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The
Friesian horse is a breed of horse from Friesland, a province
of the Netherlands. Although originally bred as a draft horse,
the breed is graceful and nimble for its size and later developed
into a finer-boned nobleman's steed. During the Middle Ages, Friesian
horses were in great demand as destriers throughout Europe since
their size enabled them to carry a knight in full armor. After
a few close calls with breed extinction, the impressive Friesian
horse is now growing in numbers and popularity, proving to excel
in both dressage and driving.
Breed
Characteristics
The Friesian is probably best known for its black color and luxurious
mane, tail, and 'feathers' (long, untrimmed hair on the lower
legs). The official breed rarely has white markings of any kind,
because registries allow only a small star on the forehead for
purebred conformance. Though extremely rare, Friesians are sometimes
chestnut, these horses can not be registered. "Fire Magic"
is an example of a chestnut Friesian. The Friesian's average height
is about 15.3 hands (1.60 m), although it may vary from 14.2 to
17 hands (between 1.5 m and 1.7 m) tall at the withers, and mares
must be at least 15.2 hands (1.57 m) tall to qualify for its special
'star-designation' pedigree. It has a spectacular trot, both fast
and high-stepping. The Friesian is very willing, active, and energetic
but gentle and docile. A Friesian tends to have great presence
and to carry itself very proudly.
The
breed has excellent overall conformation. Friesians have long,
elegant, arched necks and fine extended short-eared (Spanish type)
heads. Their sloping shoulders are quite powerful. They have compact
yet muscular bodies with strong sloping hindquarters and a low-set
tail. Their limbs are comparatively short and strong. Like fashion
models, Friesians have good bone structure and impressive hair.
History
of the Friesian
The breed was developed in the province of Friesland in the northern
Netherlands, where there is evidence of thousands of years of
horse populations, and this breed is said to have descended from
the primitive Forest Horse. The Romans used the breed for riding.
It is also said that Romans took Friesian horses to England, where
the breed influenced the Shire, Clydesdale, Fell and Dales.
Friesians
were used in medieval times to carry knights to battle. In the
12th and 13th centuries, some eastern horses of crusaders were
mated with Friesian stock. Sometime after the Middle Ages came
to an end, the Friesian breed was dying out. Soon there was only
two left, fortunately male and female. They were carefully captured
and bred in an attempt to bring back the breed. During the 16th
and 17th centuries, when there was less demand for heavy war horses
as battle arms changed and especially when Spanish forces occupied
The Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War, Andalusian blood
was added to lighten the breed in order to lighten its weight
and thereby render it more suitable (in terms of less food intake
and waste output) for work as a more urban carriage horse. Friesians
were also used by riding schools in France and Spain for high-school
dressage, and they remain a student-favored breed to this day
for their gentle temperaments and proud dark beauty.
The
breed was especially popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, when
they were not only in demand as harness horses and for agricultural
work, but also for the trotting races then so popular. The Friesian
was used as foundation stock for breeds such as the Orlov Trotter,
the Norfolk Trotter (ancestor of the Hackney), and the Morgan.
In the 1800s the Friesian was bred to be lighter and faster for
trotting, however this led to what some owners and breeders regarded
as an inferior stock, so a sort of revolt and call for a return
to pureblood stock took place by the end of the century.
The
Friesian stud registry book, Friesch Paarden Stamboek (FPS) was
founded in 1879 by a group of Dutch farmers dedicated to preserving
the breed. Friesians had become popular for crossbreeding due
to their fantastic trot, presence, and color, and as a result,
Friesian "purity" was severely threatened. The "Royal
Society Het Friesch Paarden-Stamboek" was founded to protect
and promote the breed's bloodline. Friesian horse populations
then dwindled in the early 20th century partly due to displacement
by petroleum-powered farm equipment and passenger vehicles. Due
to fuel rationing during World War II the Friesian's farm and
carriage use was revived, saving the breed long enough for both
its population and popularity to rebound.
The
Friesian also influenced the "Old Black Horse" of the
U.S. farm belt (especially the Midwest, where unpredictable and
unseasonable weather often paddocked less robust breeds), and it
influenced the Dole Gudbrandsdal of Norway, and formed the stock
base for Germany's Marbach stud, contributing to the development
of both the Oldenburg and the Württemberger breeds.
Today,
there are two distinct conformation types. The baroque type has
the more robust build of the classical Friesian. The modern, sport
horse type is finer boned. Conformation type is judged less important
than correct movement, and both types are still common today.
The
Friesian Today
A Friesian stallion From the latter part of the 20th century until
present, demand for purebreds and also a finer-boned, taller,
more agile version of the Friesian was and is high, so both stud
farming and crossbreeding are used to produce purebreds and a
lighter-weight mix breed horse of valued characteristics. Friesian
and Friesian-mixed horses excel in dressage competitions due the
breed's strong intellect (and show-form looks) and powerful strength
and body control, hence its participation in such events has grown
dramatically, although prices have skyrocketed out of the average
emerging equestrian's financial reach. Due to its heavy, muscular
physique the purebred Friesian is not well-suited to aerobic sports
like all-out racing, but its status as a student and dressage
horse is peerless.
The
Friesian is used mainly for dressage. It also remains popular
as a carriage horse, including in competitions, because it is
easy to match teams and its high-stepping action makes it eye-catching
and impressive. They are also good all-rounders, used for showing,
driving, and general riding, and are also used as circus horses.
Friesian
horse. (2006, May 27). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved
21:16, June 18, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friesian_horse&oldid=55452356.
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