A
brief History Of The Friesian Horse Breed
When
the Romans came to Holland at the beginning of the First Millennium
they found, with the Germans who lived there, heavy built working horses,
generally lacking any form of elegance.
Nowadays, along the whole North Sea coast of Western Europe and England
you can still find horse breeds that are quite heavy built and whom
fit the category 'cold bloods' perfectly.
Draught-horses
from Belgium and Zeeland (The Netherlands) are the most striking examples
that spring to mind but also smaller horses, like a number of native
Scandinavian breeds are real 'cold bloods'.
We recall: the Finnish draught-horse, the North Swedish horse, the Jutlander,
the Norwegian Dole-Gudbrandsdal, the English Fell- and Merens-pony of
the Pyrenees.
Some
of those horse breeds bear a strong resemblance with the Friesian horse,
not only because they are (deep) black, but also in terms of their composition,
forelock and crest. Generally the Friesian horse is bigger built, with
a distinctive craning neck, smart appearance and an eager, honest temperament.
Up to the 16th Century the Friesian horse has been frequently used as
the horse of Knights. Reportedly horsemen were riding stallions; horses
with a big posture, able to carry the Knights and their shining armor
over long distances and heavy terrain.
In
those days, the weight of such a rider in full armor is estimated at
250 kilogram, which would obviously require a strong horse to carry
around.
There
are still some beautiful drawings of horses on hand, some of them dating
back to the Middle Ages, which prove the Friesian horse - as we know
it today in Western Europe - is basically the only horse breed still
around in its pure composition.
After
the '80 Year War' the native horse in The Netherlands had been crossbred
with North German and English stallions without any sensible breeding
plan.
Before this happened the Friesian horse was a sought-after commodity
because of his big posture, deep black color and nice, elegant movements;
the main reasons why Friesians were particularly popular in Italy and
Spain as driving horse.
In
those days the breeding grounds of the Friesian horse was more or less
restricted to Friesland, (the upper Northern part of The Netherlands)
and Germany. Nowadays, although its roots are still firmly planted in
The Netherlands, Friesian horses can be found all over the world.
The
Friesian Studbook (FPS) was established in 1879, at a time when horse
breeding hit hard times in The Netherlands. Over time the registration
of horses has proven to be very effective for the development of the
Friesian breed, which more or less successfully took off since 1915.
The agricultural development of mechanization required a heavier type
of horse with a use not solely restricted to riding and driving. The
horse should also be able to serve as a farm horse, by pulling all kind
of rolling machinery and equipment.
Since 1978 as the tractor gradually took over the role from the horse,
the breeding goal required a rather slender built Friesian horse, showing
more resemblance with the driving type of the early 20's.
A new lease of life for the horse breed took off in the 70's as the
recreational driving sport became more and more popular. Currently the
Friesian horse is mostly used for the following purposes: Driving and
riding, Showing, Dressage and Harness.
The
color of a Friesian horse is (deep) black with the only white marking
permissible are a few white hairs on the forehead. Even a small star
will exclude a horse from being registered in the studbook.
The size: a Friesian stallion must be at least 160 cm by the age of
4 year and mares must be at least 150 cm; however a height between 158
and 165 cm is considered ideal.
It
is recommended you always request a copy of the registration
papers
before entering into any sales transaction, in order to ascertain that
the Friesian horse is indeed FPS registered.
After 1986 it became compulsory for FPS registered horses to have a
number tattooed on their tongues. Foals born and registered since 1997
have been given a unique microchip instead of a tongue tattoo. The tongue
or microchip number should always match the data recorded on the FPS
registration papers.
Prices
of Friesian horses vary widely, depending on their age, breeding, gender,
quality, level of training and geographical location of the seller.
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