Nonius (horse)
| Vernier | |
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| Important data | |
| Origin: | Hungary , 19th century |
| Main breeding area: | Hungary |
| Distribution: | low, especially in neighboring countries |
| Stick measure : | 145-165 cm |
| Colors : | mostly brown and black horses |
| Main application area: | Work and sport horse, draft horse, riding horse, leisure horse |
The Nonius (Hungarian Nóniusz ) is the oldest Hungarian warmblood horse breed that does not go back to the native Hungarian landrace. It was founded in 1816 by the Anglo-Normans stallion Nonius in the Hungarian stud Mezöhegyes .
Background information on horse evaluation and breeding can be found under: Exterior , interior and horse breeding .
Exterior
The exterior of the Nonius is reminiscent of a typical carriage horse. The vernier has a large rams head, a long muscular neck, a broad, low-set chest and an only slightly tucked-up lower abdomen. The withers are pronounced and merge into a long, broad back with a sloping croup. The legs are strong and have large joints. The vernier measures 155 to 165 cm with a stick. The fur colors are predominantly brown and black horses with a slight red cast. Foxes are rare. White markings are also rare and very small.
interior
The Nonius is characterized by its toughness and robustness. Despite its liveliness, the vernier has a balanced temperament and is very good-natured and willing to learn. It does not mature until the age of six at the earliest, reaches a high age and is very fertile. The Nonius is very versatile, as a draft horse in agriculture, as a carriage horse, as a circus horse and also as a riding horse.
Breeding history
The breed is named after the progenitor, the Anglo-Normann black stallion Nonius , who was born in France in 1810. He is said to have been bred in the Calvados department and raised in the Bec Hellouin stallion depot in the Eure department . Both his father Orion and his mother are said to have had an English thoroughbred for their father. However, there are different details about his place of birth and his ancestry, but it is certain that he had a high proportion of English thoroughbred blood. The Austrian army captured Nonius in 1815 after Napoleon's defeat from the French stud Rosières-aux-Salines and brought him to Vienna. From there he was brought to the Mezöhegyes State Stud founded by Emperor Joseph II in 1784 in 1816 , where he was used as a stallion until his death in 1832.
The stallion, whose attractiveness was diminished by a heavy rams head with deep-set small eyes, was paired with Hungarian as well as Turkish, Spanish, Arab and Lipizzaner mares, which resulted in 15 breeding stallions. Among them Nonius IV out of the Spanish mare Gascon , all of the representatives of the breed living today can be traced back to him. Inbreeding and the resounding inheritance of the Nonius resulted in a uniform breed despite the differences between the mares. In order to prevent inbreeding depression, English whole blood was introduced into the breed from 1860 onwards , which also made the minor defects in the conformation of the progenitor disappear and the breed became lighter overall.
In 1861 a distinction was made between two types of the breed: the heavy and the larger type were used as a draft horse in agriculture. The light, smaller type was used as a carriage and riding horse. The lighter type is also used today as a sport horse. In Nissen, however, one reads that the division of the breed into two categories, as claimed in all places, is a misunderstanding that only the herd of mares in Mezöhegyes was divided according to size and not according to ancestry.
As early as 1885, Nonius breeding was no longer only practiced in Mezöhegyes, but also in Hortobágy . An important nonius breed developed here since 1948. This resulted in two types: in Mezöhegyes a larger, mostly black type, in Hortobágy a smaller, mostly brown type. Today there are 40 mares in Mezohegyes and 60 mares in Hortobágy. A total of around 450 mares and 80 stallions of the Nonius breed live in Hungary. In Romania and Serbia-Montenegro there are also nonius populations of Hungarian origin with small numbers.
The Nonius breed received its first international award in the form of the gold medal at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900, with the title The Ideal Horse . After the Second World War, there was a need for a sport horse. By crossing the Nonius breed with Western European sport horses, especially Holsteiners , the Hungarian sport horse breed was founded.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c The Mata Stud on the website of the Hortobágy Society (KHT) ( Memento from July 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c Jasper Nissen: Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09723-4
- ↑ a b c Monique and Hans D. Dossenbach, Hans Joachim Köhler: Gestüte , Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-8289-1586-8
swell
- Monique and Hans D. Dossenbach, Hans Joachim Köhler: Gestüte , Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-8289-1586-8 .
- Jasper Nissen: Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09723-4 .
literature
- Gertrud Grilz-Seger and Thomas Druml: The Nonius , domestic animal breeds of the Danube region between yesterday and today, Volume I, Graz 2015, ISBN 978-3-85333-256-6 .
