TCJpart14 'The Trek' the story of the Trakehner

THE STORY OF THE TRAKEHNER:
...an insight as to the amazing character that is the Trakehner



This handsome Stallion is Tom's father: Holme Grove Solomon:  Horses of this quality are why the story below is so incredible.


Have tissues at the ready. Warmbloods in cold weather:



The story of 'THE TREK':

The Trakehner is the most highly bred of all the warmblood horse breeds. The Royal stud Trakehnen in East Prussia was founded in 1732 by  King Friedrik Wilhelm 1.  Today's only pure bred riding horse was created  from the native breed with strong influence from the Arabian and Thoroughbred.

The Trakehner horse evolved because the King recognized the need for a new type of cavalry mount. He wanted horses his officers could ride that were attractive enough to make them proud, solid enough to stay sound and with a comfortable ground-covering trot that would enable them to travel quickly and efficiently.

He selected the best horses from seven of his royal breeding farms and, in 1732, moved them to the new royal stud at Trakehnen, where selective breeding began. The Trakehner breed evolved and it has been selectively bred since that time, with a closed stud book.

Before unification in 1871, Germany was made up of a number of different states and locally-organised breeding areas. As a result, horses bred in the area of Hanover became known as Hanoverians and those bred in Westphalia as Wesphalians, etc. The exception to this rule, Trakehners are known by that name wherever they are born and the stud book is governed solely by bloodlines.

In October 1944, as World War II was in its final stages, and the Soviets were closing in on the lush area around Trakehnen, orders came to evacuate the horses from the Trakehnen Stud. About 800 of the best horses were hastily transferred but, unfortunately, they did not go far enough west and most of them fell into the hands of the Russian occupation forces, and were shipped to Russia.

However, the private breeders were determined to save their valuable horses. What followed was a horror story that went down in history as ‘The Trek’.

Hitching their precious breeding stock to wagons laden with personal possessions and all the feed they could carry, the East Prussians fled. In the dead of winter, with snow deep on the ground, the broodmares, heavily in foal, headed west, literally running for their lives, unable to stop when either mares lost foals or horses went lame or became ill.

When their feed ran out they lived on whatever they could scavenge. The nightmare continued for 600 miles, the refugees being pursued by Soviet troops.

The Soviets had them surrounded on the shores of the Baltic Sea, it seemed they had reached the end. Their only escape was to cross the treacherous expanse of ice. So across they went, at times knee deep in the freezing water, galloping to stay ahead of the ice breaking behind them. If any dared stop or attempt to dodge the firing of the Russian planes ahead, they were doomed to sink helplessly into the freezing water and, tragically, many did not make it. The survivors limped into West Germany, the once proud and beautiful herd of 800 horses reduced to less than 100 pitiful shrapnel-wounded skeletons. Only the hardiest survived and the next decade was spent re-establishing the breed.

In 1947, the Trakehner Verband - was formed, replacing the East Prussian Studbook.

 

In 1960 the first Trakehners were imported into the UK by the Mushcamp Stud and, since that time, they have steadily gained in popularity, winning the hearts of many enthusiasts.

The Trakehner Breeders Fraternity (TBF) is the controlling body for Trakehners in the UK. They are licensed by Trakehner Verband GmbH to register, grade and brand horses with the distinctive double Elk horn brand with the inverted ‘V’ beneath to denote ‘British Breed’.

By the end of 1999 there were, in excess of 750 approved pure bred and 700 part bred Trakehners registered, 22 graded stallions and 250 graded mares in the UK. The TBF registers an average of 60 pure bred Trakehner foals each year.


This stunning Stallion is Henry's father: Holme Grove Prokofiev. 

Tom & Henry are members of that noble breed the Trakehner. They move with a grace and lightness you don't see anywhere else. But just as important, Trakehners are very nice 'people'.

The Elk horns symbolise a pure breed and the upside down 'v' with a dot above means British bred.

Tom & Henry both have the mark of the Trakehner on their rumps, I suspect this type of 'identification' will be banned soon, since it's done with a hot iron. This is Tom's, Henry's is barely visible unless it's cold and his hair is standing or in certain lights.