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The Hackney Horse is a recognized breed that was developed in Great Britain. A studbook has been maintained for this breed since 1833 by the Hackney Horse Society, which has its headquarters in Norwich. The breed takes its name from the Hackney area of London, England (the uncapitalized term, "hackney" is a more general designation for horses used for ordinary driving or riding). The Hackney Horse derives from two earlier breeds that have now disappeared, the Norfolk Roadster and the Yorkshire Roadster. Like those two breeds, the breeding of the Hackney has been directed toward producing horses that are ideal for drawing carriages. They are known for their great stamina, trotting at high speed for extended periods of time. The breed was developed during the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain, from the well-known trotting breeds: the Norfolk Roadster and the Yorkshire Roadster. The Norfolk has actually been very influential in the development of other breeds, including the Gelderland, the Furioso, the French Trotter, the Welsh Cob, the Maremanna, the Orlov Trotter, the American Saddlebred, and the Standardbred. Both trotting breeds were exceptionally fast, with great speed and endurance. Both trace back to the stallion Original Shales, born in East Anglica in 1755. He was by the stallion Blaze, the son of the well-known racehorse Flying Childers who was a grandson of the great Darley Arabian (one of the four foundation stallions of the Thoroughbred breed). Original Shales sired two stallions--Scot Shales and Driver--both of which had a great influence on the Norfolk Trotter. |
