The Zangersheide is a Belgian

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

sport horses. It is one of three Belgian warmblood breeds or stud-books, the others being the Belgian Sport Horse and the

Belgian Warmblood The Belgian Warmblood or is a Belgian breed of warmblood sport horse. It is bred principally for show-jumping, but is also suitable for dressage and for three-day eventing. It is one of three Belgian warmblood breeds or stud-books, the other ...

. It is bred at the

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

of the same name near

Lanaken Lanaken (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2007, the municipality of Lanaken had a total population of 24,724. Its area is 59.00 km2 which gives a population density of 415 inhabitants per km2. ...

, in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

in eastern

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, close to the Dutch border. Breeding and selection are directed at performance in

show-jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows are ...

History

The Zangersheide stud was established in the 1970s, with the aim of breeding and selecting horses on the basis of their performance in

. A

was started in 1992 or 1993; registered animals have a Z suffixed to their names. Registration is based on selection for show-jumping performance, and the stud-book is open to any breed of performance horse; it includes horses of

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Selle Français The Selle Français (SF) is a horse breed, breed of sport horse from France. An athletic horse with good horse gaits, gaits, it is usually bay (horse), bay or chestnut (coat), chestnut in color. The Selle Français was created in 1958 when se ...

origin. In 2014, the breeding stock amounted to some animals, of which 340 were stallions. In 2019 its

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 ...

was 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'. Gem Twist Alpha Z (b. 2012), a clone of the

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

gelding Gem Twist, was exported to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and registered with the Zangersheide studbook to help promote breeding. An older clone of Gem Twist, Gemini CL (b. 2008), was previously used to cover Zangersheide mares via

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

(AI).

Ranking

In the

ranking published by the

World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses The World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) is an umbrella organisation of sport horse studbooks. It connects sport horse breeding organizations with the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). The FEI is the Internationa ...

(WBFSH) and the

Fédération Équestre Internationale The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI came into being following the Olympic Congress in Lausanne (SUI) in 1921 from May 28 to May 30. It's headquarters are ...

(FEI) in May 2019, the Zangersheide stud was in second place after the Dutch Koninklijk Warmbloed Paardenstamboek Nederland (KWPN), more commonly known as the

Dutch Warmblood A Dutch Warmblood or KWPN is a horse breed of warmblood type registered with the Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands oninklijk Warmbloed Paardenstamboek Nederland(KWPN), which governs the breeding of competitive dressage and show jump ...

References

{{Horse breeds of Belgium and Luxembourg Horse breeds originating in Belgium Warmbloods