- Mecklenburg - |
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 The main purpose of horse breeding in Germany up until World War II was to produce horses for military service, but which could also be put to domestic use. The state studs largely control the stallions, while the private owners keep the mares. In earlier centuries, heavy-type cobs had been used in warfare to carry armored knights, and the Mecklenburg's ancestors falling into this genre. It was later 'bred up' using warmblood stallions to create a suitable cavalry horse. In the 18th century the Mecklenburg was particularly prized as a substantial carriage horse of considerable strength, stamina, and soundness with an equable temperament. During the latter half of the 19th century, however, the breed deteriorated somewhat due to the random introduction of substandard Thoroughbred blood. By World War II the Mecklenburg had developed into a cavalry-type, medium-weight riding horse, with sturdy legs and an easy action. The breeds homeland was in what was to become East Germany, and it was there that a stud was founded at Schwerin, where the Mecklenburg's transformation into a modern leisure and sports horse was undertaken. In the 1960s and early 1970s, two Anglo-Arab stallions were used on the Mecklenburg mares to introduce fire into its slightly phlegmatic temperament, and after that it was heavily crossed with the Hanoverian. Today's Mecklenburg is specifically a riding and carriage horse, strong and bold but with a tractable and quiet disposition.
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