Sheik af Hallundbaek: Breyer Rare Breeds, the Danish Knabstrupper

The other new Breyer Rare Breeds model which is being released this year is Sheik, an American Knabstrupper.  Sheik, a four year old stallion, is the first American Knabstrupper to pass the incredibly challenging Rheinland Pfalz-Saar International 30 day stallion competition.

The Knabstrupper is a Danish breed of horse with the oldest breed registry in Europe, first established in 1812 when a cavalry mare caught the eye of a horse fancier and butcher named Flaeb.  Flaeb purchased his mare from the Spanish cavalry, and it is believed that the breed dates back to a prehistoric spotted horse which was native to Spain.

The spotted horses of prehistoric Spain and France were preserved in Paleolithic cave paintings, such as the famous paintings of the Lascaux caverns.  This Paleolithic horse is most likely the progenitor of the Spanish Jennet horse, which was used by Spanish royalty in medieval times, and still survives today.

The Knabstrupper has the same color range as the American appaloosa, and the wilder the color range, the better.  Popularity nearly doomed the Knabstrupper, as demand for the horse and the requirement of the breed registry led to severe inbreeding.  The breed nearly met with disaster during a stable fire at the home stable of the breed, when 22 of its most valuable breeding stock were killed.  

Fortunately supporters of the breed prevailed, and a new stud farm was established in 1947 to continue the work that Flaeb began.  The modern Knabstrupper has elements from many warmblood breeds, including the Danish warmblood and the Trakehner.

The Knabstrupper's history in America is much more abbreviated.  The first American Knabstrupper horses were bred in 2002, using frozen semen from the European champion stud Apollon.  Because of the requirements of the Knabstrupper registry, the first Americans who wanted to breed Knabstruppers - Mike and Caroline Athey - had to find an Appaloosa mare who would meet the registry's exacting standards.  

Although the efforts of American fanciers - and certainly the certification of Sheikh - has improved the breed's numbers, at last count there was a breeding population worldwide of less than 600 Knabstrupper horses.  This makes the Knabstrupper one of the rarest documented breeds of horse.  (By comparison there are half a million Arabian horses registered in North America alone, and over 1.2 million Thoroughbred horses with registered pedigrees.)

As with many European breeds, there are several types of Knabstrupper.  They can be Sport Type, Baroque Type, and Pony Type.  Sheik is a Sport Type, and this is one of the most common types of Knabstrupper, as they are the most versatile body type.  The Pony type is (as you might expect) the shortest of the three, and is a popular choice as a children's pony thanks to its kind and tractable disposition.  While the Baroque type is the Knabstrupper crossed with larger, heavier breeds, creating a large draft or "warhorse" body type.
 
The Breyer Sheik af Hallundbaek is a careful rendering of the original stallion's pattern, a leopard appaloosa, using the classic Breyer "Hanoverian" cast.