All month long we will be featuring speaker’s abstracts for the upcoming Equine History Conference: Why Equine History Matters.

European State Studs: Values, Significance, Potential
Alexandra Lotz

     The European State Studs derive from a time when horses played a vital role in transport, agriculture, military support and the representation by monarchs and members of important families. Thinking about the wide‐ranging relevance of horses in the past, it becomes evident why farseeing rulers founded not only royal studs for their own representative purposes, but also state studs to improve the quality of horses in their kingdoms. The quality of horses was a decisive factor for the
productivity and military successes of a state.

     After the motorization of transport, agriculture and war the amount of horses and with them the number of breeding institutions declined. Many have been dissolved, some are still under the authority of the state, some have been turned into foundations or run as private enterprises. The surviving state studs are not only places of animal production, they are living heritage sites preserving different forms of tangible and intangible heritage.

     At present, the European state studs are changing under the pressure either of the horse sector or of their political authorities. They are in a period of new orientation and re-structuring. When carefully managed, the studs can provide useful reference for challenges relating to sustainable development in rural areas. Their cultural landscapes can retain clear evidence of their historical origin, while maintaining an active role in society and economy. They can help understanding the quality of rural space for the preservation of cultural heritage, the protection of biodiversity and the quality of life of
the population.

Find Alexandra Lotz here.