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| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Deutsches Classic Pony [3] |
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Distribution | Germany |
| Traits | |
| Height |
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The German Classic Pony or German : Deutsches Classic Pony is a modern German breed of riding pony. It derives from the traditional Shetland Pony of the Scottish Shetland Isles, but is principally influenced by the taller and more elegant American Shetland Pony. [5]
While all coat colours are acceptable, the traditional German colours fuchs (flaxen chestnut) and dunkelfuchs (burnt chestnut with flaxen or silver mane) are among the most common. [5]
From about 1965 breeders in Germany began to selectively breed the traditional Shetland Pony with the taller and more athletic American Shetland Pony, with the aim of creating a more elegant pony better suited to use for riding and driving. [5] The 1961 American champion stallion Jiggs was imported, together with several mares. In the 1990s the Shetland Pony Stud-Book Society declined to register any pony with American bloodlines; the name "Deutsche Shetland Partbred" was proposed for these ponies, but some breeders did not accept it. They formed their own breed society, and the Deutsches Classic Pony was officially recognised as a German breed in 2001. [4] : 176 [6]
In 2007 the conservation status of the breed was listed by the FAO as "endangered". [1] : 49 In 2017 there were 58 stallions and 337 breeding mares, and the conservation status was listed by the Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung as "not endangered". [7] In 2024 it was listed in DAD-IS as "at risk/critical". [2]
The Shetland pony is a Scottish breed of pony originating in the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland. It may stand up to 107 cm (42 in) at the withers. It has a heavy coat and short legs, is strong for its size, and is used for riding, driving, and pack purposes.
The Haflinger, also known as the Avelignese, is a breed of horse developed in Austria and northern Italy during the late 19th century. Haflinger horses are relatively small, are always chestnut with flaxen mane and tail, have distinctive gaits described as energetic but smooth, and are well-muscled yet elegant. The breed traces its ancestry to the Middle Ages; several theories for its origin exist. Haflingers, developed for use in mountainous terrain, are known for their hardiness. Their current conformation and appearance are the result of infusions of bloodlines from Arabian and various European breeds into the original native Tyrolean ponies. The foundation sire, 249 Folie, was born in 1874; by 1904, the first breeders' cooperative was formed. All Haflingers can trace their lineage back to Folie through one of seven bloodlines. World Wars I and II, as well as the Great Depression, had a detrimental effect on the breed, and lower-quality animals were used at times to save the breed from extinction. During World War II, breeders focused on horses that were shorter and more draft-like, favored by the military for use as packhorses. The emphasis after the war shifted toward animals of increased refinement and height.
The Irish Draught horse is the national horse breed of Ireland which developed primarily for farm use. Today, they are especially popular for crossing with Thoroughbreds and warmbloods, producing the popular Irish Sport Horses which excel at the highest levels of eventing and show jumping.
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. 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. 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. In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed, with a world-wide population estimated at little over 2000.
The Freiberger or Franches-Montagnes is a Swiss breed of horse of light draught type. It originates in the Canton of Jura in north-western Switzerland, and is named for the Freiberge or Franches-Montagnes District in the south of that canton. It is widely distributed in Switzerland, and is also present in France and Belgium.
The Gotland Russ or Gotland Pony is an old Swedish breed of pony or small horse. Until the twentieth century it was found only on the small island of Gotland on the south-eastern coast of Sweden. It is now distributed through much of Sweden and is also present in some other European countries and in the United States. The Öland horse from the neighbouring island of Öland was a close relative of the Gotland, but became extinct in the early twentieth century.
The German Angus is a modern German breed of beef cattle. It was bred in the 1950s in West Germany by crossing Aberdeen Angus with various native German cattle breeds: the German Black Pied, the Deutsche Rotbunte and the Fleckvieh.
