Summary
The Swedish Warmblood or Swedish Half-bred is a Swedish breed of warmblood horse. It was originally bred as a cavalry horse at the Strömsholm, Ottenby and Flyinge studs. In the twentieth century it became a general-purpose riding and sport horse. It performs well in dressage, show-jumping and three-day eventing, and also as a harness horse.
 Patrik Kittel and Deja at the Dressage World Cup in Paris in 2018 | |
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| Country of origin | Sweden |
| Distribution | European countries, United States |
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| Colour | any solid colour |
History edit
The origins of the Swedish Warmblood lie in the seventeenth century, when foreign horses were imported to Sweden from various countries, mostly in Europe, and were cross-bred with mares of local stock to produce horses suitable for military use. Of these imports, Spanish and Friesian animals were the most important; others came from Denmark, England, France, the German-speaking area, Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Russia.[4]: 149 Breeding took place at the stud-farm of Strömsholm in Västmanland, which was established in 1621; at the Ottenby Stud on the island of Öland; and at the Flyinge Royal Stud at Flyinge in Skåne, which dates from 1658.[5]: 180 [6]
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries there were further imports, of sport horses of Arab, Thoroughbred, Hanoverian and particularly of Trakehner stock. These were used to increase the size and power of the breed and to make it more consistent in type. It became a general-purpose riding and sport horse.[4]: 149 [5]: 180
A stud-book was begun in 1874. In 1928 a breed society, the Avelsförening för Svenska Varmblodiga Hästen or Swedish Warmblood Association, was formed.[7] The stud-book is open to registration of horses already registered in an approved foreign warmblood stud-book.[8]
Characteristics edit
The Swedish Warmblood usually stands between 164 and 170 cm at the withers.[9]: 506 The coat may be of any solid colour.[5]: 180 As in other warmblood breeds, selection of stallions approved for breeding is based on a performance test.[6]
Use edit
It is a good general-purpose riding and sport horse. It performs well in dressage, show-jumping and three-day eventing, and also as a harness horse.[10]: 70
References edit
- ^ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to 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.
- ^ a b c d e Breed data sheet: Svenskt halvblod / Sweden (Horse). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2022.
- ^ Transboundary breed: Swedish Warmblood. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2022.
- ^ a b Elwyn Hartley Edwards (1994). The Encyclopedia of the Horse. London; New York; Stuttgart; Moscow: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0751301159.
- ^ a b c Elwyn Hartley Edwards (2016). The Horse Encyclopedia. New York, New York: DK Publishing. ISBN 9781465451439.
- ^ a b Eva Eternell Hagen ([n.d.]). Historia (in Swedish). Stockholm: Aftonbladet. Accessed January 2024.
- ^ Cecilia Turesson (21 October 2014). About SWB. Flyinge: Avelsförening för Svenska Varmblodiga Hästen. Archived 10 May 2015.
- ^ Stallion Performance Test. Flyinge: Swedish Warmblood Association. Accessed January 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Élise Rousseau, Yann Le Bris, Teresa Lavender Fagan (2017). Horses of the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691167206.