What is a European Warmblood ?

European Warmbloods

These pages are only intended to give a brief overview upon the history of  The European Warmblood horse .

For those seeking detailed knowledge , you are advised to contact the respective Breed Society . A good starting point is to go to the British Horse Society web site who have a breed index with appropriate links to the web sites of varies breed societies who are expert in  the history of their particular horses and their  pedigree

So what exactly is a Warmblood Horse ?   ............................     The term " Warmblood " is a comparatively recent addition to the British horse breeders vocabulary , and when a newcomer to the equestrian scene asks , " What is a Warmblood  ? " the chances are that the English reply will be " one of those soft and gutless things from the continent ! " , or a similar derogatory comment like it .

The true answer is far more complex and interesting.

It is true that the word " Warmblood " has its derivation on the continent of Europe , from an exclusion of two very different types - the " Cold Blood " , or very heavy draught horses such as the Suffolk Punch  or Clydesdales equivalent here in the UK and the " Pure Blood " for the Thoroughbred or Arab horses.

Everything in between would be called a " Warmblood " . These horses were not called " Hunters " as they would be here in Britain because the continentals did not hunt on horseback a great deal , so they found a general description to cover their many breeds of riding and driving horses .There is however a significant difference between hunters and warmbloods. Studbook registration and interference in the breeding process --- i.e. selection !!

Most warmblood breeds are therefore continuing to evolve. In fact they are not " breeds " in the sense that Thoroughbreds , Arabians and Morgans are breeds. They do not have closed studbooks . Other breeds are often introduced to the gene pool to reap the benefits of hybrid vigour , and to speed and improve the evolutionary process of attaining the " Breeding Goal " of the particular studbook .

The history and importance of the Trakehner warmblood horse has its own dedicated page upon this site.