chestnut, and grey would likely need to be introduced from an outside source. While there is a Pinto studbook under the ZAP, none of the stallions presently standing for Austria are of unusual coat colors. In the past, Austrian horses had little variation in registered names. Most horses had their family's name (Furioso, for example) and a combination of Roman and Arabic numbers. Today, an Austrian Warmblood colt has a name beginning with the same letter as his sire's name (Belmondo by Belluno), and a filly has a name beginning with the same letter as her dam's name (Dragona out of Dravida). The most reliable way to recognize an Austrian Warmblood is by the brand, which is given to foals on their left hip and is in the form of a stylized "A". History Foundation The Austro-Hungarian empire was known for its horse breeding programs which were based on a number of imperial stud farms. The role of these farms was to produce farm horses for the citizens, riding and carriage horses for the nobility, cavalry mounts and artillery horses for the military. Although the former empire is also famed for producing the Kladruber and Lipizzaner, prominent among these stud farms were those located at Mezőhegyes and Bábolna. The former was founded in 1785, the latter was purchased by the government in 1789, and both are located in modern-day Hungary. Mezőhegyes produced the Nonius, which was similar to the western Heavy Warmbloods, used for light agricultural work and for pulling artillery wagons. Beginning in the 1840s, Thoroughbred stallions - Furioso and North Star prominent among them - were bred to the Nonius mares to produce strains of more refined cavalry mounts and carriage horses. Bábolna was originally an extension of Mezőhegyes, but in 1816 the administration decided to use only Arabian and Arab-bred stallions to achieve their cavalry goals. Born in Syria in 1830, the part-Arabian horse Shagya became the most famous of these Arabian-bred stallions. He came to Bábolna in 1836 and founded a strain of light cavalry and carriage horses which were taller and heavier than purebred Arabians, but which retained distinct Arabian type. A chestnut Arabian named Gidran followed soon after, crossed on mares who were more Thoroughbred in type. Respectively, these two sires founded the Shagya Arabian and Gidran Anglo-Arabian breeds. The Nonius, Furioso-North Star, Shagya, Gidran, and several other strains are often collectively referred to