MY HOUSE, MY CASTLE

With the development of civilization, the horse became important in transport and agriculture, in addition to military use. Different characteristics of individual horses were needed for different uses. Therefore, a number of warm-blooded and cold-blooded horse breeds began to appear. Many stud farms were built not only near noble houses but also in monasteries. They cultivated large areas of farmland. Our country went through two favourable periods of horse breeding development. The first occurred during the reigns of Maximilian II (1527-1576) and Rudolf II (1552-1612). Both monarchs were educated at the Spanish court, where they learned the local importance of horses in ceremonial service. Spanish horses became a model for other European monarchs and nobility. Later on, the advancement of horse care began to be significantly influenced by a second period of prosperity, that of Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II. Thanks to monarchical decrees, the state began to comprehensively address and support horse breeding. These decrees were essential for the development of hippology and many of them are still valid today.

Provincial breeding in Bohemia has been managed by two studs since the 1920s. Breeding was carried out by the Provincial stud farm in Písek, whose existence as a military stud farm can be documented as early as 1811. From the original predominance of breeding warm-blooded horses of heavier frame (Oldenburg, East Friesian), the cold-blooded Belgian horse or Norik began to be bred. The Provincial stud farm in Tlumačov had a great influence on the development of horses in Moravia. Since its foundation in 1925 it bred noble warm-blooded and cold-blooded breeds.

One of the oldest stud farms in our country and in Europe is the National Stud Farm Kladruby nad Labem. Emperor Maximilian II. Habsburg founded a stud farm on the former Pernštejn estate in 1563, which was established on 6 March 1579 by his successor Rudolf II. Habsburg was promoted to a court stud farm on his death on 6 March 1865. In 2019, the landscape for breeding and training ceremonial carriage horses in Kladruby nad Labem was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is because the breeding and training of the Kladruby horse has an extraordinary impact on the surrounding landscape, while allowing the preservation of traditional practices and techniques associated with the daily life of the stud farm. The breeding of the old Kladruby ravens in Slatiňany, whose regeneration was the work of the renowned hipologist Prof. František Bílek, also belongs to the Kladruby Stud Farm. The stud farm in Napajedla, built in 1886 by Aristide Baltazzi, was also important. It focused mainly on breeding English thoroughbreds. Unfortunately, the breeding ended in 2023, but it is still hoped to save the stud farm. Other well-known breeding enterprises in the past included the Albertovec stud farm near Opava, which was famous for its unique breeding of the Thracian breed, and the stud farm in Netolice in South Bohemia. The main stables of both stud farms have been privatised, but horses can still be found in some parts today.