Hessen Horse

The Hessian Warmblood is a breed of warmblood horse that was bred up until 2009 but has since been entirely incorporated into the Hanoverian breed association.

In this blog post we will discuss the characteristics of this impressive animal – so, keep reading!

Hessen Horse Breed Info

Here are some of the key things you need to know about the Hessen horse:

Hessen Horse Facts & Information (Breed Profile)

State of Hesse in Germany has long been renowned as a horse breeding center.

Horses were bred in isolation at Reinhardswald, Germany, according to early records.

Those local horses were sturdy, fast and had great endurance.

In the beginning, they were crossed with royal stallions from other countries, such as those from Prussia and England, which resulted in a slender, medium-sized build animal with exceptional endurance.

Official breeding of the Hessen Horse started in 1724, when the Berber-beck stud was promoted to a court stud.

The royal stables used imported breeds to breed horses in accordance with the trend of the time period and for their personal use solely; they did not create any new breed types.

However, the Beber-beck stud was an exception, and had a reputation for producing excellent half-breeds and continued to work until 1929.

At the same time, private breeding continued on local farms, with an emphasis on draft types of horses, while court studs favored lighter, riding horses.

That led to the development of many different strains of this breed, but in the early 20th century only two emerged – a draft type that was used mostly for agricultural labor and work in general, and a warmblood type that was used for transportation and was based on the Holstein and Oldenburg breeds.

Due to the rough soil in Hessen, breeding circumstances are very demanding, but the result is a very healthy and resilient animal with a long lifespan.

With the introduction of automobiles and the overall mechanization their purpose changed to that of a sport horse.

Around 1960, the modern riding horse was officially created using Hanoverian, Westphalian, Thoroughbred Trakehner, and Arabian stock.

Until 2005, the Hessian Horse Breeders Association was in charge of the Hessian Warmblood breeding.

However, on July 1, 2005, the Hessian Horse Breeders Association joined the Hanoverian Association.

Until 2009, the Hannoveraner Verband still had a separate section of the Hesse studbook with the previous Hessian brand.

Since then, the Hessian horse breeding has been completely part of the breeding of the Hanoverian horse.

Today, the region of Hessen ranks 4th in warmblood breeding in Germany.

If you’re interested in learning more about this fascinating breed, keep reading!

Alternative Names

“Hessen Warmblood”, “Hessian”

Temperament/Personality

Focused, composed, easy to train, intelligent

Physical Characteristics

Its conformation is quite similar to that of the Hanoverian horse, and it is considered to be a great example of the typical German riding horse.

The body is more rectangular than square.

The head is straight.

The neck is long and well-formed, and the withers are pronounced.

The back and croup are relatively long, but strong, with the croup gently sloping backwards.

Due to its powerful build and well-proportioned withers and croup, the Hessen horse is particularly well-suited for riding.

The Hessen’s regal movement are consistent with the early accounts that indicate that the breed was intended for royalty.

Colors

Most commonly chestnut and bay, but gray is also seen

Height (size)

Average 16.2 hands high

Stallions

n/a

Mares

n/a

Weight

Average 1,400 lbs (635 kg)

Blood Type

Warm

Common Uses

Ideal for equestrian sports, but also for pleasure riding

Health

n/a

Popular Traits

Good jumping ability

Feeding/Diet

n/a

Country of Origin

Germany

Ancestors

Local horses, later: Hanoverian, Westphalian, Thoroughbred, Trakehner, Arabian