Oil horse

Oil horse
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Important data
Origin:	Öland
Main breeding area:
Distribution:	extinct
Stick measure :	up to 105 cm
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The Öland horse , also known as the Ölännigen , was a horse breed on the Swedish island of Öland in the Baltic Sea . The breed died out in the early 20th century. There are efforts to breed new.

anatomy

This special Öland horse breed was only a relatively small size with a height at the withers of 130 cm and was therefore a pony . However, the size of the animals varied considerably. The smallest adult animals were the so-called king horses with a maximum height at the withers of 105 cm.

history

It is assumed that the Öland horses initially lived wild on Öland for several millennia. The oil horse was then used in agriculture. Oil horses were abundant and therefore cheap. At the end of the 16th century every farm in Öland is said to have kept an average of 22 horses. Once, exactly 17,673 Öland horses were counted, including 5,000 king horses.

The particularly small specimens were also kept at the Swedish royal court. There were also Öland horses at foreign farms.

However, efforts were made in the 17th and 18th centuries to breed stronger animals by crossing them with other breeds, so that the Öland horses became larger. At the end of the 19th century the number of Öland horses decreased rapidly until they became extinct around the turn of the century.

Horse stables at Högby Church

The Öland Museum in Himmelsberga and the church stables of Högby Church still have stables that are tailored to the small size of the Öland horses.

New breed

There are efforts to breed horses again, which should correspond as closely as possible to the historical Öland horses. In 2004, the Öland Horse Association was founded. It was possible to find the horse breed Estonian Klepper in Estonia, which is very similar to the Öland horse. In 2006 there were already around 60 horses of this type on Öland. In 2007 alone, 14 foals were expected to be born.