German Trotter Horse

Origin: West Germany.German Trotter Horse
Height: About 15.3hh.
Color: Solid colors.
Character: Bold, active, competitive, enduring.
Physique: A rather handsome small horse with an expressive head. Strong, well-developed, slightly upright shoulder; prominent withers, deep girth, robust body with well-sprung ribs; lean, muscular quarters. Legs fine and andiron hard. Hard feet, splendid, long-striding horse.

Description:

German Trotter Horse is a renowned horse breed in Germany, extensively bred for trotting and racing. There are various types of trotting racehorses like the American, Baltic, Cuban, French, and Russian. However, the riders prefer the German trotter over another trotter because of its well-liked physical traits. A trotter is mainly trained for harness racing whereas a German trotter is trained for Jockey racing. Of all the types of horse breeds, it is in demand due to the unique characteristics that it possesses.

Origin of German trotter horse:

Originating in West Germany, the German trotter has a height of around 15.3h. Available in solid colors, the breed is famous for its characteristics like boldness, active, competitive, and enduring nature.

Russian Orlov Trotters were the basis of the modern German breed, which has since been massively improved by American Standardbred blood and more recently by that of the French Trotter. Performance is kept to a high standard through a system of handicapping based on the amount of prize money won, which in turn is based on individual speed over 1,000 meters.

Trotters eligible for the standard register are those with times of less than 1 minute 30 seconds, and there is an elite register for those who have achieved 1 minute of 20 seconds or less. The record over 1,000 meters is 1 minute 17.3 seconds. The record-holder is Permit, who is by Epilog, the most famous of the German Trotter sires.

Characteristics of a German trotter:

Being a popular horse breed among the riders, the German trotter features:

• An expressive head
• A strong and well-develop physique
• Slightly upright shoulder and prominent withers
• Deep girth
• A strong body
• Well-sprung ribs
• Lean & muscular quarters
• Hard & grand feet to support a long-striding action

Trotting in Germany:

Trotting is a popular activity in Germany that has gained momentum since the nineteenth century. Meetings are held in Germany for the trotter races. Millions of spectators gather to watch the event. It is an amusing experience to witness the races where the ebbing tide exposes the mud flats. Along with Germany, France is also actively involved in horse trotting. Both countries have true breed horses that are actively used for trotting events.

The passion for horse racing is more in European countries as compared to other continents. In 1874, horse enthusiasts came forward and formed a trotting club called ‘the Altona’ in Hamburg. Besides this, various clubs across Europe actively conduct horse racing events periodically where the best breeds of horses are exhibited.

Federal Republic of Germany:

The Federal Republic of Germany keeps track of all the data related to German trotters. Since 1973, data on almost 331 321 racing performances of all competing trotters have been filed. Generally, factors like racing time, money earnings, and perfect gait are taken into consideration to frame the most important traits of the trotters. The repeatable and heritable characteristics are predicted as per its adjustments with environmental factors. The highest degrees of repeatability and heritability are found in the average racing time per year. It can be utilized then as a main selective measure in a practical breeding program.

Through extensive training, German trotters are taught skills required for racing. They are bifurcated by qualifying the tests and prescribed standards where gait across the tracks is measured. Besides racing, horse aficionados hold records in developing the best characteristics of the German trotter. They even provide the trained and the best varieties of them for commercial purposes.

See more: Gelderland Horse