Hackney Horse
The development of the Hackney breed matched, stride for stride, the
improvement in both the quality of life and the use of public roadways in
Britain. Prosperous farms, not nobility, were responsible for developing this
high-tech carriage and riding horse. As noblemen were busying themselves with
fox-hunters and Thoroughbred race horses, the wealthy farmers took to the roads
to show off the tangible fruits of their labors. A pair of perfectly matched
bays with elegant head carriage, trotting along smartly, their knees rising
almost to their noses...ah, that was the proof of abundant crops, calves and
lambs.
The origins of the Hackney as we know it began in Norfolk, England where the
horses called Norfolk Trotters had been selectively bred for elegant style and
speed. Seeking to improve on both counts, breeders mated the Norfolk mares to
grandsons of the foundation sires of the Thoroughbred. The first Hackney as we
know the breed today is said to be The Shale’s Horse, foaled in 1760. During the
next 50 years, the Hackney was developed as a special breed.
The seas were being crossed regularly during the 1800s, by ships bearing both
Hackney horses and the smaller ponies which certain breeders were selectively
encouraging.
Vast improvement in British roadways in the mid-1800s also contributed to the
development of the swift trotting horse. These roads did not always demand dray
animals which could tug carts from deep ruts. Now, a man could say 'Trot On' and
really go! These new and better roads fairly invited competition between
farmers, both riding and driving swift trotting horses on the to market.
The breeding of Hackneys in England was formalized by the founding of the
Hackney Stud Book Society in 1883.
This was the Golden Age of Driving, when automobiles were not even a dream. The
Hackney was the ultimate driving machine of the 1880s both in America and in
Britain. The first Hackney pony imported to America was 239 Stella, brought to
Philadelphia by Mr. A. J. Cossatt in 1878.
In 1891 Mr. Cossatt and other Hackney enthusiasts founded the American Hackney
Horse Society, an organization and registry which thrives today. From 1890 until
the Depression, wealthy Americans brought boatload after boatload of horses and
ponies of the most noted strains.