The Swiss Warmblood or Schweizer Warmblut is a modern Swiss breed of warmblood sport horse. It was created in the mid-twentieth century by merger of the Einsiedler – which had been bred for centuries at the Benedictine Monastery of Einsiedeln in the Canton of Schwyz – with the Swiss Halfblood and with traditional local breeds including the Ajoie, the Erlenbacher and the Entlebucher. It is sometimes known as the Neue Einsiedler. The Swiss Warmblood is bred at the Haras National Suisse at Avenches, in the Canton of Vaud.
The Sardinian Anglo-Arab or Anglo-Arabo Sardo is an Italian breed of riding horse from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. It derives from cross-breeding of local mares with stallions of Arab, Anglo-Arab and Thoroughbred stock. Breeding began in 1874; the breed was officially recognised in 1967.
The Bardigiano is a traditional Italian breed of small horse. It originates in the region of Emilia Romagna and takes its name from the town of Bardi, in the province of Parma. It is strongly associated with Bardi, the Valle del Ceno and the Val di Taro, and surrounding areas of the Tusco-Emilian Apennines of Parma.
The Black Forest Horse is an endangered German breed of light draft horse from the Black Forest of southern Germany.
The German Riding Pony or Deutsches Reitpony is a modern German breed of pony or small horse of warmblood type. It is a composite of several horse or pony breeds including the Anglo-Arab, the Arab, the Connemara, the Dülmener, the New Forest Pony and the Welsh Pony. These were selectively bred with the aim of developing a small athletic riding horse with the qualities of the principal German warmbloods. Heights are in the range 137–147 cm or 141–148 cm. It constitutes about 5.7% of the horse population of Germany.
The Arenberg-Nordkirchen or Arenberg-Nordkirchner is a breed of small riding horse from north-west Germany. It was believed extinct in 1985, but in 1995 a small number were discovered, and since 1999 the population has remained stable at about 20–25 head. The Arenberg-Nordkirchen is in the highest-risk category of the Rote Liste of the Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen, the German national association for the conservation of historic and endangered domestic animal breeds.
The Asturcón is an ancient Spanish breed of small horse or pony from the autonomous region of Asturias in the northern part of the country. It has been documented since Roman times: it has an unusual ambling gait, which was described by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia. It is of Celtic type, and shows similarity to the Pottok and Losino of Spain, the Garrano of Portugal, and the Dartmoor, Exmoor, Fell, Highland, Shetland and Welsh breeds of the British Isles.
The Schleswig Coldblood is a breed of medium-sized draught horse originally from the historic Schleswig region of the Jutland Peninsula, which today is divided between modern Denmark and Germany, and from which its name derives. It is found primarily in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, and also, in smaller numbers, in Lower Saxony. It shares the origins, ancestry and much of the history of the Danish Jutland breed, and shows some similarity to the British Suffolk Punch. It is used in agriculture and forestry, and to draw coaches and wagons.
The Kiso or Kiso Horse is one of the eight indigenous horse breeds of Japan. It is the only native horse breed from Honshu, the principal island of Japan. Like most other Japanese native breeds, it is critically endangered.
The Rotes Höhenvieh is a breed of red cattle from the Central Uplands of Germany. It was created in 1985 as a merger of the few remaining examples of a number of closely similar regional breeds of upland red cattle. Reconstruction of the breed was made possible by the discovery of a stock of semen in a sperm bank. The name means "red upland cattle".
The Bergische Schlotterkamm is an old and endangered German breed of domestic chicken. It originates from the Bergisches Land, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany, and is one of three chicken breeds from that area, the others being the Bergische Kräher and the German creeper ("Krüper").
The Augsburger is an endangered German breed of domestic chicken. It originates from the area of the city of Augsburg, in the Swabian region of the state of Bavaria, in southern Germany. It was bred in the nineteenth century, and derives mostly from the French La Flèche breed. It is the only chicken breed of Bavarian origin.
The German Pekin, German: Deutsche Pekingente, is a European breed of domestic duck. It is commonly called simply Pekin or White Pekin. It is a different breed from the American Pekin, which is also commonly known by the same names. It was bred in Europe from birds originating in China and Japan and is distributed in many European countries.
