Finnhorse

 


The reason for the creation of this article, is following: I had to arrange a presentation in the framework of an English training over a topic of my selection. This is the result.

The Finnish horse is one of the few multi-purpose breeds in the world. The Finnhorse belongs to the general horse breeds, having both warm blood and heavier cold blood influence.Once located on the Baltic coast, later they were crossed with warm bloods and cold bloods to develop the Finnish Universal. They are called the Finnish Universal because they are said to fulfil all needs. From draft to speedy trotting races to riding.

History
Studbook / Breeders
External characteristics
Traits
Traditional uses
Galery
Trotting in Finnland

History
Established Stud book since 1907- the breed has remained pure. Performance breed since 1930 - Registration
The Finnhorse was originally bred as a draught horse, but nowadays there are 4 types- (T) Trotters, (J) Workhorse, ( R) Ridinghorse, ( P) Pony-type horse.
They presently number approximately 18,500. The majority of these Finnhorses are trotters. About 2000 are used for riding and less than 1000 for farming and forestry.

Studbook / Breeders nach oben
The studbook is kept in Finland. Stallions are performance-tested before entering the stud book, and their pedigrees and competition records are carefully evaluated.

Trotters' racetrack records are evaluated, and the stallion committee will test the horse in front of a sulky.

Riding type Finnhorses are put through their paces and asked to jump.

Draught type horses must perform a traction test.

Mares' look, gait and character are evaluated before entering the stud book.

Breeders: The Finnhorse is the only native breed of horse fromFinland. It is descended from the native Finnish PonyThe breeders: Finland, Sweden, Germany

External Characteristics nach oben

 

The weight is about 500 kg up to 600 kg.
The typical height of a Finnhorse is 145 cm- 160 cm but there have been individuals exceeding 177 cm.
The Finnhorses have a small head that is a little square and heavy with a straight profile.
They have small ears, and ‚gentle' eyes.
They are strongly built with good limbs and long, strong backs.
Most Finnhorses are chestnut-brown in color, often with a flaxen mane and tail, some are brown, black, or bay.

 

Traits nach oben
Finnhorses are very bright,calm, patient, tolerant, enduring, honest, hardy and tough and they have strong nerves.

Finnhorses tend to live a long time, and possess remarkablestamina. The head of the Finnhorse shows its honesty andworkman-like attitude

Traditional Uses nach oben
Finnhorses can be used for many kinds of work:

 

Trotting race (courses)
it is the fastest cold-blooded trotter in the world

  Working farming and forestry
it is capable of pulling heavier loads than many larger draught horse breeds

They are used for competitive driving, riding and
Dressage [Prix de St. Georges-Level] including:

The piaffe is a trot performed nearly on the spot. It requires the utmost gathering and engagement from the horse, and is required only at the highest levels of international dressage competition.  
The passage is a trot in hover or float position  
The flying change is a one tempo change or a two-tempo change or changes every other stride.  
Showjumping. And they are also used for showjumping. (jumped in open 130 cm classes and over 110 cm high cross-country fences. Some jump even higher. Specially, when they want to get rid of their riders.  
Long-distance riding
endurance riding
harness-driving

The Finnhorse is a versatile riding horse. Finnhorses are becoming popular family horses and riding school mounts

Galery nach oben

Hella3
A typical Finnhorse head with a rather straight profile and an alert, interested look    

Finnhorses tend to be very interested in their surroundings

Trotting in Finland
nach oben
Trotting is one of the most popular sports in Finland. Every year it attracts over 800 000 spectators on racetracks. The number of spectators in the off-track betting shops is almost 900 000. There are about 580 race events yearly, with over 8000 horses and over 3000 drivers. The number of professional trainers is 150, and the register of amateur trainers contains over 7000 names. The total turnover in horse betting is over 1 billion Finnish marks.

Trotting in Finland is many-sided. There are races throughout the year, every day except on Christmas. The nature of the events varies from international competitions and weekly meetings on provincial tracks to small race events in the countryside or even to races on ice.

Internationally Finland lies among the 5-6 major trotting countries in Europe. The most famous Finnish trotters are Charm Asserdal, Keystone Patriot, Friendly Face and Houston Laukko, the first horse of Finnish breeding to win the Grand Circuit. The latest international top horse of Finnish breeding is the stallion BWT Magic. The most famous Finnhorse is Viesker, who has won both the Trotting King title and the Nordic Championship five times. As a result of the rapid development of Finnish breeding, many Finnish trotters have made a reputation on the top of European trotting sport during the recent years.

The European Champions Pekka Korpi and Jorma Kontio, as well as Veijo Heiskanen, are the best known Finnish drivers.

Tracks
There are 44 race tracks in Finland. The main track of the country, Vermo, is situated in Helsinki and hosts over 60 race events yearly. There are 19 provincial tracks spread across the country, which together with Vermo arrange most of the 580 race events. Every Wednesday Vermo stages V5-races, and every Saturday the V75-races take place on one of the provincial tracks.

The main events on Vermo are the Finlandia-race in the spring, which is part of the Grand Circuit, and the Great Finnish Derby for 4-year-olds in the autumn. Teivo, the second biggest track of the country, located in the city of Tampere, hosts the Kriterium for 3-year-old standardbreds and 4-year-old Finnhorses. Other major events are the Suur-Hollola-race in Lahti, St. Michel in Mikkeli, Killerin Eliitti in Jyväskylä and Kymi GP in Kouvola.

