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The Warmblood
The title of this section is rather misleading, since there is in fact no such thing as ‘the’ Warmblood. The forerunners of the modern Warmbloods were originally bred for cavalry purposes, initially by crossing native breeds (often draught types or light carriage horses) with lighter, more refined horses such as the Spanish, the Arabian and, later, the Thoroughbred. Selective breeding produced horses of differing types, but all characterised by a combination of strength and refinement, power and athleticism, and free elastic movement. Further selective breeding, honed by the exclusion from breeding stock of horses which fail to pass a rigorous grading system, has resulted in the modern sport horses variously called after their place of origin, e.g. Hanoverian (Saxony), Dutch Warmblood (The Netherlands), Belgian etc.
The fact that the various Warmblood stud books are not ‘closed’ in the way that, say, the Thoroughbred Register is, has made it possible for breeders to use infusions of outside blood (mostly Thoroughbred, with some Arabian) to continue to improve their stock. Some Warmbloods, especially the lighter types, have so much Thoroughbred blood in them that they are very nearly what used to be called, especially in Ireland, ‘clean bred.’ The great Rembrandt Borbet, Nicole Uphoff’s Olympic dressage star, has a considerable amount of Thoroughbred blood in him, as have two other great dressage horses, Isabell Werth’s Gigolo and Anky van Grunsven’s Bonfire.
Warmbloods are not generally associated with eventing, but many people do not realise just how many Warmbloods are, or have been, outstanding event horses. At the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988, two Hanoverians, Sherry and Shamrock, were team gold medallists. Other great warmblood eventers include Kibah Tic Toc, an Australian Warmblood by the Hanoverian Domherr; chestnut Holstein mare Feine Dame; and Andrew Nicholson’s ride in the 1994 World Equestrian Games, Jägermeister, by the Warmblood stallion Polarschnee. Many Warmbloods may lack the speed and stamina required for eventing, but the infusions of Thoroughbred blood mentioned above have undoubtedly ensured that there are plenty who do fit the bill, and no doubt the twenty-first century will see many more excelling in this sphere. Temperament-wise, an increase in the amount of Thoroughbred blood has made many Warmbloods more forward-going than some have been in the past. Nevertheless, the phlegmatic nature of some Warmbloods – a legacy of their light draught ancestry – means that they can be rather backward-thinking. I have often heard them described as rather ‘thick’. I would not go this far, because as always, one cannot generalise, especially where one meets with such a wide variation in type. However, there is no doubt that some do lack the responsiveness of, say, the Arabian, the Thoroughbred or the Iberian breeds; this makes them rather more tolerant of forceful or uneducated riding than those breeds. In fact, it is a tribute to their athletic ability that so many of them do manage to perform well in spite of some crude and ugly riding! Warmbloods are now bred all over the world, but few people in the United Kingdom realise that we have our own indigenous Warmblood, which owes nothing to the continental draught breeds. This is the Cleveland Bay, a breed in which I confess to having a special interest, as it originated in the area where I was born and grew up. Although not technically classed as a Warmblood, that is exactly what it is. It is a very old breed, whose origins may go back as far as horses first introduced by the Romans. It evolved over many centuries from the old "Chapman" pack horse, so-called because it was used by the "chapmen", the traders who carried goods across the rough terrain of the moors. Its toughness, hardiness and soundness of constitution made it the ideal all-purpose horse for the harsh moorlands, interspersed with bogs and with an underlying stiff clay, that characterise the area where the horse evolved. In the seventeenth century it was improved by the introduction of Spanish blood, and by the eighteenth century the Cleveland was much sought after as a carriage-horse. It is not generally recognised just how much many of the European Warmbloods owe to the Cleveland: The Oldenburg, Holstein, Hanoverian and Gelderlander all have Cleveland blood in their ancestry. The famous Yorkshire Coach horse of the mid-nineteenth century was none other than the Cleveland crossed with the Thoroughbred. This cross, which gives added speed, makes a superb hunter and three-day event horse, as demonstrated by (among others) Osberton Holly and Henleys Country Cousin; while in dressage and showjumping such horses as Powdermonkey, Warlock's Wager, Poshpaws and Huntersfield Hugo, as well as Harvey Smith's Brook Street Vista and Yoredale Wellington, have all proved what Clevelands and their crosses can achieve. Ferdi Eilberg's international dressage horse, Arun Tor, is a Cleveland Bay/TB cross. Many other successful British competition horses have had more than a dash of Cleveland blood. It has to be said that some people find the Cleveland somewhat stubborn in nature. This may be so, but this stubbornness is often only the reverse side of a gritty determination and courage that in former times kept the Cleveland pack and farm horses going over terrain and in climatic conditions that would have killed many a lesser animal. These same qualities are partly what makes the Cleveland/Thoroughbred cross such a good three-day event horse, for that is a discipline which above all others requires steely determination and a will to win. If a horseman or woman has the understanding to look past this apparent stubbornness, and win the Cleveland's respect and confidence, he or she will find a horse willing to attempt the seemingly impossible. Back to The Ancestors of the Modern Horse Back to Xenophon
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