Back from the Brink – Saving the King’s Horses

The 17. century, in Trakehnen in East Prussia: for the first time, horses are bred solely for the use of soldiers and the cavalry, in accordance with the wishes of King Frederick William I of Prussia. This breeding program produced the Trakehner horses, the oldest warmblood horse breed in the world. In 1944, the area’s local population and their horses were forced to flee before the advancing Red Army. Few Trakehner horses survived the escape, but the ones that did provided the foundation for the horses that continue to be top performers in the disciplines of dressage and eventing or horse trials. In Harald Pokieser’s documentary for Terra Mater Factual Studios, horses and humans share the limelight. First broadcast: Wednesday 2. November 2016, 8.15 p.m., SERVUS TV. Repeated 3. November 2016 at 9.10 a.m., 4. November at 3 p.m. and 6. November at 14.05 p.m.