The Silesian Warmblood (; ; ) is a Polish

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 originates in the historic region of

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

in south-western Poland and is the heaviest of the Polish warmblood breeds. It has been influenced mainly by the

Oldenburger The Oldenburg or Oldenburger is a warmblood horse from the north-western corner of Lower Saxony, what was formerly the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. The breed was built on a mare base of all-purpose farm and carriage horses, today called the Alt-O ...

, and to some extent also by the East Friesian, the

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 of ...

and the

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

History

The Silesian Warmblood originates in the historic region of

, which lies mostly in the south-west of modern Poland. It is the heaviest of the Polish warmblood breeds, and also one of the largest of all European warmbloods. It derives from

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 ...

– particularly 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 ...

– of the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

s of the region with

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

of north-western Germany, with some input also from East Friesian,

and

stallions. Records of this type of horse have been kept since the late nineteenth century; the

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 ...

dates from 1961. In 1993 there were approximately of the horses, but numbers declined sharply. In 2023 the total number for the old type of the breed was reported at head, with brood-mares and 318 stallions at stud. For the new type, the total number was given in 2022 as , with brood-mares and 270 active stallions. 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 types was "at risk".

Characteristics

Two types are recognised within the breed, an old and a new; the old type is more heavily built, the new type somewhat lighter and taller. At 3 years old, stallions of the old type stand some 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 ...

s about less; the girth is , and the cannon-bone circumference some . The new or racing type is taller and lighter, stallions standing at the withers and mares about less; the girth measures and the cannon-bone ; weights average about for stallions and some for mares.

Use

It is a large horse with considerable pulling power. It may be used for riding, as a

coach horse Driving means guiding a horse in Horse harness, harness to pull a load such as a horse-drawn vehicle, a farm implement, or other load. Horses, pony, ponies, donkeys, mules, and Working animal#Draft animals, other animals can be driven. Typica ...

, or in cross-breeding to conserve coach horse breeds or strains.

References

Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Poland Warmbloods Horse breeds originating in Prussia {{bots, deny=Citation bot