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96
iii. rural husbandry.
As far as we know, it was during the period of King Gustavus I that steps
were first taken on the part of the Government for the improvement of
horse-breeding. He instituted studs of mares and even riding-schools in the
recently-founded royal demesnes, where he placed Frisian horses he had purchased.
During the following centuries Sweden was engaged in many wars, and in the
course of them a great number of horses of different kinds were brought home.
Horses were also received as gifts, and purchased by kings and representatives
of the nobility. However, the common Swedish horse apparently still remained
insignificant in size; in the seventeenth century a full-sized remount was only
138 cm high.
Gottland Pony {"Buss").
From time to time prescriptions were issued for the regulation and improvement
of horse-breeding. Thus in 1680, it was prescribed that a stallion should be kept
in each parish, and in 1692, that there should be one stallion to each squadron
of cavalry; in 1694, the export of horses from Skåne was totally prohibited.
But in spite of these and similar measures, the Swedish horse at the
commencement of the 19th century did not come up to the requirements of the time.
Larger and more thorough-bred saddle-horses and carriage-horses were needed.
For this purpose a considerable number of English thorough-breds and Oriental
horses were imported during the first half of the 19th century. Some of these
proved very valuable for breeding, others worthless. During the latter part of
the century a number of thorough-breds still continued to be imported, but there
was an increasing tendency to employ foreign half-breds (Prussian, Hanoverian,
Oldenburgian, Anglo-Norman).
The remarkable development of Swedish agriculture which commenced in the
middle eighties necessitated an improvement in the ordinary farm-horse;
particularly the horses of the flat districts in the centre and south of Sweden proved
too small and delicate for the new agricultural implements and deep-soil work.
In order to give the Swedish farm-horse greater bulk and strength, heavy
draught-horses were imported from abroad and crossed with the Swédish
farm-horse; the chief breeds employed for this purpose are the Clydesdale, the
Per-cheron, and the Pinzgauer, as well as Norwegian and Belgian horses; the two
latter races have been, and still are, of particular importance in Swedish
horse-breeding.
Endeavours were first directed to producing a horse suitable for all-round
purposes, but after a time specialization became necessary. The last fifty years
of the 19th century must be regarded as a period of experiment, of casting
about for suitable types.
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