Hackney Horse

Norfolk was breeding trotting horses long before the Hackney had a name. The development is traced back to the 14th century, and in 1542 Henry VIII required his wealthier subjects to keep trotting stallions.

A roadster was a light driving horse, and it was expected to be fast over distance rather than merely fast. The numbers are worth reading twice. Wroot's Pretender won a seventeen-mile match race, trotting it in under an hour. Hundred-mile races happened, and Hackneys finished them in under ten hours. A mare called Phenomenon trotted seventeen miles in 56 minutes in the 1800s, and her daughter Phenomena took three minutes off that.

The Hackney Stud Book Society opened in England in 1883 and fixed the name. The decades around it were the golden age of carriage driving, and the breed was in heavy demand.

Then the railroad ended the roadster's job, and selection shifted from distance to the high action the show ring wanted. The American Hackney Horse Society was founded in 1891 and is based in Kentucky.

A compact, muscular horse. The Livestock Conservancy gives 15 to 16 hands and 1,000 to 1,200 pounds, and the breed standard's wider range runs 14.2 to 16.2 hands. Bay, brown, chestnut and black are the colors, often with white markings.

What you get is a long, reaching stride and a very fluid shoulder, carried on high knee and hock action with a visible moment of suspension. The trot is the point of the animal, and they can hold it at speed for a long time.

Docile, spirited, sensitive and friendly is the Conservancy's list, and it rates the breed novice to intermediate.

Under saddle they carry an easy, rhythmic canter and a brisk, springy walk.

Driving, first and always: this is the carriage breed. Riding is the other half, and Hackneys compete in show jumping and dressage.

The old job, distance trotting on hard roads, no longer exists, which is much of why the breed is rare: the market that built it disappeared.

Joint care. The Conservancy calls Hackneys generally hardy and healthy through their careers, but the high-stepping action can bring on arthritis and joint pain. Its advice is to allow natural movement, and to consider joint supplements and massage to keep the horse sound.

Gentle training is the other need. The breed can be sensitive, and the Conservancy says it does best with gentle methods.

The numbers are stark. Around 3,000 Hackney Horses exist worldwide and fewer than 200 are in North America. In April 2022 the Rare Breeds Survival Trust counted 31 breeding females and 12 breeding males left in the United Kingdom.

Purity is the second problem. Many lines carry recent Thoroughbred crosses, so the historic bloodlines within the breed are their own conservation priority.

Be clear about one thing before you buy: the Hackney Horse and the Hackney Pony are not the same animal. The horse is the extremely rare one.

Both are registered by the American Hackney Horse Society, so the letterhead on the papers will not sort it out. Check the registration itself, and the height.

If conservation is part of why you are buying, ask about the pedigree's recent Thoroughbred content; the old lines are the scarce ones.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.