Oldenburgs are tall, majestic horses. Their legs are short compared to their size, but complimented by powerful hindquarters made for jumping. The neck is strong and served them well during their days as a carriage horse. They have large hooves and can be found in a vast array of colors, although the most common colors include gray, brown or black. It's said that the most striking of the Oldenburg’s features are its eyes - they are large, bright and very expressive.

Originally, the Oldenburg Horse was a carriage horse, but the advent of the automobile saw their numbers and demand diminish. It was their powerful hindquarters and tractable temperament that saw them move into the world of competition.

Today, Oldenburgs are prized for their superior performance in the sports of jumping and dressage. Dressage is a high-skill event often referred to as “horse ballet” and designed to test a horse's level of training along with its agility and grace. Two of the most famous dressage competitors are Gestion Bonfire and Relevant, both Oldenburgs.

The first Oldenburgs were bred in Lower Saxony, Germany Late in the sixteenth century, a man named Count Johan vonOldenburg bred Friesian mares with a mixture of Turkish, Andalusian, Danish and Neapolitan stallions in order to create large horses that were built for war. His son continued the tradition, adding stallions of Italian and Spanish descent to include speed and agility. In 1820, it became illegal in Germany to use anything other than a government-approved Oldenburg stud to breed the horse. The results of all the fine tuning and breed management is a horse that is vastly different from its ancestors, but for a good reason.

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