HISTORY

Before 1945 | After 1945

Unparalleled in his commitment, Dr. Fritz Schilke, director of the East Prussian Studbook Society in Königsberg, together with the organisation's chairman Siegfried Freiherr v. Schroetter, saw to it that the breeding institution's work was continued: Stallions had found a place in the State Studs and mares were important helpers in Germany's devastated agriculture in the new era after 1945. On 23. October 1947, the Registered Association of Breeders and Friends of the Warmblood Horse of Trakehner origin (Verband der Züchter und Freunde des Warmblutpferdes Trakehner Abstammung e.V. referred to in short as Trakehner Verband) was constituted in Hamburg. In 1962, the first Trakehner stallion market took place in Neumünster.

There were around 660 Trakehner horses in the territory that was later to become the GDR, among them 489 mares and four stallions with full documentation. While Schleswig-Holstein was one of the most important regions for Trakehners in the West, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern held the same position for the soviet-occupied zone (sowjetisch besetzte Zone or SBZ), since some of the refugee treks had ended their flight there. At the Institute for Animal Breeding Research in Rostock Dummerstorf, pure breeding continued to be pursued. The Graditz and Ganschow studs also held an important position in this context. Trakehner stallions succeeded in providing riding sports in the GDR with many extremely talented horses, some of whom even competed in the Olympic Games. Although the SED regime applied the same uniform approach to horsebreeding as to many other areas of life, horses of pure Trakehner descent received a "T" added to the uniform branding of a snake with an arrow - an important manifestation of individuality in "real existing socialism"! !

Because of their early orientation towards endurance (military) and, later on, sport, Trakehner horses have always been able to provide important momentum for State breeding programmes. As both a real alternative and a good complement to thoroughbreds, Trakehner stallions assisted in firmly rooting the position of riding horses in the State breeding programmes after the war.

In Hannover, it was Abglanz who, via the Abhang brothers, Archimedes - a genitor of sport horses - and especially through his son Absatz passed on an unprecedented flair. This line is still very much alive today with horses such as Akzent II/Alabaster and Argentan/Argentinus.

Lateran made an excellent name for himself in Hanover and Westphalia during the 1960ies. Even the Hanoverian S-line with the jumping prodigy Staccato as a showcase is based on Trakehner Dampfross' son Semper idem, via Sender.

The Westphalian State Stud Warendorf saw horses such as Humboldt, Cyklon and Abschaum, with the latter being the founder, via Aar, of a line of stallions that was very popular in the 1970ies. Julmond also stood at Warendorf but did not become a founder of modern riding horse breeding until later, after moving to Baden Württemberg. Other breeds such as the Rheinland, Zweibrücker or Hesse breeds are also based on these Trakehners.