Category:Black Forest Horse

This horse (also known as Black Forest, Schwarzwälder Fuchs, Schwarzwälder Kaltblut, St. Märgener, and Wälderpferd) originated in the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It´s a small, hardy draft horse which is suitable for the highlands with its long winters. It looks like a big Haflinger or a little Noriker. Selected for work in farming and forest in hilly regions. Nowadays it is also often used as coach horse and for riding. It is nimble and lively, has a good character, high fertility and is long-lived. The color, which is a part of the name, is mostly sorrel with light mane and tail, most popular is the dark silver dapple (German: Kohlfuchs).

Height: 153-160 cm Weight: approximately 500 kg

In the Middle Ages there was a horse breed in the Black Forest. The old Noriker was selected for the special requirement of the highlands. In 1896 a breed-association and a stud-book were established to standardize the breed. They wanted the breeders to only use heavy Belgian Draft horse stallions in order to increase the size of the breed. But the traditional farmers secretly used native stallions. Many foals in this time got forged identity papers. In World War I the authorities finally noticed that the Belgians were not suitable for the Schwarzwald-farmers, so the farmers were allowed to use whatever stallions they wished.

In 1999, the number of registered mares was about 700 and stallions 45. The number is rising because the breed is very suitable as a leisure horse. In the stud Marbach/Weil (owned of the state Baden-Württemberg) there are always about 16 stallions.