Most of us know the Knabstrupper horse solely because of the awesome fully spotted leopard coat many of them possess--and that’s usually where the knowledge ends. Check out some of these other interesting facts about this horse with a coat of many colors. Do you own one? Post a pic in the comments!
#1 – It all started with a mare
While many breeds have notable stallions as the foundation of the breed, the Knabstrupper is traced back to a chestnut blanketed mare that a Danish butcher named Flaeb bought from a Spanish officer. The mare is known as “Flaebehoppen” which means “Flaeb’s mare. She was bred to a Fredricksborg stallion to begin what would become a breed of loud-colored horses. (Knabstruppers.com)
#2 – in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, the breed almost died out
Due to a limited number of horses, the breed almost died out due to problems with inbreeding. It was saved when in 1971, a breeder brought Appaloosa stallions to Denmark to add to new “blood” into the breed’s lines. (Knabstruppers.com)
#3 – They have the same color genes as the Appaloosa
One of the reasons bringing in Appies worked so well is due to the fact that the Appaloosa and the Knabstrupper horse share the same color gene – called the Leopard complex – that causes the spotted coat patterns. This is interesting since both breeds were developed independently of each other. (Knabstruppers.com / Wikipedia.org)
#4 – The horse did not come to America until 2002
It seems incredible, but Americans were not able to enjoy this beautiful breed until 2002. This was done by breeding Appaloosa mares being bred to Knabstrupper stallions in Europe. The mares had to be inspected and approved by the German Rheinland-Pfalz-Saar registry. Others used Warmbloods. (Knabstruppers.com)
#5 – A horse of 20 colors
The story goes that a colt out of the Flaebe mare and a yellow Frederiksborg stallion has more than 20 different colors in his coat and also had a metallic “glow”. He is the foundation stallion for the breed. Unfortunately no images of the “Flaebestalltion” could be found. (Knabstrupperforeign.com)
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What's your favorite fact about the Knabstrupper horse? Let us know in the comments below!
Rebecca Whomble
It is so cool that they have such a beautiful coat color. I also love that they where started with a chestnut mare. I Love horses and when i found this website i was amazed. Thank you.