by Didi Hornberger
OK, folks – here's one of those "gray and black" carriage breeds!
Founded in 1579 by the Emperor of Rome and the Czech King Rudolf II, the Kladruber stud consisted of two breeding farms. At the main stud at Kladruby nad Labem in the Czech republic, the purpose of the breeding program was to produce heavy carriage horses for matched ceremonial four and six-in-hand hitches. The Lipiza Stud, founded a year later in 1580, produced riding horses for imperial ceremonies and the cavalry. Foundation breeds for both studs consisted primarily of imported Spanish and Italian horses, crossed with Neapolitane, Dutch, Holstein, Irish, heavier Czech, and Oldenburg horses. All of the breeds used were heavily influenced by the Andalusian.
With a four hundred year old selection history, the Kladruber is one of the rarer breeds in the world, with only 90 remaining females in 1995. It is the only indigenous breed of its region. This large warm-blooded horse of Spanish and Italian origin was "engineered" to be a heavy, majestic "carossier"(or "galakarosier") – a heavy type carriage horse for the court of the House of Hapsburg.
Although originally the Kladruber came in a variety of colors including palomino and appaloosa, current day breeding strictly limits the "permitted" colors to black or gray. The Imperial ceremonial rules required 18 black stallions and 18 white stallions, until the end of WW I. The black Kladruber is bred at Slatinay, and the white Kladruber is bred at Kladruby. The breed is highly inbred, and is therefore highly vulnerable. The white Kladruby stallion "Generale", born in 1787 in Kopcany is considered to be a progenitor of the presently living population of white Kladrubers. Black Kladruber lineage descends from Sacramoso, (1799) and Napoleone (1845).
There are several differences between the black and white types. The white Kladruber is of more Thoroughbred type, with a gentler disposition and a higher level of oriental blood. They are usually taller than the black. The black Kladruber is generally smaller and heavier than the white, has a shorter croup, and is sometimes (but not always) less convex in the face with a more Nordic look. The black descendants of Sacramoso and Napoleone, which were used primarily for pulling clerical dignitaries, were destroyed in 1930. However the black Kladruber was later reestablished thru the bloodline of Pepoli, (a gray stallion) using the remaining black mares from the original black herd.
Modern Kladrubers are usually gray, and stand between 16.2 and 17 hands. Both lines of the Kladruber are currently used for Sport Driving, and have been used numerous times in World Championship four-in-hand driving classes. Their primary use is in harness, for light draft and agriculture. Their "type" is well set, within a very small gene pool. Their often prominent "roman" noses have been retained from their Baroque ancestors, and their high-stepping gaits are a natural result of their relatively upright shoulder and pasterns, long back, and short croup. A trademark feature of their Spanish-Neapolitan ancestry is their high-set, powerful, well-arched neck. Their legs are unfeathered, and their trot should show high action. They are Iberian, in type.
If you look at the photos of actual Kladrubers, not all of them display the prominent convex profile. Very few of our regular run plastic models currently display a convex profile, altho it is sometimes seen on a resin model which has been specifically sculpted to reflect a convex profile breed. Photos of the real Kladrubers vary in their amount of "facial convexity", (is that a word?) so don't be timid about trying to show a less convex-faced model as a Kladruber, which otherwise fits the breed standard, well. Altho it is a prominent feature, an extremely convex profile is not the "only" outstanding feature of all Kladrubers. Keep in mind that modern Kladrubers are "rare", are only black or gray, and are "carriage types" with a high-action trot and no feathering. Find a good photo of a Kladruber which closely resembles your model, and use it in your documentation. Or – customize one of your breed-appropriate carriage model's faces into a convex profile, from a photo of a real Kladruber. Roman-nosed or not, they are a stylish and handsome breed, and are well worth the effort to assign something different and interesting to your models, especially for a "carriage breed" class.
"Czech" them out at the following websites, and enjoy adding something different to those carriage horse classes!
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/kladruby/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kladruber
http://www.uskha.com/index.php?pid=6
http://www.kladrubers.com/index.php?pages=hisofbr
http://www.horseshowcentral.com/horse_breeds/kladruber/462/1
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