All about Hanoverians
28 December 2001
Everything you wanted to know about the Hanoverian breed
A relatively recent breed, the Hanoverian was founded in 1735 on a stud at Celle in northern Germany.
The stud wasestablished by King George II, with the intention of producing strong stallions that could be mated with local mares.
He planned to use the versatile offspring as all-round agricultural horses.
Black Holsteins (powerful coach horses produced by crossing native mares with Neopolitan, Spanish and Oriental blood) were used as foundation stock, with Thoroughbred and more recently Trakehner, blood being introduced. The breed gradually became lighter in build and increased in quality.
History
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Up until World War II, Hanoverians were used as cavalry remounts, harness horses and farm animals.
Following the war, however, the number of horses needed for this type of work decreased and the breed founda new niche as the demand for riding and competition horses increased.
Today, the breed has established a world-wide reputation as an athletic show jumper, a versatile eventer and a powerful, agile dressage horse.
Conformation
The Hanoverian is a noble, big-framed and correctly-built warmblood horse, whose conformation is suited to both pleasure and performance riding.
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