Mecklenburger - History

History

The region today known as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was, until 1934, composed of the duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. However, the region was united by virtue of being under the rule of the House of Mecklenburg, so the histories of Schwerin, Strelitz and the other Mecklenburg duchies are intertwined. The history of warmblood horse breeding - that is, a horse that was neither draft horse nor Arabian nor Thoroughbred - in Mecklenburg is similar to that in the rest of Germany.

Mecklenburgers prior to World War II were all-purpose utility horses. Individual sires, families or breeders might specialize, but the most economically efficient horse was one that had many uses. Primarily, these uses were cavalry, transport, and agriculture.

The requirements for a cavalry horse were affected by three major changes: the decline of the Knight after the 16th century, the popularization of firearms in the late 19th century, and mechanization in the early 20th century. Between the Middle Ages and mechanization, the ideal cavalry horse was athletic, agile and highly obedient. Cavalry horses were typically bred for the nobility, but horses belonging to other residents were trained as "remounts." Following mechanization, the role of the cavalry horse in Europe was diminished to ceremonial use.

What was required of horses as part of transport was affected by similar advances: the advent of long-distance public stagecoach travel in the 16th century, the invention of the steam engine, and mechanization. Pulling stage coaches did not necessitate beauty, but endurance, efficiency and soundness. Large-scale train transport in Germany took hold late in the 19th century and significantly reduced the need for stage horses. More elegant carriage horses with high-stepping gaits became more popular for short-distance traveling, as did saddle horses. Once again, mechanization all but negated the horse's role in transport.

The agricultural niche filled by the horse was also affected by technological achievements. While plows became increasingly lighter and more efficient over time, the primary factor in determining the qualities of a region's plow horse was the soil. Throughout the ages, the demand for agricultural horses was also affected by the local populations, fluctuations in which altered the demand for food. Periods of high growth meant higher food demands, and more demand for plow horses. Yet again, mechanization following World War II ousted the horse from this role.