Einsiedler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Einsiedeln
- Cavallo della Madonna
 In the Abbey of Einsiedeln | |
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| Country of origin | Switzerland |
The Einsiedler or Einsiedeln is a historic Swiss population or breed of warmblood horse with roots going back to the eleventh century.[3]: 463 It was – and still is – bred at the Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln in the Canton of Schwyz, and is sometimes known as the Cavallo della Madonna.[4]: 300 In the mid-twentieth century the stud-book was discontinued and the Einsiedler was merged with the Swiss Halfblood and with traditional local breeds including the Ajoie, the Erlenbacher and the Entlebucher to create the Swiss Warmblood, a modern sport horse. Although it is reported to be extinct,[4]: 300 [5][2] the traditional type is still bred at the abbey; there are perhaps a hundred of them in all, with fewer than ten foals born each year.[6]: 202
Breeding records were kept at the abbey from 1655; a more detailed stud-book was begun in 1784.[7]: 134
