[lamoo]

I know I sound so stupid, but i'm so confused!

So what exactly is a warmblood? I know that it isn't really a pure breed, it's like a mix of breeds, right?

I don't know, just help!! Lol.

[taydajumper93]

The mix between a hotblood (thoroughbred and arab) to a coldblood (draft)

[Martini!]

Originally Posted by taydajumper93

The mix between a hotblood (thoroughbred and arab) to a coldblood (draft)

That is the original definition of a Warmblood, but now there are different European types that are considered breeds. These days, you can't compare the European warmblood breeds like the Hanoverian, Dutch Warmblood, Holsteiner, etc to any horse that is half hot blood and half cold blood. The term has taken on a new meaning. There is probably someone else that can describe the history of some of the breeds better than I can.

[JBandRio]

Not just a mix between a cold blood and a hot blood, unless you are talking about an American Warmblood, and even then that isn't necessarily the case - it just can be.

If you are referring to a European WB - Holsteiner, Hanoverian, Oldenburg, Dutch, etc, it's most definitely NOT a cold x hot blood mix

Those WBs originated as crosses between ligher horses, often carriage-type horses, and farm horses (usually these were the mares). These farm horses were NOT draft breeds, though they were heavier types.

The goals were to create horses suitable for the Olympic disciplines - show jumping, dressage, eventing. This meant nothing spindly, and nothing really heavy. The horse had to be kind, well-proportioned, very athletic, with a good brain.

Each region in Europe had it's own national stud farm, which is how there came to be the different "breeds". Oldenburg had one, Hanover had one, etc, giving rise to the Hanoverian, the Oldenburg, and all the others according to region.

It became popular to exchange stallions as well as prize mares, to keep the gene pool diverse. But each foal born to a particular stud was registered after that stud, so if the Hanover stud had its stallion(s), and borrowed a mare from the Oldenburg stud, and the foal was born in Hanover, it was a Hanoverian foal. That is how you mix "breeds" and come up with one or the other.

Today there are German Verband registries - the originals - and there are some American versions of them, some supported by the German Verbands, some not. Each registry has its own set of rules and requirements, most very similar, some quite different.

Horses are registered with one and only one WB registry - it defines "what" they are. Breeding stock are presented for approval with as many registries as the owner chooses, and they are either approved or they are not. They can be approved with as many registries as they are presented to, and accepted by.

Foals can only be registered with one registry and only as long as BOTH parents are APPROVED for breeding by that registry. There are some exceptions made, but they are rare.

[powertomyhorse7]

made simple its a lot of breeds put together to make one power horse-warmblood-sporthorse

[taydajumper93]

Yes, what JB said kinda make more sence!! I wondered how the other breeds were made! Thanks JB!!!!

[JBandRio]

You're welcome

I thought I'd throw a few more things in there as well.

Over the years there have been attempts at introducing new blood into the registries - experiments to see what would happen. One of them, Dutch maybe, tried to introduce Saddlebred blood for some refinement (which the TB and Arab do nicely). Even though they chose the sporthorse type ASB (as opposed to the halter type), it was quickly apparent that the history of the ASB, sporthorse type or not, was just not what they wanted, and undesirable, old ASB phenotypes were showing up, so that experiment was quickly stopped.

A couple of the registries will accept some Paint/QH blood, though not in the main books. How well they produce, and how well their offspring perform, can get them moved up the book, depending on the registry, and can enable offspring to be registered/approved in higher books, but it's not an easy task.

Because of the sporthorse requirements, you will NEVER find certain breeds in WB lines - drafts, mules, minis, anything gaited, and more. Some registries even have issues with certain colors, silly as that may be I think many/most of those are being relaxed though.

So overall, it's not really a lot of different breeds thrown into the mix. Too many hands in the pot makes it much harder to insure that the outcome will be of a certain type, and that's the whole point of each registry - to try to reliable produce a certain type of horse.

The Trakehner, technically still a registry, is nearly a breed, due to how long its stud book has been closed. The look of a Trakehner is nearly unmistakable, as breeding Trak to Trak nearly 100% of the time gives you a horse that looks like a Trak - refined, hotter than the other registries, more delicate features, particularly the head which is heavily influenced by the Arab, and so on. Next to them the Holsteiners are the closest to being a "breed", as their type is usually readily identifiable, they just have a certain body type that says "I'm a Holsteiner!". The other registries aren't there, and that's because there is a lot of blood swapping - not a bad thing.

[taydajumper93]

I guess its a good thing to find out what Roxy has in her!! lmao. She is a Holsteiner. I can ALWAYS tell Trak and Holsteiner apart, that makes SO much sence now. Thanks!!!!

[JKetsche]

Just an observation--Hanoverian/Hanover is spelled with one n. In German both the city and the registry have two (Hannoveraner/Hannover). I always thought that was odd.

To add to what JB said, foals can only be registered with one--but they may be APPROVED for multiple registries (which is why it is possible to cross two different horses and come up with a foal that is neither, but registered elsewhere!). That distinction always amused me.

[lamoo]

Wow! I wasn't expecting to learn that much, but thank you everyone! I understand now. ^^ Someday I hope to breed/sell warmbloods fpr dressage; that would be awesome.