Tori - horses for sale

Origin and history of breeding Tori Horses

The foundation stock of the Tori horse came from mares of the small native breed of the region, known as Eesti hobune, meaning Estonian horses. They were familiarly known as “Kleppers”, which simply means nags, but the special quality of these Estonian natives was the immense strength for their size. They were very easy to keep, too, and it was generally believed they could be the descendants of pony-sized equines that had lived in the region since the Bronze Age. They were very fertile, and also prepotent – they had the power to transmit their own qualities on to their offspring more potently than the horses with which they were bred. In medieval times, the horses of Estonia were praised by writers and exported throughout the region to be used for draught work. From the late 1800s until 1950, a programme was in place to create a useful Estonian breed for general work. The foundation stallion was Hetman, whose name is listed from 1866 onwards many times in the stud book. His ancestry was Norfolk Roadster, Hunter, and Anglo-Norman. He and his sons were all extremely influential on the breed, focussing on the main Estonian stud at Tori, Pärnumaa. When inbreeding began to cause issues in the 1930s, Breton stallions were introduced into the programme. Later, Hanoverian, Trakhener and Holstein stallions were used to create a more sports-type horse.

Tori Horses in equestrianism

Tori horses were huge favourites in the days of the Soviet Union. A Tori mare was made supreme draught horse champion of the USSR in the early 1960s. The modern Tori is an athletic horse with good jumping ability. Although few members of the “old Tori Horse” survive, an effort is being made to preserve the excellent gaits and other qualities for which they were famous.