The Friesian - A Dressage Horse

This is a breed of horse that has had its highs and its lows, they went from being very popular to going nearly extinct and now their popularity is on the rise again, hopefully this is not a circle where they will become nearly extinct again. A few stubborn people who refused to let it pass away into nothingness, saved the breed.

This is a breed that first came into existence in the Dutch Netherlands, they developed it from a warm blooded horse that could be found all over Europe at the time, they say that the same blood that is in the Lipizzaner breed is in the Friesian; that is why he is prized as a horse that excels at dressage. It was not always that way though, he first started out as a war mount, but as time went on, other breeds better suited for the job were found, this did not stop the Friesian, he went on to become a beautiful carriage horse and a prized dressage horse and a trotter.

Andalusian blood can be found in this breed, and they say that the ancestors of the Friesian Horse can be traced all the way back to horses that the Romans introduced to Europe, during their reign.

Back in the old days it was believed that other warm-blooded breeds could improve the Friesian. I really don’t know how that is possible, but this led to the near extinction of the pure bred Friesian; by the turn of the century there were only a few pure bred Friesian to be found, right around 1914 people began to wake up and realize that a horse that was part of their heritage was about to disappear. Because of this, intense effort was put in to the reestablishing of the Friesian horse, bringing him back from the brink of extinction, he was saved. He can be found all over the world now!

The Friesian horse has been steadily growing in numbers for several years now and people are starting to wake up and realize what a truly beautiful breed and what a great horse the Friesian really is.

This is a unique horse that Holland is proud of; talented in the show ring with characteristics that only a Friesian can posses, this horse is slowly making his way back into the spotlight, right where he belongs.

Early on there were Bay and Grey Friesians, but these days the only Friesians recognized are the ones that are pure black, although a small star on the forehead is allowed. Along with this black coat, he has a very long mane and tail that is thick and lush; they also have a slight feathering on their feet. All this combined gives them such a look of absolute grace and nobility that it is enough to take your breath away.

These days the Friesian is used for many different things one of these things is the showing in harness. Designed to show you everything that is great about the horse…you don’t have to drive him just for show though, it is becoming more and more popular to take the Friesian out for a purely relaxing drive, that can only bring you lots of pleasure.

That is not all that the Friesian is being used for, they are very popular dressage mounts; because of the fact that they have Lipizzaner blood in them they are excellent dressage horses and their stunning, elegant, noble good looks always helps. Nothing is more beautiful then watching a well-trained Friesian go through his steps!

This is a horse that reaches 15 to 17 hands; there are two types of Friesian, one is called the Baroque type, this is the one that is closer to the original thing, they are more robust and more classic looking, the other (which in my opinion is not as nice looking) is the a finer boned almost sporty looking, this is the one that is preferred in the show ring. But both types can be found, all you have to do is look.

Have you ever noticed that whenever something is bred extensively for the show ring it ends up being slimmer and not anything like it was originally, why do they do that?

Anyway that is all for now, bye.