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1735 - The history of the world's most successful warmblood breed is recognised to have begun when George II, Elector of Hannover, took an historic step in the history of Hanoverian horse breeding when he decreed: "therefore for the benefit of our subjects and, in order to promote horse breeding in our German lands, especially in the Duchy of Bremen and the County of Hoya... we shall set up a public stud (Landegestut), as a special favour, with twelve stallions to start with, and this stud shall exist for the present and until such time as it has been seen what good comes of it for the land as a whole."
1736 - The new Celle stud set up its "covering places" (stallion stations)
for the for the first time on the marshes of the Lower Elbe with 12 stallions brought from
Holstein. We know the names of some of the stallions -
The fine black Gyldenstein
The big golden bay Gyldenstein
The fine black Reventlow
The small black Ranzau
The medium sized black Hammerstein
The big black rough-coated Ahlefeld.
As well as telling us that the predominant colour was black, these descriptions also show the estate of the origin of each horse since the names were those of large Holstein landowners.
The following interesting instructions were issued to the "stallion men":
The stud fee is one himbten (an old German measure of approx. 20kg of oats)
The additional sum of one thaler is due on the birth of a live foal.
Precise instructions for the management, care and handling of the stallions are to be
adhered to.
Notification of arrival to be given to the relevant authorities, together with reports on
the stallions and stud business.
Only 40-50 mares to be covered by each stallion. Each stallion may serve 2-3 mares per
day.
Small or ugly mares not expected to produce a good foal may only be covered with the
permission of the breeding authorities.
Mares which do not hold to the service are to be sent home. Any one mare may only be
covered 3-4 times or at the most five times in one stud season.
Farmers' mares are to be given priority over the mares of noblemen and officers.
Stallion returns, foal lists and feed lists are to be kept and certified by the
authorities in accordance with instructions.
Behaviour - no smoking, no imbibing at the hostelries, coverings and stud business to be
supervised personally.
1745 - There are now 50 stallions at stud and about 2000 mares are covered. However, the Seven Years War saw the loss of many horses and replacements had to come from Holstein, England, Spain, Italy and Trakehnen.
1800 - The number of State stallions rises to 100. From the year the stud was founded to the turn of the century, 242,774 mares were taken to the state stallions. In the last decades of the 18th century, 10,000 foals and remounts were sold for export, mainly sired by private stallions.
1838 - 80% of Hanoverian state stallions are from Mecklenburg. At first, Hanover acquired its English Thoroughbreds from Mecklenburg and from 1830 began importing them directly from England.
1840 - A turning point in the Hanoverian breed at least one-third of the stallion population was now Thoroughbred and the remaining two-thirds either halfbred or quarterbred.
1844 - A Licensing Order applying to the whole of the kingdom is passed and stallions standing in any region of Hanover must be licensed. These higher standards mean that the number of privately owned stallions begins to fall. More intensive farming means the demand is now for a heavier horse and, to this end, the importation of 100 English coach horses is undertaken. A major impact on the breed which is still in evidence today with their large frames and substance now part of the modern Hanoverian.
1867 - A breeding policy is formulated for the first time by the Verein zur Forderungde Hannoverschen Landepferdezucht (Society for the Promotion of Hanoverian Horse Breeding. The aim is "to produce a large, powerful horse with substance, a strong coach horse and, at the same time, a useful army horse.
1914 -1918 - The First World War causes heavy losses - even broodmares are requisitioned - but the actual foundations remain. The devaluation of currency in postwar years leads to a rush to invest in things which hold their value. Consequently, equine breeding stocks rise sharply.
After 1918 - A cause of major cut-backs in Hanoverian breeding industry is the sharp drop in the number of remounts now required by the military authorities. Every year, 2500 horses bred in the Hanover region and reared there or in the territories east of the Elbe are sold by this outlet. The number has now dropped by more than half.
1922 - The Verband hannoverscher Warmblutzuchter (Hanoverian Warmblood Society) is formed. It takes over the responsibilities of the Stutbuchgesellschaft and serves the interests of breeders in all matters, with particular emphasis on agricultural aspects.
The market has now demanded a heavier horse, for agricultural aspects and a new breeding policy is formulated: "A warmblood horse with as much substance as possible, which can undertake any type of farm work, but which has enough "blood" and courage, and good enough paces, to make a riding and driving horse of substance".
After WWI, Gustav Rau becomes responsible for fostering an interest in riding among the rural community, including that of the Hanover region. As a result of this, many breeders' sons become keen on riding. During this period, broodmares often provide a mount for the farmer's son at the local show on a Sunday or afternoon off. Equestrian sport begins to spread from the small circle of officers and well-to-do people into the farming community.
1925 - A new state stud is established at Osnabruch-Eversburg to cope with the increased number of state stallions - by now nearly 600.
After WWII - The currency is again devalued, the results being the same as at the end of WWI: an over-production of horses occurs. Horses fall in value in the 1950s and 1960s on an unprecedented scale. The rapid advance of mechanisation in industry and agriculture is to blame - a factor which was absent on the previous occasion.
1960 - The economy can now do without horses, especially with the rising cost of labour. The horse population of West Germany falls to a tenth of its former level. Out of 30,000 registered broodmares in the Stud Book in 1948, 1963 sees a dramatic fall to 6,500. Active stallions fall diminish from 539 to 149. Many of the old consolidated female lines are lost. On the other hand, this recession actually has a therapeutic effect in that very drastic selection procedures are adopted and consequently, only the very best of the stock which remains are used for breeding.
This selection "from the inside outwards" is one of the pillars upon which the new breeding policy is based. Unlike other German warmblood breeds which consist of heavy coach horse types, the Hanoverian experiences relatively few problems in the conversion to riding horse.
Today - The aim is now to produce "a high-class correct warmblood horse with clearly defined lines, with a capacity for performance, and dynamic ground-covering, elastic paces; a horse which is suitable for any equestrian discipline on account of its temperament, nature and "rideability".
One of the most recent additions to the stallion band at Celle - Rotspon, winner of the
Performance test in 1998
For the first time in its history, the Hanoverian is almost exclusively a riding horse. It is based partly on bloodlines which can be traced back into the 18th Century, and who representatives were neither pure farm horses nor pure riding horses. The development of the breed is greatly influenced by the fact that it was required to produce horses for the army and for use as high-class carriage horses.
In the 130-odd years of its existence as a breed in its own right, the
Hanoverian half-bred - known since 1921 as a "warmblood" - has never been a
closed shop. Over this period, breeders have never adhered fixedly to one set aim. In fact
they have always tried to avoid uniformity within the breed. Once a sufficiently broad
female foundation had been achieved, the breed authorities endeavoured, with the help of
Thoroughbred, Trakehner and Arab blood, to match their products to the market demands of
each period, i.e. to produce a light or heavy farm-cum-military horse in the early decades
of the century, then an all-round competition and leisure horse for the present day
market.
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