Dry and strongly muscled, with strong bone and good hooves. Most often of chestnut colour.
Breed standards
Hippos
Equus ferus caballus
The Finnhorse or Finnish Horse (Finnish: suomenhevonen, literally "horse of Finland"; Swedish: finskt kallblod, literally "finnish cold-blood") is a horse breed with both riding horse and draught horse influences and characteristics, and is the only breed developed fully in Finland. In English it is sometimes called the Finnish Universal, as the Finns consider the breed capable of fulfilling all of Finland's horse needs, including agricultural and forestry work, harness racing, and riding. In 2007, the breed was declared the official national horse breed of Finland.[1]
The Finnhorse is claimed to be among the fastest and most versatile "coldblood" breeds in the world. In Finland, the term "universal horse" is used to describe the Finnhorse and breeds such as the Fjord horse that are relatively small with a body type that is heavy for a riding horse but light for a draught. There are four separate sections within the Finnhorse stud book, each with different goals: to develop a heavier working horse, a lighter trotter type, a versatile riding horse, and a proportionally smaller pony-sized animal. The combined breed standard for all four sections defines the breed as a strong, versatile horse with pleasant disposition. The average height of the breed is 15.1 hands (61 inches, 155 cm), and the most typical colour is chestnut, often with white markings and a flaxen mane and tail.
The exact origins of the early Finnish horse are currently not known. Because the Finnhorse breed and its progenitors were the only horses in Finland for centuries, the history of horses in Finland parallels the history of the Finnhorse itself. The documented history of the distinct breed begins at the turn of the 13th century. Outside influences by many light and warmblood breeds were recorded beginning in the 16th century, making the breed larger and more usable. An official Finnhorse studbook was founded in 1907, producing purebred animals in significant numbers for many years. Due to mechanisation of agriculture and the dismantling of Finnish horse cavalry in the later half of the 20th century, the Finnhorse population plummeted from a high of just over 400,000 animals in the 1950s to a low of 14,100 in 1987. However, the breed managed to survive thanks to its popularity for harness racing and its versatility as a mount.
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The Finnhorse or Finnish Horse (Finnish: suomenhevonen, literally "horse of Finland"; Swedish: finskt kallblod, literally "finnish cold-blood") is a horse...
racing in Finland is characterised by the use of the coldblood breed Finnhorse along with modern light trotters such as the Standardbred. With the lack...
closed stud books, particularly for certain European breeds such as the Finnhorse and the Trakehner, may also have a set of studbook selection criteria...
Trotters are used with Standardbreds. Light cold blood horses, such as Finnhorses and Scandinavian Coldblood Trotters are also used in harness racing within...
parentage, the Arabian horse registry excludes all spotted horses. The Finnhorse was also bred for decades to exclude all colors but chestnut, and specifically...
horses Falabella Faroese or Faroe horse, see Faroe pony in pony section Finnhorse, or Finnish Horse Flemish Horse Fleuve Fjord horse, also Norwegian Fjord...
Retrieved 5 December 2017. "Suomenhevosesta Suomen kansallishevonen" [The Finnhorse, Finland's national horse]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Yle. 13 February...
race separately in Russia. The light cold-blooded Coldblood trotters and Finnhorses race separately in Finland, Norway and Sweden. Standardbreds are so named...
inquad the estimation of genetic parameters of trotting performance for Finnhorse and Standardbred trotters" (PDF). Agricultural and Food Science in Finland...
The horses used by the Hakkapeliitta were the ancestors of the modern Finnhorse; they were strong and durable. The Swedish army then had three cavalry...
Shetland Pony, Welsh Mountain Pony, Welsh Pony, Swedish Warmblood and Finnhorse are also found in the silver dapple colors. American horse breeds known...
Icelandic horse, Miniature horse, Morgan horse, Shetland pony, Trakehner, and Finnhorse. SW2 is a PAX3 mutation mistakenly thought to originate with a single...
in contact with the other world. List of horse breeds Horses in Russia Finnhorse Юлия, Андреева (27 Feb 2020). "Карельские породы лошадей: миф или реальность"...
compete in shared heats that exclude entry of light trotter breeds or Finnhorses.[citation needed] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coldblood Trotter...
racing in Finland is characterised by the use of the coldblood breed Finnhorse along with modern light trotters such as the Standardbred. In lack of...
circa 1000 animals in Estonia. The breed has recently been crossbred with Finnhorses to enhance its size. In 1992 the association started anew after having...
state-owned stallions for public use. It was later replaced with the Finnhorse studbook, founded in 1907. The great famine of 1866-1868 had a devastating...
Finland. It is the official Finnish national championship contest for Finnhorse stallions and mares. It has been held annually since 1924, except during...
with a shaft bow. The shaft bow was used with horse breeds such as the Finnhorse, a light but strong breed, fast compared to the heavy draft horses of...
Championships. As a harness racer Pohjala won two Racing King titles with his Finnhorse stallion "Lohdutus" in 1938 Vyborg and 1939 Turku. He was also the president...
first Suomenhevosten Kriterium admission fee paid all 5 to 6 years any Finnhorses 2100 m; handicaps by age and sex 1 Erkon Pokaali Vermo (Helsinki) ? open...
1948 – September 20, 1971) was a successful Finnish trotter. He was a Finnhorse gelding, and the first Finnish horse to earn over one million marks in...
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