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The Schleswig Heavy Draft Horse
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A sturdy, compact heavy
horse, the Schleswig comes from the
northernmost region of Germany,
Schleswig-Holstein, which borders on to
Denmark and which was, indeed, at various
times actually part of the country. It is
not surprising, therefore, that the
Schleswig bears a marked resemblance to the
Jutland, the Danish heavy breed to which it
is closely related.
The Schleswig
was developed during the second half of the
nineteenth century as a medium-sized draft
horse. Infusions of lighter blood, including
Yorkshire Coach Horse and Thoroughbred, were
made towards the end of the century but
these had no lasting effect on the breed.
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The height for the Schleswig
is 15.2-16hh, colours predominantly
chestnut, occasionally bay or grey. The
Schleswig has a large, rather plain head,
but with a kind eye; short, crested neck;
very powerful shoulders; rather long body,
though with good depth through the girth;
well muscled hindquarters; short, strong
limbs with some feather.
Popular as a tram and bus
horse, and for use on the land and in
forestry, the breed survived World War I
(during which its homeland was under Danish
rule) although it was seriously depleted in
both numbers and quality. The subsequent
introduction of Breton and Boulonnais blood
from France proved highly succesful. The
Schleswig recovered and flourished in large
numbers untill the years immendiately
following World War II. In time, however,
mechanization took its usual toll, and
numbers dwindled drastically. In recent
years some of the surviving Schleswigs have
been bred back to Jutlands, in order to
increase the breeds size.
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