User:Pitke/Horses in Finnish military

The Finnhorse was used as a cavalry mount from the 17th century until the end of WWII.

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During the Thirty Years' War in 1618–1648, the Finnish cavalry were called "Hakkapelites". The most prominent characteristic of their horses was their size: measured at a point behind the saddle, they were 105 to 130 cm high. Aulis J. Alanen described the Finnish cavalry horses as small and shaggy. According to war historian J. O. Hannula, the horses of the Hakkapelites were not only small, but also often stiff and worn out from hard agricultural work. Hannula stated that the Swedish Royal army did not use such miserable-looking creatures even in their cargo troops. However, he noted that the Finnish horses were redeemed by their great stamina, displayed during long exhausting campaigns. The humble-looking Finnish horses were presumably exchanged when possible for other horses obtained as spoils of war. It was probably rare for a cavalryman to return with the same horse with which he left, and most likely the horses brought back to Finland were crossbreeds or of purely Central European lines. Reinforcements to replace the considerable horse casualties were obtained from the Baltic States, but during the reign of Charles XI almost all of the cavalry horses were imported from south of the Gulf of Finland, due to their larger size.

Before World War II, the Finnhorse and its ancestors was the breed that made up almost all of the horses that were part of the Finnish army and mounted police forces. While officers mostly rode warmbloods, for the cavalry, the so-called "light type" of Finnhorse was used. The horses were bought directly from farmers, and given basic training for about six months before transferring to regiments for further training. This second part of the training took another six months, directed by non-commissioned officers. At this point the horses were considered trained for normal cavalry purposes. The most talented horses were usually assigned to younger officers or the best riders among non-commissioned ranks, and many horses had competitive success during their service.

WWII
Horses were a central asset to Finnish military forces during the Winter War (1939–40) and Continuation War (1941–1944). Especially during the Winter War, the Finnish army was powered by horses: in November 1939, 65 000 animals were in use. During the Continuation War, as many as 45 000 horses were used. During the Winter War, a Finnish division held one horse per 4.3 men, but only one automobile per 100 men, whereas a Soviet division had one horse for every 3.8 men and one automobile for every 40 men. By the time of the Continuation war, a Finnish division held already one automobile for every 33 men, but still one horse for every 8.2 men.

The procurement of horses had been carefully planned as early as 1922, when a law concerning acquisition of horses and vehicles for military use had been passed. The horses listed for the military reserve were generally between five and seventeen years old. Due to issues in handling, stallions were left out. Horses approved for the Finnhorse stud book, as well as pregnant or nursing mares, were also not listed. Reserve horses could not be sold, traded or given away to parties other than the army, and horse owners were required to report if a reserve horse died or a vehicle was damaged. For twenty years, lists of reserve horses were maintained, and new horses were continuously taken to replace old or dead reserves. An effort was made to keep the listing of horses as neutral and fair as possible so that hard feelings could be avoided. The lists also provided details about individual horses, which proved helpful in avoiding scam attempts. These continued efforts contributed to the fact that over 55 000 horses, which was 90 percent of the listed reserve of 65 000 horses, could be smoothly received, examined, equipped and sent to the front within only two months. It was emphasized that the horses were technically "borrowed" for the army, and all horses were branded or otherwise marked so that they could later be identified and returned to their owners, or, when necessary, reported dead.

Following the Moscow Armistice in 1944, Finland's war indemnity was great, and the nation had some trouble gathering enough materials to pay it. The Finnish horse population reached the pre-war volume of over 380 000 horses by 1945, so there was no shortage of horses, and thus horses were offered. Offering horses for payment was also partly a plan to get rid of over 10 000 horses that had been acquired from the Soviet forces and taken into Finnish use. The Finns did not want to have their native Finnhorse crossbred, and so the captured horses became something of a problem.

The Soviet Union was not eager to receive horses, as they already had enough. Materials for industry use were preferred, and only later, when Finland had to use funds reserved for Germany, were horses accepted as payment. However, Soviet Russia would not agree to take back their own horses, which had proven inferior during the war, and doing so would also publicly underline the fact the Finns had captured thousands of their horses as well as other matériel. Thus Finland had to purchase horses from breeders to sell them to Soviet Russia at low rates. According to contemporary witnesses, the Russians picked horses on their looks rather than character, and many useless nags from shady horse dealers ended up in Russia. But ultimately in 1947 and 1948, a total of 18 000 Finnhorses were provided as war indemnity.

Effect in the Finnhorse
Before World War II, the Finnhorse and its ancestors was the breed that made up almost all of the horses that were part of the Finnish army and mounted police forces. After the war, the Finnish cavalry was converted to infantry, and the use of the Finnhorse for riding purposes nearly completely ended until a new rise beginning in the late 1960s.

The Finnish horses used during the Thirty Years' War in 1618–1648 were humble in looks, and tiny compared to the modern Finnhorse, only 105 to 130 cm high measured at a point behind the saddle. These animals were presumably exchanged when possible for other horses obtained as spoils of war. It was probably rare for a cavalryman to return with the same horse with which he left, and the horses brought back to Finland were most likely crossbreeds or of purely Central European lines. During the reign of Charles XI a great majority of the cavalry horses were imported from south of the Gulf of Finland due to their larger size.

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Tens of thousands of Finnhorses were used during both the Winter War (1939–40) and Continuation War (1941–1944). The procurement plans of horses and the laws concerning them were created to ensure the continuity of the breed: all stallions and studbook approved as well as any pregnant or nursing mares were dismissed. Efforts were made to identify and mark all listed animals reliably so that they could later be properly returned to their owners, or, when necessary, reported dead. The Finnish horse population reached its pre-war volume of over 380 000 horses by 1945.

Following the Moscow Armistice in 1944, Finland found trouble in the more than 10 000 horses, acquired from the Soviet forces: many of these foreign animals were intact males despite the gelding efforts carried out at the Finnish front. Crossbreeding of the Finnhorse was not wanted, and there was no way to ensure that the everyman owner of a Russian stallion would keep it from mingling with Finnhorse mares. Partly for this reason the Russian horses were offered to the Soviet Union as a part of the Finnish war indemnity payments. Soviet Russia did not agree to take back their horses, wanting Finnhorses in their place. The Finnish never offered their best animals, and according to temporary witnesses, many of the horses picked by the Russians were useless, although showy.