page_title: Finnhorse
section_title: Decline
hierarchical_section_title: Finnhorse / History / Decline
caption_attribution_description: English: The Finnhorse stallion Kirppu Tt 710 pulling an early sulky
context_page_description: The Finnhorse or Finnish Horse is a horse breed with both riding horse and draught horse influences and characteristics, and is the only breed developed fully in Finland. In English it is sometimes called the Finnish Universal, as the Finns consider the breed capable of fulfilling all of Finland's horse needs, including agricultural and forestry work, harness racing, and riding. In 2007, the breed was declared the official national horse breed of Finland.
  The Finnhorse is claimed to be among the fastest and most versatile "coldblood" breeds in the world. In Finland, the term "universal horse" is used to describe the Finnhorse and breeds such as the Fjord horse that are relatively small with a body type that is heavy for a riding horse but light for a draught. There are four separate sections within the Finnhorse stud book, each with different goals: to develop a heavier working horse, a lighter trotter type, a versatile riding horse, and a proportionally smaller pony-sized animal. The combined breed standard for all four sections defines the breed as a strong, versatile horse with pleasant disposition.
context_section_description: In the 18th century, the horse population of Finland vastly diminished in both numbers and quality. At the beginning of the century, during the Great Northern War campaigns of Charles XII, the Finnish cavalry was larger than at any other time in history, and almost every usable horse of Finland was needed. Horses were used by the cavalry, infantry, and for transporting supplies. Horses serving in the Swedish military never returned to Finland; even the animals provided to the last remaining Swedish reinforcement regiments were taken to Sweden in 1714, and to Norway in 1718.
  The Russian invasion and occupation caused additional hardships. By the end of Russian occupation in 1721, a third of the Finnish human populace as well as large numbers of horses were lost to war and epidemic diseases. Furthermore, a great number of horses were exported to Russia during the invasion at the command of Peter I. Horses removed from Finland ended up mainly in the area of Vyatka government, and some Russian researchers such as Simanov and Moerder have suggested that the Vyatka horse was developed mainly from Estonian and Finnish bloodlines. In addition to the hardships of war and occupation, the treaties of Nystad in 1721 and Åbo in 1743 ceded Finnish territory to Russia, which resulted in much of the Finnish horse population being left behind the new borders. The Finnish horses in these now-Russian areas were crossbred with the Russian horses in significant numbers.
  With the Russians having taken the best animals, combined with the old custom of pastures shared by municipalities or larger areas, rebuilding the horse population took decades. To increase numbers, horses were often bred too young, and inbreeding also occurred. By 1761, one of the first researchers in the agricultural chemistry in Finland described the Finnish horse population of the time:
  The Savonian-Karelian horse is its own breed, descended from [the horses of] Tartary. It is rarely taller than 9 korttelis [133 centimetres (52 in)], and it is of good conformation, and a good puller, chestnut or bay of coat. [The same breed is also found in Western Finland, where it is] mixed and bigger by the influence of Scanian horses.
  According to ethnologist Kustaa Vilkuna's estimations, calculated from measurements of horse collars used in Finland in the early 18th century, the average peasant's horse was about 12.3 hands (51 inches, 130 cm) tall, while some horses employed by manors were larger, sometimes more than 13.3 hands (55 inches, 140 cm) tall. Vilkuna also discovered that the horses of the southern and western regions of Finland were larger than those of the northern and eastern regions. This was probably due to the influence of imported horses. By the mid-18th century, a typical Finnish horse was probably about 13.2 hands (54 inches, 137 cm), about the same size as a small contemporary Finnhorse yearling, and weighed about 300 kilograms (660 lb), roughly half the weight of a contemporary 15.2 hands (62 inches, 157 cm) working section horse. A civilian horse of good quality had good action and was swift. However, leg faults were common.
  In response to the decline of the Finnish horse population and especially the great loss of good quality breeding animals experienced during the great famine of 1866–1868, the Senate of Finland gave orders for three provinces to obtain quality stallions for public use. The scope of the programme was later expanded to include eight provinces, and Finland was divided into breeding districts, which were all to have a state-owned stallion available to service local mares. The horses in this programme became known as "crown stallions" (Finnish: ruununori, ruununoriit). Official guidelines for the selection of stallions were never given, but one common aim throughout Finland was to increase the size and bulk of the horse population to create a type better suited for agricultural work.
caption: One of the Finnhorse founding sires, Kirppu tt 710, pulling an early sulky at full speed, c. 1890
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