Knabstrupper - A breed history
Some of the earliest findings of spotted horses in Denmark are from the mid 1600's. The spotted horses would have been almost solely used by royalty and nobility and fewspot horses would have been used as carriage horses since it was much easier to match the fewspot coat pattern. Fewspots were also used as the mount of the monarch in Coronation ceremonies. Fewspot and spotted horses were used in the Court riding academy of Christiansborg Castle both for riding and driving.
Frederiksborg held yearly auctions with purchasers from all over the world. At some point in the mid 1700s color disappeared from the Royal breeding line which is assumed to have been due to the prevalence grey gene.
A man by the name of Villars Lunn owned an estate named Knabstrupgaard which was located in Holbæk, Nordsealand. Villars purchased a mare named Flæbe - and in typical fashion, there is a great debate as to the origins of the mare. Some believe she was likely of Spanish origin as she had apparently been owned at one point by a Spanish cavalry officer stationed in Denmark during the Napoleonic wars. Some believe she originated from Meklenbourg in Germany, where the Spanish were stationed before they came to Denmark. Either way, Flæbe was a beautiful dark chestnut mare with brown and white patterning. Flæbe was bred by a chestnut Frederiksborg stallion (direct descendant of Superbe), and the colt foal she had as a result of this in 1813, was named the Flæbestallion. It was this colt, Flæbestallion, that was the foundation sire for the new spotted breed. As a result of his birth, Flæbe became the “breed mother” of the Knabstrupper horse.
The Lunn family continued breeding spotted horses but unfortunately in the 1870's, the breed was struggling due to inbreeding. To make matters worse, 22 horses were killed in a fire in the 1890's leaving very few breeding horses. Breeders started to outcross to continue the lines but we are uncertain if there are any true pureblood Knabstruppers in existance.
The Knabstrup Association (Knabstrupperforeningen for Danmark) was founded in 1971 and is the Motherbook for the breed.
Knabstrupper - About the horse
Knabstruppers are prized for their high level of intelligence and even tempered spirit. The breed can be found in nearly any equestrian discipline ranging from dressage, eventing, show jumping, and driving.
Knabstruppers are bred in types - baroque (Classic) and the modern (Sports) type. There are also horse sized, pony sized and minature sized books. The sporthorse type, which is what we breed, is a modern warmblood type.
Knabstrupperforeningen for Danmark (KNN) is responsible for the registration, grading and approval of offspring. Knabstruppers are warmbloods and in addition to pedigree requirements, they must also be presented, inspected, and graded, as well as receive acceptable scores in order to be entered into the Stud Book for breeding. The KNN is located in Denmark but travel to the USA every other year to conduct gradings and inspections. The registry was touring the USA in 2019 and will be back in 2021.
Some of the earliest findings of spotted horses in Denmark are from the mid 1600's. The spotted horses would have been almost solely used by royalty and nobility and fewspot horses would have been used as carriage horses since it was much easier to match the fewspot coat pattern. Fewspots were also used as the mount of the monarch in Coronation ceremonies. Fewspot and spotted horses were used in the Court riding academy of Christiansborg Castle both for riding and driving.
Frederiksborg held yearly auctions with purchasers from all over the world. At some point in the mid 1700s color disappeared from the Royal breeding line which is assumed to have been due to the prevalence grey gene.
A man by the name of Villars Lunn owned an estate named Knabstrupgaard which was located in Holbæk, Nordsealand. Villars purchased a mare named Flæbe - and in typical fashion, there is a great debate as to the origins of the mare. Some believe she was likely of Spanish origin as she had apparently been owned at one point by a Spanish cavalry officer stationed in Denmark during the Napoleonic wars. Some believe she originated from Meklenbourg in Germany, where the Spanish were stationed before they came to Denmark. Either way, Flæbe was a beautiful dark chestnut mare with brown and white patterning. Flæbe was bred by a chestnut Frederiksborg stallion (direct descendant of Superbe), and the colt foal she had as a result of this in 1813, was named the Flæbestallion. It was this colt, Flæbestallion, that was the foundation sire for the new spotted breed. As a result of his birth, Flæbe became the “breed mother” of the Knabstrupper horse.
The Lunn family continued breeding spotted horses but unfortunately in the 1870's, the breed was struggling due to inbreeding. To make matters worse, 22 horses were killed in a fire in the 1890's leaving very few breeding horses. Breeders started to outcross to continue the lines but we are uncertain if there are any true pureblood Knabstruppers in existance.
The Knabstrup Association (Knabstrupperforeningen for Danmark) was founded in 1971 and is the Motherbook for the breed.
Knabstrupper - About the horse
Knabstruppers are prized for their high level of intelligence and even tempered spirit. The breed can be found in nearly any equestrian discipline ranging from dressage, eventing, show jumping, and driving.
Knabstruppers are bred in types - baroque (Classic) and the modern (Sports) type. There are also horse sized, pony sized and minature sized books. The sporthorse type, which is what we breed, is a modern warmblood type.
Knabstrupperforeningen for Danmark (KNN) is responsible for the registration, grading and approval of offspring. Knabstruppers are warmbloods and in addition to pedigree requirements, they must also be presented, inspected, and graded, as well as receive acceptable scores in order to be entered into the Stud Book for breeding. The KNN is located in Denmark but travel to the USA every other year to conduct gradings and inspections. The registry was touring the USA in 2019 and will be back in 2021.