Westphalian Horse Museum, Horse museum in Münster, Germany

The Westphalian Horse Museum occupies about 1,000 square metres inside the Allwetterzoo in Münster, where it opened as an independent institution in 1996. Its displays cover the natural and cultural history of the horse in Westphalia, with interactive saddle stations where visitors sit on a gallop or jumping saddle, plus films and animations on the interplay of horse and rider. The adjoining Hippomaxx arena hosts horse shows, and the children's and horse park keeps Dülmener wild horses, Icelandic horses and Mongolian ponies.

The museum opened in 1996 on the grounds of the Allwetterzoo, where it became an independent institution and the centre of a planned horse park. It is run by a non-profit company whose main shareholder is the support association Verein zur Förderung des Westfälischen Pferdemuseums e.V.; Sybill Ebers is its director.

The exhibition shows how Westphalian horses have been part of regional life for centuries, from farmwork to riding traditions. You see equipment and daily objects that reflect this connection to people's everyday activities.

The museum sits inside the Allwetterzoo grounds, and zoo admission covers entry to it. Its roughly 1,000 m² of exhibition space includes interactive saddle stations where visitors can sit in a gallop or jumping saddle. The Hippomaxx arena hosts horse shows and other events, and the adjoining children's and horse park keeps breeds such as Dülmener wild horses, Icelandic horses and Mongolian ponies.

Since around mid-to-late November until the end of March or early April, the museum hosts the "Wildlife Photographer of the Year" exhibition of the Natural History Museum London, and was the first museum in Germany to show it. The arena Hippomaxx, part of the museum, stages regular horse shows, and the adjoining children's and horse park keeps breeds such as Dülmener wild horses, Icelandic horses and Mongolian ponies.