1.10.1.3 Horses and companion animals nowadays (2024)

Breeding horses and companion animals is very different from breeding farm animals. Especially sport horse breeding studbooks are operating increasingly at an international level. In the Netherlands, the largest sport horse breeding studbook is the KWPN. They are very successful internationally in breeding horses for dressage and show jumping. The stallions are approved by the studbook after passing strict selection criteria. The KWPN is an open studbook, which means it does not limit itself to register horses that were born and bred in the Netherlands, but it also approves stallions from other studbooks, provided they meet the selection criteria. Companion animals are organized in national breed associations. Their main activities are pedigree recording, approving animals for breeding and organizing shows. The application of breeding principles is often limited in companion animals.