Knabstrupper
{{Short description|Danish breed of horse, spotted}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox horse breed
| name = Knabstrupper
| image = File:Knabstrupper-Horses.jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| image2 = File:Knabstrupper-Dressage.jpg
| image_size2 =
| image_alt2 =
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| status = {{ubl|FAO (2007): not at risk{{r|barb|p=139}}|DAD-IS (2022): at risk/endangered{{r|dad|dad2}}}}
| altname = {{ubl|Knabstrup|Knabstrupperhesten}}
| country = Denmark
| distribution = {{ubl|Germany|Denmark|Italy|Australia {{r|dad3}}}}
| standard = {{ubl|[https://knabstrupper.dk/cms/Clubknab/ClubImages/010f37076f38f352ccfb5189c686f2a1.pdf Danish, 2016]|[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928184531/http://www.knabstrupperforeningen.dk/pdf-filer/2008.04.23%20KNN%20collected%20rules%20and%20standards.pdf English, 2008]}}
| use = riding, driving, circus
| colour = any but piebald or palomino; often spotted{{r|dad}}
| height = {{right|154–162 cm{{r|cabi}}}}
| weight = {{right|average {{convert|500|kg|round=50|abbr=on|comma=off}}{{r|dad}}}}
| note =
}}
The Knabstrupper or Knabstrup is a Danish breed of warmblood horse. It is principally a riding horse, but is also used as a harness horse and as a circus animal.{{r|elise|p=64}} It is broadly similar to the Frederiksborger, but often has a spotted coat. In the past, injudicious breeding for this characteristic alone compromised its constitution and conformation.{{r|edwards|edwards2}} In the years after the Second World War the mechanisation of agriculture led to a sharp fall in numbers, and by the 1960s no more than 100 of the horses remained.{{r|wenk}} In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed, with a world-wide population estimated at little over {{val|2000}}.{{r|dad}}
History
File:Knabstrupper-Wallpaper.jpg
The Knabstrupper descends from a single mare believed to have originated in Spain who showed qualities of endurance and speed, and was of an unusual colouration: a deep red ({{langx|de|Zobelfuchs}}) with a white tail and mane, and white flecks or "snowflakes" over her whole body and brown spots on her back.{{r|cabi|p=480}} She was called Flaebehoppen, 'Flaebe's horse', because she was reportedly bought by a butcher named Flaebe from an officer of the Spanish army. He sold her to {{ill|Willars Knudsen Lunn|da}}, who took her to his estate at Knabstrup Hovedgård in the kommune of Holbæk in northern Zealand.{{r|edwards2|p=176}} There, in 1808, after a month of testing of her working capabilities, he bred her to a Frederiksborger stallion.{{r|cabi|p=480|edwards|p2=113}} The stallion Mikkel, a grandson of this pair foaled in 1818, was a noted harness-racer and a foundation stallion of the Knabstrupper breed.{{r|cabi|p=480|edwards|p2=113|edwards2|p3=176}} In 1971, three Appaloosa stallions were imported to Denmark in the hope of adding new blood to the Knabstrupper breed; only two of them were used, and many breeders preferred to cross-breed with Danish Warmblood, Holsteiner or Trakehner stock.{{r|knab}}
As of 2024, crossing Knabstruppers with other breeds such as Thoroughbreds, Arabians and other warmbloods may lead to approval, but crossing with Appaloosas will not.{{cite web |title=Breeding Programs 2024 |url=https://knabstrupper.dk/cms/Clubknab/ClubImages//Avl%20og%20sport%20dokumenter/2024%20UK%20BREEDING%20PROGRAMS%20Intro%20and%20breeding%20principles.pdf |website=Knabstrupperforeningen for Denmark |access-date=19 December 2024}}{{cite web |title=Knabstrupper |url=https://westfalenverband.com/knabstrupper.html |website=Westfalen Verband |access-date=19 December 2024}}
Characteristics
The horses usually stand between {{val|154|and|162|u=cm}} at the withers;{{r|cabi|p=480}} small or pony-sized ones have also been bred.{{r|knab}} The coat may be of any color except piebald or palomino, but is most often spotted.{{r|dad}}
A 2022 study found that Knabstruppers are predisposed to Equine Recurrent Uveitis.{{cite news |last1=Gershony |first1=Liza Crissiuma |title=VGL Research identify risk factors for insidious uveitis in Knabstrupper horses |url=https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/news/insidious-uveitis-Knabstrupper |access-date=26 March 2025 |publisher=UC Davis Veterinary Medicine |date=28 October 2022}}{{cite journal |last1=Kingsley |first1=Nicole B. |last2=Sandmeyer |first2=Lynne |last3=Parker |first3=Sarah E. |last4=Dwyer |first4=Ann |last5=Heden |first5=Sanna |last6=Reilly |first6=Camilla |last7=Hallendar‐Edman |first7=Anna |last8=Archer |first8=Sheila |last9=Bellone |first9=Rebecca R. |title=Risk factors for insidious uveitis in the Knabstrupper breed |journal=Equine Veterinary Journal |date=September 2023 |volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=820–830 |doi=10.1111/evj.13879 |url=https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.13879 |access-date=26 March 2025|url-access=subscription }}
Use
The Knabstrupper has long been used as a circus horse, and is well suited to driving and equestrian vaulting.{{r|edwards}} It is also used in dressage, show-jumping and eventing.{{r|edwards2|usdf}}
References
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External links
{{commonscat}}
- [https://knabstrupper.dk Knabstrupper association of Europe]
Category:Horse breeds originating in Denmark
Category:Animal breeds on the GEH Red List
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