The greatest event of the Finnish trotting year is Kuninkuusravit, The Finnhorse Trotting Championship, which takes place in the beginning of August, changing venue every year.

Totalizator
Totalizator wagering is an essential part of trotting industry. The total turnover in tote is over 700 million Finnish marks yearly. Along with the pari-mutuel totalizator wagering organised by Fintoto Oy, there are big national pools carried out by the company Oy Veikkaus Ab. The total turnover in Finnish horse betting amounts over 1,1 billion Finnish marks.

There are several different bet types. Win and Show are the easiest ones and thus suitable for beginners. The most popular one is Quinella. Win, Show and Quinella can be bet on every race. Trifecta, as well as Superfecta, can be bet on particular races. In general, the best bet objects occur among V4-races, in which you pick the winners in four successive races. V4 can also be played as V4-Smart Quick Pick and V4-Smart Quick Banker. The national pools are V75, V5 and the Daily Double.

Horse betting takes full advantage of today's latest technology. Thanks to rapid communication and satellite links totalizator wagering could be brought off-track to "Totoline"-shops. The number of the off-track betting shops is growing rapidly, currently there are already 350 of them. The next step will be internet betting and betting through mobile phone.

Breeding
There are about 57 000 horses in Finland. A third of them are Finnhorses, another third are standardbred trotters, and the rest are riding horses and ponies. The number of foals born yearly is about 4000. In the beginning of the 90's the numbers of trotters were high, but because of the depression, which began in 1993, the breeding figures were sharply cut with about 50 %. Thanks to the economical recovery and the subventions from the EU, the breeding figures are gradually improving.

Suomen Hippos is the Finnish trotting and breeding association, authorised by the EU. The Finnish studbooks and horse registers are kept and administered by Suomen Hippos. The breeding of trotters is developing evenly. In recent years the top of good horses has broadened, and many individuals have reached the international top level. There is even a demand for Finnish born standardbreds in the exports.

Finnhorse trotting championship
The Finnhorse Trotting Championship, or "Kuninkuusravit" in Finnish, is the greatest event of the Finnish trotting year. The first races were driven in 1924 in the town of Lahti, and in the last decades this event has become one of the most attractive summer festivals in Finland. The first Championship races of the millennium were attended by about 50 000 spectators. The Trotting Championship is an inseparable part of the Finnish trotting tradition. Year after year the Trotting King and the Trotting Queen get their names to the history.

Above all, the Finnhorse Trotting Championship is a tribute to the Finnhorse. The title of the Trotting King was won five times by the stallions Vieteri, Vekseli and Viesker, and four times by Tomu, Ero-Lohko and Patrik. The mare Valomerkki was crowned Queen four times.

History

1817 The first trotting race on the ice of the river Aura in Turku.
1865 Horse races supported by the state get started and become regular.
1884 The first racetrack is built in Helsinki.
1907 The studbook for Finnhorses is founded. Horse breeding is organised by creating regional breeding associations.
1919 Suomen Ravirengas, the Finnish Trotting Association, is established as a central organisation for private trotting associations.
1924 Kuninkuusravit, the Finnhorse Trotting Championship, is established in Lahti. The magazine Hevoslehti, the intercessor of the magazine Hevosurheilu ("Horse Sports"), is founded.
1928 Totalizator is introduced in horse races.
1957 The first standardbred horses are brought into the country.
1959 The standardbreds get the right to compete in Finland. Import of standardbreds begins.
1965 Betting Statute is amended more favourable for betters, totalizator turnover starts to rise strikingly. Trotting sport becomes more and more modern.
1973 The central organisations for trotting and breeding unite into Suomen Hippos.
1977 Charme Asserdal sets a new European record 1.13,9. The race track Vermo in Helsinki is completed.
1979 The trotting king Vieteri reaches the amount of 1 million Finnish marks in prize money as the first horse in Finland. The standardbred stallion Einarsin does the same in 1986.
1980 The Finnish born stallion Rocky wins the European Championship for 5-year-olds. Pekka Korpi wins the European Championship for drivers and repeats it in the two following years.
1982 The right to organise the national pool V5 is moved to the company Oy Veikkaus Ab. Pari-mutuel totalizator wagering continues to be carried out by Suomen Hippos.
1985 Jorma Kontio wins the European Championship for drivers. He repeats it in 1998.
1993 The stallion Smooth Blend, brought from the USA, sets up the world record 1.10,9a for 1000-meter-tracks in Mikkeli.
1995 Houston Laukko wins the Grand Circuit, as the first horse of Finnish breeding. Totalizator in OTB-shops is started by Suomen Hippos.
1999

BWT Magic wins the European Championship for 3-year-olds in Tampere, Finland.

2000 Viesker wins the Trotting King title and the Nordic Championship for the fifth time in succession.
2001 Hippos establishes a company for totalizator wagering activities. Fintoto Oy begins operations on 1. January 2001.


Suomen Hippos

Suomen Hippos, the Finnish Trotting and Breeding Association, consists of about 130 member associations. Suomen Hippos administers the whole horse breeding and trotting industry as well as keeps register and studbook for all the horses bred in Finland. Furthermore Hippos organises training and publishes e.g. studbooks and yearly statistics. Hippos is also active in taking part in international organisations, e.g. in the European Trotting Union (U.E.T.), in which Hippos is a member since 1974.

A subsidiary company of Hippos, Suomen Hevosurheilulehti Oy, publishes the magazine Hevosurheilu ("Horse Sports"). Totalizator wagering is carried out by the subsidiary company Fintoto Oy, established in 2001.