The Majesty of the Horse: An Illustrated History. Tamsin Pickeral
of spotted horses dating to around 800 B.C.E., while there is a great deal of evidence for spotted horses heralding from Central Asia at a much earlier date, with the much sought-after horses of Ferghana often exhibiting this prized coat. By around 800 C.E., monks in Scotland were keeping and breeding spotted horses, and by the turn of the first millennium they had arrived in Denmark, as indicated by the Viking fresco at Skibby Church not far from Knabstrupper Hovedgaard. In the fresco, a procession of fine spotted horses carries three young princes, reflecting the very early association of these magnificently marked animals with nobility. Many centuries later they would be highly prized by the elite classes for their extravagant looks.
A spotted stallion appears on a fragment from a thirteenth-century tapestry in the Baldishol Church in Oslo, Norway, ridden by an eleventh- or twelfth-century knight; an equally majestic spotted horse ridden by one of the horsemen of the four seals is depicted in the Spanish Silos Apocalypse manuscript. By this time, spotted horses were popular across Europe, from Spain to Constantinople. Though it is rarely seen in the modern Iberian breeds, Spanish horses in particular exhibited the coat coloring, and they were in great demand in Austria, where they were highly regarded for use in the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, opened in 1572.
In 1562, King Frederik II of Denmark established the Royal Frederiksborg Stud to breed magnificent horses befitting a king, ones suitable for use in displays and ceremonies as well as in the cavalry. The Frederiksborg breed was one of the great successes of the stud, but it was also here that the Knabstrup started to take shape. The stud housed a number of Spanish horses in which the spotted coat coloring was prevalent, and later additional Spanish blood was introduced during the Napoleonic Wars when Spanish soldiers were stationed in Denmark and brought their horses with them. In 1683, the stud purchased a majestic black stallion called Superbe from the Spanish monastery and breeding facility at Jerez de la Frontera, again primarily to improve the Frederiksborg horse, but it was through Superbe’s line that the foundation for the Knabstrup was laid.
In 1812, a direct descendant of Superbe was bred to a spotted mare called Flaebehoppen (the Snivel Mare) who came to Denmark from Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. The mare was bought by Judge Lunn, owner of the Knabstrupgaard Manor in Holbaek, and once proved her worth by allegedly pulling a cart about 18.5 miles (30 km) in 105 minutes to transport Lunn’s son to the doctor in an emergency. The other horse that was in harness with her is said to have died, but Flaebehoppen was apparently back at work the following day. Whether or not the story is true is a matter of some debate, but it is clear that the mare was a horse of great endurance and speed. The foal she had from the Superbe line in 1813 was called Flaebestallion, and he became one of the foundation stallions for the Knabstrup breed. All of Flaebe’s foals were born with a distinctive spotted coat pattern, including her son Mikkel, who was famed for his racetrack record—he was apparently made to pull a farm cart carrying his owner to the track before he raced under saddle.
The Knabstrup is an extraordinarily versatile breed and was originally used in harness on small farms for pulling coaches, riding, and racing, as well as being used as a cavalry animal and later in the circus. They were used by Danish officers during the war in 1848–1850 but were not ideal cavalry mounts, as their eye-catching color made them easy targets. The breed then suffered in 1891 when twenty-two of the breeding Knabstrups at the Lunn’s stud were killed in a fire.
With the creation of the modern circus in the eighteenth century by the Englishman Philip Astley, the Knabstrup found a new role. Its smooth gait and tendency to have a broad, flat back made it an excellent horse for use in the circus, particularly for vaulting, and in this capacity Knabstrups traveled widely across Europe and even to Australia and America during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They are highly intelligent horses, which added to their aptitude for life in the circus and helped endear them to the modern rider.
Today the Knabstrup is a high-quality, beautiful horse. It is strong through the frame, and compact, and should be nicely put together with strong, clean limbs and hard feet. Unusually for horse breeds, the Knabstrup can be found in all sizes because of systematic breeding for color over other considerations such as size. This method of breeding has not always served the breed well, however, and did lead to a loss of quality in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; during this time, the breed suffered a deterioration in conformation and athleticism, though this has now been fully rectified. Today the horses are all-rounders and highly regarded athletes, equally suitable for pleasure and competitive riding.
NORIKER + SPOTTED PINZGAUER
ANCIENT – AUSTRIA – COMMON
HEIGHT
15.2–16.3 h.h.
APPEARANCE
Heavy but well-proportioned frame with a well-set head and neck and muscular hindquarters. Exceptionally strong limbs with a small amount of feathering and an abundance of mane and tail.
COLOR
The Noriker displays a range of coat colorings from dark to light chestnut, dappled and/or brindled.
APTITUDE
Heavy draft, riding, meat production
THE NORIKER IS ONE OF THE OLDEST heavy draft breeds of Europe and most probably descended from the prehistoric Forest Horse and the postulated Pony Type 2. The horses take their name from the ancient Roman vassal province of Noricum, which roughly equates to modern-day Austria south of the Danube River, and were bred by the Romans in this mountainous Alpine region. However, the horses are thought to have originated in the Pindus Mountains of Thessaly in northern Greece where they were bred by the Greeks as warhorses.
The Greeks were superior horse breeders and equestrians to the Romans and placed great stock in their horses. Although Greece does not have a particularly favorable habitat for breeding horses because of the climate and resulting poor grasses, Thessaly is more productive, and consequently many of the ancient Greek horse activities were based there. Thessalonian horses were greatly admired and bred along different lines for riding, packing, draft, and war.
During the Roman conquests, these heavy Greek warhorses from which the Noriker would later develop were taken across the Alps into what is now Austria. Following Greek precedents, the Romans established a number of systematic horse breeding programs to breed horses for purpose, and through this the Noriker developed. The horses were kept and bred at high altitude among the valleys and peaks, where they became very sure-footed and hardy. A major center for the early breeding of the Noriker was the Roman Juvavum stud farm, situated close to what is now Salzburg. Many centuries later, the Salzburg area remained strongly identified with the Noriker breed, primarily through breeding programs that were implemented in local monasteries.
Very early in its history, the Noriker was developed as a versatile heavy horse capable of pulling great weights, packing goods in mountainous areas, and even being ridden. Despite its size and bulk, it remains a very versatile breed and, because of the unusual smoothness and length of its stride, also makes a useful riding horse. Its marvelous temperament, paired with great intelligence and spirit, has made it an extremely popular horse through the centuries. Today the Noriker breed accounts for approximately 50 percent of Austria’s horses, and it is still widely used in mountainous forest areas for hauling timber.
By the Middle Ages, the Noriker had developed to be a small, compact, but incredibly strong horse for its size. From around 1565 most of the Noriker breeding activities were managed by monks in the monasteries around Salzburg, and in 1574 the Archbishop of Salzburg established the first public breeding facility and the studbook. Subsequently, a rash of stud farms sprang up, and there was some introduction of Spanish, Italian, and French blood to improve the Noriker’s height and elegance. This proved successful, and the horses became extremely popular for use in jousting tournaments.
The influence of Spanish blood in the breed is apparent