Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Genus: Equus
Species: E. ferus
Subspecies: Caballus
The relationship between horses and humans is a long one. It started around 30,000 years ago when humans most likely hunted horses for food. The relationship grew and changed into a partnership around 6,000 years ago. Scientists think that the first people to domesticate horses were the Botai who lived in the Eurasian Steppes. These tamed horses helped to shape human society. Domesticating horses spread across the world and they became a priceless part of human development.
They were used for farm work, transportation, warfare and more. As the relationship grew over thousands of years, humans also started to influence the way horses developed. The animals were bred for specific uses. Larger and stronger horses could pull plows easier and smaller quicker horses were great for messengers. These distinctly different kinds of horses are called breeds. One of the oldest breeds in human history is the Kladruber.
• It originated in what is now the Czech Republic.
• It is almost 400 years old, bred in 1579 by Rudolf II.
• The breed takes its name from the region in the Czech Republic that they come from, Kladbury nad Labem.
• This breed was originally used by the rulers of the Hapsburg Empire to pull their royal carriages, but are also well built for riding.
• It is a rare breed with less than 500 known mares in 2011.
• They are either gray or black.
• Average horses are measured as around 15 hands high (5ft).
• Modern Kladrubers measure between 15 and 17 hands high, which is smaller than their original size.
• The breed was almost destroyed by the Seven Years War and the other conflicts that affected
the Czech Republic — like the World Wars.
• They are known for being powerful and calm and for having great endurance.
• In the Hapsburg Empire, black Kladrubers were used specifically for funerals or the clergy.
• They were poplar among many royal families in Europe.
• The United Nations recognizes the breed as a “World Cultural Monument.”
