Trakehners UK

The name of the horse derives from the origins of this noble breed – as does the cross country fence of the same name- and refers to the enormous horse breeding area in East Prussia called Trakehnen, where selective breeding of riding and competition horses began in 1732. Despite the disturbances of various wars, not least the 2nd World War, the breed has survived to be the most noble of warmblood breeds, valued throughout the world. For full details go to the Trakehner Verband link and look at Trakehners Worldwide.

It is important, when studying warmblood breeding, to bear in mind that before German unification in 1871, Germany was made up of a number of different states, and the locally organised breeding areas under the control of a local breed society reflected this structure. As a result, horses bred in the Hanover area became known as Hanoverians, those bred in the Schleswig-Holstein area as Holsteins, those bred in Westphalia as Westphalians and so on,  with this structure still being maintained today by the German Government. However, although the Trakehner Verband is under the overall control of the national authority, horses in the Trakehner breed are an honourable exception to this breed-naming rule, as they are still known as Trakehners wherever they are foaled.

Although the generally accepted definition of a warmblood - a Euro¬pean performance horse developed by upgrading native mares through the controlled use of infusions of selected and performance-tested outside blood -applies to the Trakehner, over the last 275 years it has developed into a type of breed distinct from those originating from the other German breeding areas, such as Oldenburg, Hanover and Westphalia, which have become very similar to each other and are often impossible to recognise individually without examining the horse's brand.

This is because the Trakehner is the only 'pure' breed of warmblood type. Unlike the other regional breed societies, who have used many of the same sires, regardless of breed (with popular stallions being graded into two, three or even four different stud books), the Trakehner breed only allows outside influence through the limited use of high-quality Thoroughbred, Anglo-Arab and Arab stallions, who are graded into the breeding stud books alongside stallions and mares with Trakehner blood, and who are, themselves, from ‘closed’ stud books.

Once graded into the breeding stud book these stallions add xx to their names if they are Thoroughbreds (e.g. Perfectionist xx ), x to their names if they are Anglo-Arabs (e.g. Inspector x ) and ox  to their names if they are Arabs (e.g. Fetysz ox ) to denote their origin in the pedigrees of their progeny. Their progeny out of graded Trakehner mares are then treated as 'purebred' despite their mixed origins, with the word 'partbred' being used to describe crosses which have at least 25% Trakehner blood.

The guiding principle since 1732 has been selective breeding; a term synonymous with ‘grading’ as all pure bred stock must be from a graded (i.e. selected) mare by a graded stallion. Horses of Trakehner blood that are derived from ungraded stock are registered in the UK under the Preliminary Register, meaning that grading is possible but has not been achieved, or has been suspended, for instance if a stallion fails his Performance Test.

As has always been the tradition within the Trakehner breed, horses bred today are still given names starting with the first letter of their dam's names, unlike the practice in many other warmblood breeds where foals have to begin their names with the initial letter of the sire's name. This reflects the importance given to the mare families, whose influence still permeates the breed today, and who are numbered for easy identification.

In recent years the modern Trakehner has become a more elegant animal than was the case in immediate prewar days, and it is highly prized both as a competition horse in itself, and as a source of 'upgrading' blood for the heavier warmblood breeds. Its influence on the younger warmblood breeds (such as the Dutch Warmblood, the Danish Warm-blood and the British Warmblood) is considerable, as is its popularity with North American breeders and riders. Some Trakehner enthusiasts like to play a game at international competitions called ‘spot the Trakehner blood’. Read on, and you may see why!