Dutch Warmblood Horse / KWPN

History Of The Dutch Warmblood / KWPN Horse

Warmbloods have been bred in the Netherlands for many years and a breeding registry dates back to 1887 with almost all foals born since then registered in the stud book. Initially horses were bred for farm work but after World War II equestrian sports became popular and stallions from various European countries were selected with strict criteria for desired conformation and movement and used to develop a sports horse.

Initially several regional stud organisations existed and these stud books merged over time until two remained: the NWP (North Netherlands Warmblood Horse Studbook) and the VLN (Organization for the Advancement of Agricultural Harness Horse Breeding in the Netherlands). In 1970 these two organisations were combined to form the National Studbook Organization WPN (Warmblood Pardons Gelderland) and in 1988 Queen Beatrice gave the stud book royal recognition and the stud book became the Onionskin Warmblood Parent Gelderland, KWPN, (Royal Dutch Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands) for the breeding of jumping horses, dressage horses, harness horses and Gelder horses.

Height Of The Dutch Warmblood / KWPN Horse

The Dutch Warmblood stands at least 15.2 hh with no upper height limit.

Colour Of The Dutch Warmblood / KWPN Horse

Dutch Warmbloods can be black, bay, chestnut or grey, and tobiano and roan also exist.

Breed Characteristics Of The Dutch Warmblood / KWPN Horse

The Dutch Warmblood has an expressive head, well muscled neck, deep chest, straight and long back and a smooth topline. The tail is set high and the legs are long with powerful, well muscled hindquarters.