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Performance tests

All the Kladruber horses that are to be used in breeding must pass varied and very demanding tests. They need to succeed not only in exterior rating but they are also tested in character, their ability to be ridden with a saddle on their back and also in their manageability in harness.

The breeders wisely account for the needs of young horses, therefore the stallions and the mares undergoing the examinations must be at least four years old.

The whole performance tests event for Kladruber stallions and fillies last for two days.

Horses in training for the tests must be healthy, without any apparent hereditary constitutional defects and diseases and their origins must be in accordance with the requirements of the studbook regulations.

All the traits and utility properties are rated on a 1-10 point scale. The results of all the horses are publicly available on-line in a studbook kept by the Kladruby Stud farm.

In the performance exams, the judged traits are type, expression, exterior and performance.

Type and expression

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Type is judged considering the horse’s lineage based on the breed characteristics and the breeding target.

Exterior

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Within the exterior part of the exam, the judged features are head, neck, back and loins, chest, croup, front legs, hind legs, hooves and the overall balance – the harmony of physical built in combination with their origin, taking into account meeting the breeding goal.

Performance

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The overall performance of a horse is judged in training and in performance test disciplines (horse’s rideability, movement mechanics, marathon, manageability in combined driving and in reliability in pull).

Training
The scores in training are awarded by the head of training or the owner. The scores are based on the assessment of given utility properties within the overall training. During the test, there can be done a correction of the score given by the trainer or the owner. This is carried out by a respective committee evaluating the horse’s expression.

Judged traits:

    • temperament,
    • character – in the stables, while being ridden, in harness and during shoeing,
    • constitution,
    • whether they are well-feedable,
    • ability to learn.


Rideability
The horses complete a specifically made dressage test in a dressage arena.

Movement Mechanics
Judged by the committee in the course of the two days of the exams.

Judged traits:

  • tact,
  • spaciousness,
  • elasticity,
  • action and cadence,
  • the manner of showing the limbs in all gaits.

Marathon 
In this discipline, the horses are in pairs or in a single-horse light harness. They complete an outside 10km long trail with a set number and length of walking and trotting sections, including set speeds and obstacles.

Types of obstacles:

    • driving through a passage 3 m in width between two large and formidable objects (carriages, big crates, wood logs, fence etc.)
    • Approaching and descending a terrain unevenness – elevation 3 m, gradient 30 ° – 45 °
    • Crossing a small bridge – width 3 m, length 6 m, 20 cm above ground
    • Driving through the water – depth 20 – 50 cm, width 4 – 6 m

 

Manageability in combined driving
Scores are based on a dressage test performance and a single-horse and pair driving obstacle course. The horses are to finish a given dressage test immediately followed by a parkour track in a 100m x 40m area. Every horse is judged separately, they receive one set of points for the dressage test and another for the driving parkour course.

 

The Test of Reliability in Pull (individual)
Done by pulling a single-horse sleigh. The weight of the sleigh plus the load is equal to at least 15% of a relative pulling power of the horse (about 1/3 of the horse’s bodyweight). The test takes place on a 100m long sand track with a flat surface, where the horse stops and pulls three times, as directed by the examination committee. The horse is led on driving reins. The rated aspects in this discipline are the horse’s obedience, composed and smooth pull and the pull style. Every pull is judged individually. The score is a combination of all the assessed indicators.

The requirements to successfully pass the performance examinations for Kladruber horses is a score of at minimum 5 points in type and exterior and at least 4 points in every performance test.