AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF EUROPE: GERMANY 83 
Table 63. — Horses: Breeds in the German Empire, 1912 
Name and breed 
Manner bred 
District 
Purposes 
East Prussian. 
Hanoverian. 
Oldenburg. 
East Friesland. 
Holstein 
Most of the breeding done 
on small and medium- 
sized farms; most of the 
stallions owned by the 
State; colts brought up 
by large farmers and es- 
tate owners and held 
until mature. 
Mares owned by private 
individuals; stallions 
owned by State. 
Mares and stallions owned 
by private individuals 
and cooperatives. 
East Prussia, Hanover, 
Mecklenburg, Posen, 
Schleswig-Holstein, and 
West Prussia. 
Departments of Stade, 
Lunburg, and Hanover, 
of the Province of Han- 
over; also bred in the 
Meeklenburgs and 
Brandenburg. 
Duchy and Grand Duchy 
of Oldenburg, Silesia, 
and South Germany. 
Schieswig. 
Rhenish.. 
Rottal 
Light Noric (Ober- 
laender) . 
Heavy Noric (Pins- 
gau). 
Department of Aurich in 
Province of Hanover. 
Western Holstein marshes, 
southern half of Schles- 
wig-Holstein, the Duchy 
of Schieswig and Meck- 
lenburg. 
Same as Holstein Schleswig-Holstein.-. 
Private individuals and 
cooperatives. 
Stallions kept by the State 
and private individuals. 
Whole district of the 
Rhine provinces, West- 
phalia, South Hanover, 
Saxony, Silesia, and 
other districts. 
Upper Bavaria 
.....do 
Lower Bavaria. 
Driving and riding; light 
and heavy cavalry; 60 
per cent of the horses 
used in th« German 
Army came from East 
Prussia. 
Riding, driving, and farm 
work; heavy cavalry and 
artillery; 11 per cent of 
the horses used in the 
German Army came 
from Hanover. 
Heavy carriage horses, of- 
ten used for farm work; 
primarily artillery 
horses. 
Same as Oldenburg horses. 
Same as Oldenburg; some 
of these horses were used 
by the Life Guards and 
Lancers. 
A strong working horse for 
farm, artillery, and draft 
purposes. 
Similar to Belgian draft 
horse; used for heavy 
farm work, draying, and 
heavy guns in the artil- 
lery. 
Light cavalry type. 
Do. 
Heavy draft and artillery. 
Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, Berlin. 
PRE-WAR HORSE SITUATION 
During the 30 years preceding the war, horse breeding in Germany 
had not kept pace with the increase in population, there having been 
78 horses per 1,000 inhabitants in 1883 as compared with 70 in 1913, 
although during this period the actual numbers had increased from 
3,523,000 to 4,558,000, a gain of 29.4 per cent. 
'During this period not only had the density of horses diminished 
somewhat but there had been a growing tendency to breed draft 
animals in larger numbers, as indicated in Table 64. 
Table 64. — Horses: Estimated classification in Germany, 1898 and 1911 
Class 
Percentage of total 
number 
1898 
1911 
Light horses 
Per cent 
61.60 
36.03 
Per cent 
5a 46 
Heavy horses _ _ 
49.42 
Crossbreeds . 
. 11 
Unclassified 
.'. 37 
.01 
Estimate furnished by the Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, Berlin. 
The period from 1883 to 1913 marked a great expansion in Ger- 
many's agriculture, and consequently an increased demand for farni- 
worK animals, especially in the north central regions of the Empire. 
