The Bavarian horse originated in southern Germany and it was bred from the old Bavarian "Rottaler" breed, English Thoroughbreds, and Trakenher stallions. They have only been registered as their own breed since 1963. By the time of the Crusades in the 11th century; the Oldenburg was bred with the Bavarian to give it more substance; it was after that, the foundation for the modern day competition horse was laid out. When the Thoroughbred was introduced into the bloodline of the Bavarian, it made it lighter while retaining much of its great strength. The breed excels in dressage and jumping competitions internationally; they however lack skill in the gallop as most warmbloods do so they don't do well in cross-country.
It got its original name of "Rottaler" from the area of its origin, Rott Valley. It was first used as a battle charger because of its rather exceptional strength but later they were employed to do agricultural and draft work; they were established as a breed in the 15th century. With the use of lighter breeds in the breeding process, the Bavarian has evolved out of the "Rottaler" stock and into a multi-purpose workhorse.
In the early years of the Bavarian, since it was too light to be used in farm work, the breed was recruited into the military. It also served as a carriage horse; it spent much time as the carriage escort and battle horse clear up to the Second World War. After the war, the demand for the horse dropped dramatically.
Bavaria is one of the oldest regions of horse breeding in all of Germany. They were bred systematically in studs of the Zweibrucken region.
The Bavarian spent a considerable period of time as a warhorse, especially during the Crusades of the 11th through 13th centuries.
The Bavarian Warmblood horses of today are mostly Hanoverian and Westphalian in bloodline base, which turns out to be the dominating bloodline in their appearance. The Thoroughbred and Trakenher blood were introduced to improve the refinement of the horses. The all around breeding goal of the Bavarian breeding program is to produce the ideal sport and general pleasure riding horse. Another goal of the breeding program is to develop an elegant horse with a long flat stride proving it to be useful in multiple horse sporting events.
Though the Bavarian is a well-known horse in many parts of the world, they have only recently become known outside of Europe. Since they have gained a measure of status and familiarity among horse enthusiasts, and competition promoters in particular, there are far more Bavarian Warmblood sports venues being established. This has had an effect of skyrocketing the prices of these horses. One such horse was "Lord Sinclair" who was sold for an outrageous price of 2.8 million German marks at the PSI auction. At the time, he was the most expensive horse in the world.
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