The European Warmblood at Home - The Furioso of Hungary

by Jean Morris

The Origins of the Warmblood Breeds

In this series, writer Jean Morris takes us on journeys around the world to visit some of the lesser-known European Warmbloods, touching on their fascinating histories of origin, examining what factors make them unique and explaining what travellers can expect on visits to the various breeds’ homelands.

Equus caballus migrated from North America to Asia across the Bering land bridge some time before 8000 BC. Millennia passed and the herds roamed westward, over the Asian steppes to Europe, the Arabian peninsular and northern Africa. In the cultivated regions of the Fertile Crescent, now Iraq, cattle provided food, clothing and strength, so the small populations of farmers had little need to domesticate the horse. However, life on the steppes presented a different challenge - the primary form of sustenance being migratory animals. Hence, the steppe dwellers were nomadic, a lifestyle that greatly benefited by riding a horse.

Domestication of the horse probably occurred simultaneously in several places around 4000 to 3000 BC. Depictions of riders appear in the tombs of Egypt dating from 1350 BC. By 860 BC the benefits of mounted horses were recognized in the Fertile Crescent, where the Assyrians created a formidable cavalry. The Scythians, the western-most of the steppe nomads roaming north of the Black Sea, were well-established horsemen by the end of the 6th Century BC.

The hordes of steppe horsemen eventually broke into culturally distinct groups, one of which is known as the Magyars. Around 500 BC, the Magyars migrated west from the Urals, a range of mountains north of the Caspian Sea. They settled in the plain to the west of the Carpathian Mountains, in what is now known as Hungary, bringing with them both the Asian Wild Horse (Przewalski’s Horse) and the Tarpan.

The Magyars were an ethnic mix, including some of Turkish origin, so that by 900 AD Arabian horses had been brought to the area and mixed with descendents of the Tarpan and Asian Wild Horse. These early warmbloods (a mix of the hot blood Desert type and the cold blood Forest and Steppe types) were the progenitors of the Hungarian native stock.

In 1526 and for 150 years, Hungary came under the rule of Turkey. The Turks imported their Desert and Mountain type horses, further refining the native breed. In time, Hungary became one of the largest horse-owning nations in Europe, with more than two million by the end of the 19th Century. The Austro-Hungarian Empire

initiated a government breeding programme for cavalry horses in 1780, and established three state farms: Mezohegyes, Bábolna and Kisbér. Horses were selected based on conformation, size, gaits and disposition. Performance testing commenced in 1869.

Thoroughbred Influence

Mezohegyes is the oldest state stud farm in Hungary, founded in 1785 by Emperor Joseph II. By 1793, it housed over 1000 mares. It gives its name to the Mezohegyes Felver (felver means half-blood), also known as the Furioso-North Star breed.

Furioso and North Star, both English Thoroughbred stallions, arrived in Hungary in 1841 and 1844 respectively. They were bred to Nonius mares. The Nonius breed is named after its foundation sire, who was bred in Normandy out of a local mare and by an English half-Thoroughbred. The Hungarian cavalry took Nonius from Normandy as a three-year old after the defeat of Napoleon at Leipzig in 1813. Nonius was a common-looking horse but when bred to mares of Arab and Barb ancestry he sired good quality offspring. The Nonius line was further refined in the 1860s by the addition of Thoroughbred stock. Both the Nonius and Furioso-North Star breeds were developed at the Mezohegyes stud.

The Furioso and North Star lines were kept separate until 1885, when cross breeding began between their descendents. The offspring of Furioso and North Star were energetic, hardy and co-operative, making them ideal cavalry horses. Indeed, the Hungarian light cavalry, the Hussars, was considered the best in Europe, but the Furioso horses suffered many casualties during the two World Wars and their numbers declined.

The Mezohegyes state stud was operated continuously by the Hungarian government until the 1945 invasion of Hungary by the Soviet Union. The occupying German army evacuated most of the horses to Donnauworth in Southern Bavaria (Germany). The American Third Army, hearing that the Hungarian horses were valuable because of their toughness, speed and endurance, took 50 of them from Germany to the United States.

After World War Two, the need for cavalry horses decreased and the Furioso was bred for agricultural, riding and driving use. In the 1970s, Hungarian agriculture became mechanized and the breeding goal changed again - to sport horse. English Thoroughbred stallions were imported for this purpose.

The brood mares were moved from Mezohegyes, first to Nagykunság, then to Kiskunság State Farms, as well as to agricultural co-operatives. The Furioso breed has retained the characteristics that made them such excellent cavalry horses, while developing into modern sport horses suitable for vaulting, dressage, jumping, driving and even steeplechasing. Many other European countries, such as Belgium, Austria and Germany, are importing Furioso mares to improve their own bloodlines.

The Breed Today

The breed is now regulated by the Furioso-North Star Horse Breeding Association, founded in 1989. Horses meeting the requirements may be registered as three-year-olds. Limited breeding to English Thoroughbreds is permitted, and the Thoroughbred gene proportion is noted on each horse’s pedigree. Mares must be at least 16hh with a cannon bone measurement of 7.5 inches. Conformation is judged on a 100-point system, with a minimum of 81 points required. Both mares and stallions must be performance tested, with participation in public competition recommended. The goal of the Association is to breed an all-round horse, retaining the best of its past, while developing for the future.

Similarly, the horsemen of Hungary have retained the skills of their nomadic ancestors, while developing equestrian tourism for the modern visitor. The ‘Puszta’ or plains are still open spaces where Hungarian cattle, sheep and buffalo graze and the traditions of the early Magyars are preserved.

The visitor may participate in a wide variety of equestrian activities, from spectator at horse shows or races, to trail riding, drag hunting, carriage driving or wandering with a gypsy caravan. The Hungarian Equestrian Tourism Association sets and monitors the quality standards of the facilities offering equestrian-related holidays.

It is possible to fly direct to Budapest, once a week, from Toronto, but consider flying first to Vienna, Austria. Spend a couple of days exploring and watch the morning training sessions at the Spanish Riding School (the Austrian Tourist Office publishes a leaflet with the dates and times of performances and schooling sessions), then take the hovercraft along the Danube to Budapest. From there, travel to the Lipizzaner breeding farms near Szilvásvárad, in the Bükk mountains of northern Hungary.

Throughout its turbulent history, Hungary has remembered its roots as a country settled by horsemen. It is still a nation of horsemen, now offering hospitality to the visitor.