The Kladruby (also 'Kladruber') is the oldest Czech horse breed. It is a Baroque horse, whose appearance is similar to that of the Lipizzan horse.

Origins:
The Kladruby was created in the Kladruby Court Stud in the 16th century, when Czech breeders crossed local Czech horses with Spanish and Neapolitan horses, and created a breed with a Baroque conformation and a high-stepping trot.

Originally, Kladruby horses came in a variety of colors, but starting from the 18th century, breeding programs focused on breeding grey and black horses, and thus other colors gradually disappeared.

The 'grey herd' and the 'black herd':
The grey Kladruby horses, collectively known as "the grey herd," were favored by the Czech monarchy, and served as royal carriage horses. The black Kladruby horses, collectively known as "the black herd," were preferred by members of clergy, who used by them as mounts. Compared to other horse breeds at the time, the number of Kladruby horses was always relatively small, but stable.

In 1918, following the collapse of the House Habsburg, there was little interest in the Kladruby horses, and a decision was made to stop maintaining the breed. Eventually, it was decided to keep the herd of grey horses because they were perceived as a noble, native Czech breed. The black herd, on the other hand, was formally dissolved in the 1930s, and all that remained of it was a handful of mares, as well as three stallions.

Restoring the black herd:
In 1945, it was decided to restore the black herd, in order to preserve the existence of black Kladruby horses. In order to avoid excessive inbreeding, the black Kladruby horses which were saved earlier were carefully crossed with horses of other breeds, most notably the Lipizzan, as well as with grey Kladruby horses.

This successful endeavor, performed by the Research Institute for Horse Breeding in Slatinany, ensured the continuity of the breeding-lines of the black Kladruby horses. The restoration project ended in 1973, and today the black herd is maintained by the National Stud at Kladruby Nad Labem.

The Kladruby today:
Nowadays, Kladruby horses are extremely rare. Some of them are still used as carriage horses for ceremonial purposes, while others are used for dressage or team-driving. They are bred at Kladruby National Stud.

Conformation:
Kladruby horses are large horses with a Baroque conformation. Their profile is extremely convex, and this trait sets them apart from Lipizzan horses who have an otherwise similar build and conformation. In addition, Kladruby horses are also taller on average than Lipizzan horses.

Performance metrics:
The following are the: range, average, (SD), and MOE of performance metrics of ordered Kladruby horses in Horse Isle (not bred ones). In rare cases, horses might have metrics outside of the range. Breeders can produce horses that are beyond this range.

Speed: 15.6-16.9, 16.3 (0.3), 0.06.
Sprint: 43-57, 50 (3), 0.54.

Accel: 0.81-0.99, 0.90 (0.04), 0.01.
Decel: 0.77-0.92, 0.86 (0.04), 0.01.

Jump: 4.97-5.27, 5.11 (0.06), 0.01.
Pull: 2.19-2.86, 2.55 (0.16), 0.03.

Turning: 47.93-61.82, 55.12 (3.07), 0.6.
Reverse: 2.5-3.1, 2.9 (0.1), 0.03.

Stamina: 51.69-56.22, 53.85 (0.99), 0.19.
Reaction: 0.78-0.85, 0.82 (0.02), 0.00.

Coats & Height:

Colors: black and grey.
Chestnut Kladrubies? In rare cases Kladruby horses can be born chestnut. While chestnut mares are allowed to breed, chestnut stallions are excluded from the breeding program.

Additionals: sooty.

Height: 16hh to 17.3hh*.
* Kladrubies usually stand between 16hh and 17hh, but some are as tall as 17.3hh.