Scandinavian Coldblood Trotter
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The Scandinavian Coldblood Trotter consists of two closely related and interconnected
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 ...
s of trotting horse: the Norsk Kaldblodstraver or Norwegian Coldblood Trotter and the Svensk Kallblodstravare, the Swedish Coldblood Trotter or North Swedish Trotter. Coldblood trotters are the result of
cross-breeding 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 ...
native coldblooded farm horses – in Norway the Dølehest, in Sweden the North Swedish Horse – with lighter and faster horses. Although the Norwegian and Swedish coldblood trotters are substantially considered a single breed, two national
stud-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, 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 breeders w ...
s are maintained, and registration requirements differ in some respects between the two countries.


History

The Scandinavian Coldblood Trotter is the result of
cross-breeding 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 ...
of native coldblooded farm horses – in Norway the Dølehest, in Sweden the North Swedish Horse – with lighter and faster horses.
Stud-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, 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 breeders w ...
s were started in 1939 in Norway and in 1964 in Sweden. From about 1950 inter-breeding between the two breeds began, to the point that they are now substantially considered to be a single breed. Both national types are
endangered 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, inv ...
. In 2012 there were mares and 100
stallion A stallion is an adult 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, "cre ...
s of the Norwegian breed; by 2019 those numbers had fallen to 764 and 64, for a total breeding stock of 828 head. The corresponding numbers for Sweden in 2019 were and 180. The
conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...
of both is reported to
DAD-IS DAD-IS is the acronym for the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System, a tool developed and maintained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a part of its programme for management of animal genetic resources for ...
as 'at risk/endangered'.


Characteristics

The average height 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 ...
for stallions is , and all individuals should stand at least .
Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
in all its variations is the most common coat colour, followed by chestnut and black. The
dun gene The dun gene is a dilution gene that affects both red and black pigments in the equine coat color, coat color of a horse. The dun gene lightens most of the body while leaving the mane (horse), mane, tail, legs, and primitive markings the shade of ...
and
cream gene The cream gene is responsible for a number of Equine coat color, horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut (coat), chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one co ...
are present in the genetic material, but not
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
nor any variations of
pinto Pinto is a Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all Portuguese-speaking countries and is also widely present in Spanish-speaking countries, Italy, India (especially in Mangalore, Karnata ...
. The Coldblood Trotter has a relatively small and square head with large nostrils. It is well suited for the cold conditions in Scandanivia, and it can develop large amounts of winter hair, having less need for blankets in winter. Compared to the
Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing where they compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodline ...
it is smaller, heavier, and more compact in build. It is not as fast as the Standardbred. The Coldblood Trotter is mostly bred in Norway and Sweden. Coldblood Trotters are very rarely found outside the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
.


Uses

The coldblood trotter is bred for use in
harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...
. The two types compete in shared heats that exclude entry of light trotter breeds or
Finnhorse The Finnhorse or Finnish Horse ( , literally "horse of Finland"; , literally "finnish cold-blood") is a horse breed with both riding horse and draught horse influences and characteristics, and is the only breed developed fully in Finland. In E ...
s.


References

{{reflist, refs= Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007)
List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources
annex t
''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture''
Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. {{isbn, 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016)
''Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding''
(sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. {{isbn, 9781780647944.
Breed data sheet: Norsk kaldblodstraver / Norway (Horse)
Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed October 2022.
Breed data sheet: Kallblodstravare / Sweden (Horse)
Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed October 2022.
Avlsplan for kaldblodshester
(in Norwegian). Det Norsk Travselskap. Archived 24 July 2011.
Élise Rousseau, Yann Le Bris, Teresa Lavender Fagan (2017)
''Horses of the World''
Princeton: Princeton University Press. {{isbn, 9780691167206. Coldblooded trotter
Nordgen. Archived 3 March 2016.
Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Sweden Harness racing in Sweden Harness racing in Norway Horse breeds originating in Norway