Vlaamperd
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- SA Vlaamperd
- Vlaamse perd[3]
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| Country of origin | South Africa |
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The Vlaamperd is a South African breed of light draught or harness horse; it is also suitable for riding and is used in dressage. It was bred in the Western Cape region of South Africa in the early twentieth century, and resulted from cross-breeding of local mares with imported European stallions, particularly Friesians. The horses are usually black, though mares may be dark seal brown. A stud-book was started in 1983.
The Vlaamperd derives from the now-extinct Hantam Horse or Cape Horse, a riding horse bred in the former Cape Province, particularly after 1814 when Lord Charles Somerset imported Thoroughbred stallions from Britain.[6][3][7] Shortly after the end of the Second Boer War in 1902, a funeral director in Cape Town imported a few Friesian stallions.[3] Because exports of Friesians from the Netherlands were not permitted at the time, they were shipped from Antwerp in Belgium; for this reason Friesians came to be known in South Africa as Vlaams Perde, meaning 'Flemish Horses'.[4]: 511 [a] The Vlaamperd descends from the offspring of Hantam and other mares put to these stallions.[3] There was some later influence from other foreign breeds: an Ostfriesen and Alt-Oldenburger stallion named Kemp made a significant contribution to the early development of the Vlaamperd, as did a Cleveland Bay stallion named Scheepers in the 1940s.[3]
In 1983 a breed society, the Suid Afrikaanse Vlaamperdtelersgenootskap or South African Vlaamperd Breeders Society, was started in Bloemfontein;[3] a stud-book was begun in the same year.[2]
The conservation status of the breed is not clear – population data has not been reported to DAD-IS since 1999.[2] In 2013 there were about 200 horses.[5]: 418
Characteristics
The Vlaamperd stands on average 154 cm (15.1 hands) at the withers. Its appearance is similar to that of the Friesian, but less heavy, with finer bone.[5]: 418 [8] It has a thick mane and tail, a well-rounded croup, long legs and a high-arched neck, and steps high when in motion.[5]: 418
Stallions are black, while mares may also be dark seal brown.[4]: 511