Warmblood Horses

Warmblood horses are a group of middle weight horse types and breeds. They originated from Europe being bred for Equestrian Sports such as show jumping, dressage, equitation and other english events. These horses are breed to fit the needs of the events the rider wishes to compete in. The term warmblood is used to classify the middle weight horses from the heavy weight (cold blood) and light weight (hot blood). They were developed from heavy weight working horses, like draft horses, that were bred with various light weight horses such as Thoroughbreds and Arabians.

Most warmbloods are separate from true horse breeds like the Thoroughbred, Arabian, Percheron and Morgan because they have what is called a closed studbook. This means those breeds can only be bred with other purebreds if they want to be registered. The warmbloods have an open studbook which allows breeding stock form other similar breeds to improve their own horse. An exception to this however is the Trakehner because this horse is considered a true breed even though some other horses are bred within the population. Breeds such as the Hanoverian, Holsteiner and Selle Francias are considered to be less open when it comes to breeding with outside breeds. The World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses, which is affiliated with the IOC-recognized International Federation for Equestrian Sports, will recognize most registered warmbloods for breeding among other warmbloods.

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