Finnish horse population of the time: According to ethnologist Kustaa Vilkuna's estimations, calculated from measurements of horse collars used in Finland in the early 18th century, the average peasant's horse was about tall, while some horses employed by manors were larger, sometimes more than tall. Vilkuna also discovered that the horses of the southern and western regions of Finland were larger than those of the northern and eastern regions. This was probably due to the influence of imported horses. By the mid-18th century, a typical Finnish horse was probably about , about the same size as a small contemporary Finnhorse yearling, and weighed about , roughly half the weight of a contemporary working section horse. A civilian horse of good quality had good action and was swift. However, leg faults were common. In response to the decline of the Finnish horse population and especially the great loss of good quality breeding animals experienced during the great famine of 1866–1868, the Senate of Finland gave orders for three provinces to obtain quality stallions for public use. The scope of the programme was later expanded to include eight provinces, and Finland was divided into breeding districts, which were all to have a state-owned stallion available to service local mares. The horses in this programme became known as "crown stallions" (). Official guidelines for the selection of stallions were never given, but one common aim throughout Finland was to increase the size and bulk of the horse population to create a type better suited for agricultural work. Purebreeding and revival By the end of the 18th century, crossbreeding of Finnish horses began to be described, especially by military leaders, as "detrimental crossbreeding"—damaging to the quality of the Finnish horse, particularly for military use. In the beginning of the 19th century, German historian Friedrich Rühs especially blamed the west coast estates for damaging the Finnish horse by crossbreeding. Nonetheless, outside stallions were still imported to Finland. At the end of the century, stallions "of oriental, Arabian blood" still served at state farms. The influence of the Russian-imported "oriental" Turkish and Caucasian horses, as well as "Fürstenbergian" horses was also noted. Orlov Trotters were used in Savonia and Karelia, and Norwegian stallions were brought to northern Ostrobothnia. Light riding horses were imported from Russian and Central Europe. Conversely, heavier horses such as the Norfolk Trotter and Ardennes were imported to southern Finland as late as