Masuren Horse

Origin: Poland (formerly East Prussia).

Height: About 16hh.

Color: All solid colors. Chestnuts and bays are the most common.

Physique: same as Trakehner horse.

Description: The Masuren is a breed of horse that originated in Poland. Other name of Masuren horse is Mazury. In the year 1945, the Germans evacuated Poland and left behind the Trakehner horse. These Masuren horses are the continuation of Trakehner horses.

Trakehners are lighter as compared to most of the warm-blooded horses. The height varies between 1.57 to 1.73m and they are mostly dark in color. Masuren horses also bear much of these characteristics since they belong to identical ancestry.

Mazury horses were known to be quite noteworthy. Mostly it is known for its quality riding. These horses were very versatile and used for agricultural and riding work. The height ranges from 15hh to 16hh and were found in all solid colors like black, gray, bay and chestnut was the most common.

The Masuren was bred at the stud at Liski which is in the Masuria region. The Polish masters used to breed these horses with lots of care and skills. This resulted into great quality saddle horses. Better than their ancestors – the Trakehner.

It became more famous in the year 1963, when a polish postage stamp was issued showing a Masuren horse in it.

Masuren belongs to the family of extinct horses. Another member of this family is Pozan. This breed was extremely rare. It also had its origin in Poland. The Pozan also known as Poznan was a mixture of Trakehner, Thoroughbred, Hanoverian and Arabian. These horses were mainly used in the farms.

The Masuren and Pozan were crossed to develop a breed called as Wielkopolski. This breed is also known as Mzursko-Poznanski. Wielkopolskis are very talented and versatile. Although not well known, they are quite fast and are natural athletes. They have fantastic temperaments and are a great sport horse breed.

The Masuren and Pozan were crossed to form a base, on which Arabian, Anglo-Arabian and Thoroughbred blood was further added.

The Masuren is a continuation of the Trakehner horse left behind by the Germans following their evacuation of Poland in 1945. It has been bred with great skill and care by its new Polish masters, and faithful attention has been and is paid to following the principles used under the old German administration. The result is a splendid saddle horse of great quality, indistinguishable from the Trakehner since it is of identical ancestry.

To all intents and purposes the Masuren and the Trakehner are the same breed — East Prussian. They are divided by only 30 years of separate breeding, and no new blood has been introduced.