The skeleton of the forefather of Tori horses

The forefather of the Tori horse breed in Estonia was Hetman, a crossbred stallion of the Norfolk Roadster breed, who was born on the Klementsovo horse farm in Poland in 1886. He was brought to Estonia in 1892 by the owner of Sangaste Manor, Count Friedrich Georg Magnus Berg.

Hetman was a magnificent animal of dark chestnut color, who was famous for his fertilization capacity: in the Tori Horse Breeding Farm, his descendants included 48 stallions and 37 mares. Starting from Hetman, the new horse breed was called the Tori Roadster.

After Hetman’s death in 1912, the horse was buried in a paddock, and his name and the dates of his birth and death were engraved on a boulder located nearby. In 1926, the remains were dug up and for a long time, the skeleton was located in the attic of one residential house in Tori. In 1977, the skeleton was sent to Tartu to be treated by specialists. From 1992, the skeleton was housed in the Estonian Agricultural Museum, but now Hetman’s skeleton is back in Tori, standing in the exhibition at the Tori Horse Breeding Farm.

Location: Tori Horse Breeding Farm