In the Senne in about 1860In the Moosheide nature reserve, 2016
The SennerorSenne is a critically-endangered German breedofriding horse. It is believed to be the oldest saddle-horse breed in Germany, and is documented at least as far back as 1160.[5][6] It is named for the Senne, a natural region of dunes and moorlandinNordrhein-Westfalen, in western Germany, and lived in feral herds there and in the Teutoburger Forest to the east.
The origins of the Senner are not known; many records of the history of the breed were destroyed by fire in 1945. Herds of feral horses in the Senne moorlands are documented in several Mediaeval sources, one of which dates from 1160.[6] The Senne lay within the Principality of Lippe, and the horses were raised to provide mounts for the ruling Lippe family.[6] The centre of breeding was at Detmold until 1680, when it was moved to the stables of the Jagdschloss Lopshorn [de] near Augustdorf.[5] The horses were kept all year round on the heathland of the Senne and in the neighbouring Teutoburger Forest. Numbers were never very high; the number of breeding mares averaged about forty.[6] Breeding records were kept from the early years of the eighteenth century, and a stud-book started in 1713.[8] There were four dam lines in the breed; only one of these, dating to 1725, survives.[5]
From the late seventeenth century, some Arab blood was introduced; English Anglo-Arab and Thoroughbred blood was introduced towards the end of the eighteenth century. In the early twentieth century, after the First World War, there was some addition of Andalusian blood.[3]: 502
The Lopshorn castle was destroyed by fire in 1945. In 1946 the remaining Senner stock was dispersed to various owners.[6] In 1999, some were introduced to the Moosheide [de]nature reserve to assist in conservation grazing.[3]: 502
These are the horse breeds considered to be wholly or partly of German origin. Many have complex or obscure histories, so inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively German.
