Finland was subdivided into one hundred breeding districts with stallions called "crown stallions" who were leased to private individuals but some breeding districts lacked a stallion due to the scarcity of good quality horses.
Still later, Finland was subdivided into one hundred breeding districts (Finnish: ruununoripiiri), and each district was to have one state stallion. The stallions purchased and used in this programme were called "crown stallions" (Finnish: ruununori, ruununoriit), at first informally, but eventually as an official designation. However, most years, some breeding districts lacked a stallion due to the scarcity of good quality horses. Crown stallions were leased to private individuals for caretaking, often determined by holding a public auction where the winner was the person who agreed to take the stallion for the smallest amount of compensation. 
