Kladruber
Kladruber
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| Other names | Oldkladruby horse |
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| Country of origin | Developed in the Habsburg Empire, now attributed primarily to the Czech Republic |
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| Colour | black or gray |
| Distinguishing features | coat color is black or gray only, no markings |
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The Kladruber (Czech Kladrubský kůň) is the oldest Czech horse breed and one of the world's oldest horse breeds. It is considered very rare. The main breeding centre is in National Stud Farm Kladruby nad Labem in the Czech Republic where Kladrubers have been bred for more than 400 years. Kladrubers have always been bred to be a galakarossier - a heavy type of carriage horse for the court of the House of Habsburg.
Bred in Kladruby nad Labem national stud, the Kladruber breed is almost 400 years old, yet is remarkably rare (492 mares as of January, 2011). Kladruby stud was founded in 1579 by Rudolf II as an Imperial stud, at the Pernstein stables. The breed was based on imported Spanish (such as the Andalusian) and Italian horses, crossed with Neapolitan, Danish, Holstein, Irish, and Oldenburg blood, in addition to the heavy Czech breeds. The animal was first developed to be a galakarosier; a heavy type of carriage horse used to pull the imperial coach, usually in a four- or six-in-hand, at ceremonies and funerals. It originally came in a variety of colors, including palomino and appaloosa, although today the breed is strictly gray or black, due to a breeding program requiring 18 "white" (i.e. fully mature grays) and 18 black stallions for various ceremonies of the court.
The stud was evacuated during the Seven Years' War to Kopcany, Slovakia and Enyed, Hungary. Due to a fire in 1757, the earliest 200 years of breeding records were lost, and the stud was dissolved before the remaining breeding stock was brought back to a new stud in Kladruby. The surviving records show a particular influence by several stallions on the herd of gray Kladrubers:
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Wikipedia