The Oldenburg is a German warmblood breed, which is named after the former Kingdom of Oldenburg (today a region in Northern Germany) from which it originated.

Regal roots:
In the 16th century, Johann XVI, the Count of Oldenburg, crossed his Friesian horse with Andalusians, Danish horses, Turkish horses, and Neopolitan horses, in an attempt to turn them into better war horses. His successor, Anton Gunther, crossed these new horses with a variety of European stallions, and turned them into carriage and riding horses that despite having a heavy build also had an elegant action and excelled in dressage.

The alt-Oldenburg:
Over the next centuries, the demand for strong farm horses outgrew the demand for elegant dressage horses, and Oldenburg horses were bred for their strength. Slowly, the breed became heavier, but maintained the shape and agility required for it to serve as a carriage horse. This newer, stronger type of the Oldnenbugr is known today as "alt-Oldenburg".

Back to an elite dressage horse:
In the 1960s, the demand for farm horses decreased while the demand for sport horses increased. Therefore, Oldenburg horses were crossed with Thoroughbreds as well as with sport warmbloods of various breeds, in order to transform the Oldenburg into a lighter and more athletic breed, which is better suited for Olympic disciplines. Today, this athletic form of the Oldenburg horse is known as "Modern Oldenburg", or "Oldenburg" for short.

Today, Oldenburg horses are considered to be a bit heavier than most other European sport warmblood breeds, but nevertheless, they excel in eventing, show-jumping, and dressage. The latter is their specialty, and starting from 2016 (and as of 2020) the Oldenburg was constantly ranked as one of the top four sport warmblood breeds for performing dressage.

Performance metrics:
The following are the: range, average, (SD), and MOE of performance metrics of ordered Oldenburgs 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: 16.5-17.9, 17.1 (0.3), 0.06.
Sprint: 49-63, 57 (3), 0.59.

Accel: 0.90-1.09, 0.99 (0.05), 0.01.
Decel: 0.98-1.14, 1.06 (0.03), 0.01.

Jump: 5.36-5.63, 5.50 (0.06), 0.01.
Pull: 2.39-3.28, 2.84 (0.18), 0.04.

Turning: 54.97-68.75, 62.36 (2.86), 0.56.
Reverse: 2.7-3.5, 3.1 (0.1), 0.03.

Stamina: 47.91-52.87, 50.20 (1.16), 0.23.
Reaction: 0.71-0.81, 0.76 (0.02), 0.00.

Coats & Height:
Colors: bay, black, brown, chestnut, grey, and more rarely, cream-dilutes.

Additionals: flaxen, rabicano, sooty, and in rarer cases, tobiano, white-spotted, and rare patterns.

Breeding notes: the colors and patterns of dominant black, dominant white, dun, linebacked, roan, frame-overo, manchado, and splashed-white don't naturally occur in this breed but can be bred into it.

Height: 16.1hh to 17.2hh