breeds primarily from continental Europe. The title includes the Ostfriesen ("East Friesian") and Alt-Oldenburger ("Old-Oldenburger"), Groningen, and similar horses from Sil ...

type. The name derives from that of the Rottal, the valley of the Rott in the ''Landkreis'' of

Rottal-Inn Rottal-Inn is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the south clockwise) Altötting, Mühldorf, Landshut, Dingolfing-Landau and Passau. To the southeast is the Austrian state ...

in south-eastern

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. It is critically endangered. The

Bavarian Warmblood The Bavarian Warmblood is a list of horse breeds, horse breed of southern Germany that developed from an older Bavarian heavy warmblood breed called the Rottaler. Since mechanization in the mid-20th century, the Bavarian Regional Horse Breeders ...

derives from it.

History

The Rottaler originated in – and is named for – the Rottal, the valley of the Rott in the ''Landkreis'' of

in south-eastern

, an area renowned for

horse-breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

. A

breed society Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members o ...

, the , was formed in 1906. A

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athlet ...

was drawn up, calling for a strong and capable

with lively gaits, characterised by good temperament, fertility and longevity. After the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

there seemed to be no demand for such an animal, and the breeding goal was fundamentally changed;

selection Selection may refer to: Science * Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution ** Sex selection, in genetics ** Mate selection, in mating ** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality ** Human mating strat ...

was aimed exclusively at the creation of a

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 spor ...

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, bu ...

– which would eventually become the

. A programme of

breed replacement 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 slight ...

was adopted: Rottaler mares (of which only about 250 remained) were put to

Hanoverian The adjective Hanoverian is used to describe: * British monarchs or supporters of the House of Hanover, the dynasty which ruled the United Kingdom from 1714 to 1901 * things relating to; ** Electorate of Hanover ** Kingdom of Hanover ** Province o ...

or Westphalian stallions, while Rottaler stallions were excluded from registration. In 1963 the traditional "R" brand of the Rottaler was changed to a "B". Only a small number of Rottaler mares survived this period. A census was taken in 1991, and eleven mares were found; two part-bred stallions from Rottaler dam lines were identified. From this nucleus, conservation breeding began. A new

stud-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeder ...

was started in 1994. In the twenty years from 2000 to 2019, the number of recorded breeding mares varied between 14 and 29, and the number of stallions ranged from 2 to 11. The Rottaler is an

endangered breed In modern agriculture, a rare breed is a breed of poultry or livestock that has a very small breeding population, usually from a few hundred to a few thousand. Because of their small numbers, rare breeds may have a threatened conservation statu ...

, and is listed in the highest-risk category (category I: , "extremely 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 ...

. In 2000 it was the "endangered breed of the year" of that association. In 1966 a large

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as well as bronze elemen ...

of the Rottaler by Hans Wimmer was erected in the Stadtplatz or main square of Pfarrkirchen.

References

{{Horse breeds of Germany Horse breeds originating in Germany