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Breeds of Horses - A to Z | |
Hackney
A descendant of the old Norfolk Roadster, a renowned trotting horse of the
eighteenth century and the Yorkshire Trotter. Both breeds trace back to the
horse known as The Original Shales, who was foaled in 1755. He was the son
of the thoroughbred - Blaze who was by Flying Childers, generally known as
being the first great racehorse, and may thus be traced back to the Darley
Arabian (q.v.). Therefore, the Hackney has both thoroughbred and Arab blood.
Blaze and his progeny, notably his two sons, Driver and Shales, had a
considerable influence on the development of the trotters of Eastern
England. There were regional differences in the horses bred from Yorkshire
and Norfolk. The Yorkshire trotters having more quality than the more cob
like Norfolk trotters, however, over the years these distinctions have
disappeared.
The breed came into demand in the nineteenth century as a producer of good
quality military and carriage horses. Today the breed is chiefly to be seen
in the show ring for which its spectacular, elevated trot and its spirited
disposition are ideally suited.
The Hackney pony was developed in the early eighteenth century, the earlier
term Hackney pony almost certainly referred to small part breds. Christopher
Wyndham Wilson, a Westmoreland breeder, was largely responsible for its
development. He was a remarkable man who, amongst his achievements, invented
the silo to store winter food for farm animals. Wilson used a variety of
pony breeds, especially the Fell, as his foundation mares. He crossed them
with a small Hackney called Sir George, who was sired in 1866 and stood at
less than 14h.h. His policy of interbreeding to the prepotency of Sir George
enabled Wilson to achieve his aim of breeding a small Hackney, with real
pony characteristics. Other breeders eventually followed his lead in
developing the Hackney pony.
The name Hackney was possibly derived from the French haquenee. In colour it
is usually dark brown, black, bay or chestnut. The Hackney pony must not
exceed 14h.h.; the horse is between 14.3 h.h. and 15.3h.h.. It has a small
convex head with a small muzzle, large eyes and small ears; a fairly long,
well formed neck set on powerful shoulders with small withers; compact body
with great depth of chest and a high set tail; short legs and compact well
shaped feet.
The trotting pace of the Hackney shows free shoulder movement with high,
ground covering knee action. The foreleg being thrown well forward, with
that slight pause which gives a particular grace of movement, causing the
horse to appear to float over the ground. Action must be true and straight,
with no dishing from side to side. The high stepping Hackney action was
further developed in the second half of the nineteenth century, when it
became fashionable to drive elegant, showy carriage horses. It is partly
inherited, partly taught and it may be enhanced by training.
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