Knabstrupper

Knabstrupper

Hinckley Equestrian Center is proud to be the home of some of the world's most beautiful horses. Here to be started and trained under saddle and in hand, our lovely residents immediately catch the eye of all visitors who walk in the front door. These gorgeous creatures are called Knabstruppers. Known for their spotted coats and longevity, the breed is versatile, eye-catching and unique. With only about 100 Knabstruppers in the United States, we feel very lucky to have 4 of them living here!

The Knabstrupper breed is believed to have begun in 1812 with a mare named Flaebe who lived in Denmark. Villars Lunn of the Knabstrupgaard manor bought her from a butcher, who had purchased her from a Spanish officer during the Napolean Wars. Flaebe was dark red with a white mane and tail, white snowflakes all over and brown spots on her rump. She was used as a workhorse and proved to be very rugged. All of her offspring were beautifully colored as well. One of her colts, Flaebestallion, was considered the foundation stallion for the breed. He was lighter than his mother and was often described as having more than 20 different colors in his coat, as well as a “metallic glow.”

Because of the small number of horses with which to breed, inbreeding was unavoidable. This made it difficult to retain color, and the number of Knabstruppers began to dwindle. In the 1870's, a fire at the Knabstrup manor killed 22 of the Flaebe horses, causing the numbers to drop even more. However, many breeders outbred their horses to Knabstruppers, and one of these offspring is believed to be the foundation horse for the new generation in the 1930's.

In 1946, N.H. Nielson and his son, C.N. Ledager, purchased a stud farm called Egemosegaard with the purpose of continuing to develop this new generation of Knabstruppers. Their two studs, Silverking II and Max Bodilsker, helped to create a great reputation, and people came from all over the country to visit. The stud farm closed in 1959, but not before its connection with the “Association for Promotion of the Knabstrupper in the County of Holbaek.” In 1962, the Danish Sporthorse Breed Association was founded. Many Knabstrupper breeders joined, causing a rift in the community.

The Knabstrup Association (Knabstrupperforeningen for Danmark) was founded in 1971, bringing everyone together at last. Any horse spotted or colored was registered. Two of the three Appaloosa stallions brought over from the United States were successful with getting new blood into the breed, though some breeders preferred crossing with Danish Warmbloods. Solid horses appeared sometimes, and that was acceptable as long as color is bred back in. Some breeders even began breeding the color into ponies since it was so appealing to children.

The Knabstrupper today is known for its spots, though it is difficult to control. There is never a guarantee that any offspring will have spots. The Knabstruppper horse is light around the eyes, mealy-colored or spotted around the natural openings, and the hooves are striped or light-colored. They are intelligent, high-spirited, energetic, not temperamental or malicious, and generally have no stable vices. Please introduce yourselves to our in-house representatives of this fabulous breed!

We are proud to announce the third official Danish Knabstrupper Grading in the United States of America.

Held on October 14, 2012

If you are interested in the breed or are simply curious as to what actually goes on at the Grading... Please join us, spectators are most welcome!

Please see below for 2010 presentation and grading information

The following files require Adobe® .PDF reader. Please click the following link to download.

Adobe® Reader

Knabstrupper Inspection entry form Click HERE to download

Knabstrupper Inspection info sheet. Click HERE to download

Guidelines for presentation at Danish Knabstrupper society events. Click HERE to download