Knabstrup

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Knabstrup or Knabstrupper is a European horse breed with an unusual range of coat coloration. It shows similar color patterns as the Appaloosa although not related. With coat patterns ranging from solid, through many variants to the full leopard spotted. Leopard Spotting is the most prized color pattern. It has warmblood conformation. Believed to have originated from the prehistoric spotted horses of Spain, the Knabstrupper is one of the oldest breed registries in Europe. Established in 1812, the Knabstrupper started with a single chestnut mare with a spotted blanket pattern purchased by a Danish butcher named Flaeb from a Spanish cavalry officer. It is said that the horse had been used as a cavalry mount but stood out to the enemy. The mare, who became known as Flaebehoppen (which literally means "Flaeb's mare"), was purchased by Major Villars Lunn who owned an estate called "Knabstrupgaard" in Holbaek, Nordsealand, Denmark. Flaeb's mare was bred to a Fredricksborg stallion and produced a wildly colored stallion son who was named Flaebehingsten.