The Friesian Horse has a rich and noble history. This “Horse of Kings” is one of the oldest domesticated breeds originating from the Providence of Fries Land in Northern Netherlands. During the time period of the l500’s to l600’s Spain sought to dominate the region and the Friesian breed was heavily influenced by the Spanish Andalusian. This created the modern day Friesian. The Friesian was almost lost to us before WWI. The number of Friesian stallions at that time was reputed to be only three. The breed was brought back to us by a group of Dutch breeders that painstakingly bred and rebred lines to see they survived. Now they are found all over the world with the highest numbers being in Holland and Germany. There are now almost 30,000 in the world with around 3000 in the United States. Compare this to the American Quarter Horse, which boasts 2,000,000 worldwide and you will see how rare this magnificent breed really is. Imported to the United States as early as l625, significant evidence points the to Friesian contributing to the beautiful Morgan Horse.
Used for a multitude of
disciplines; they excel at Dressage and Driving.
You will see them being used in the movies and circuses due to
their incredible mind and beauty. I
must also tell you, they make an incredible trail horse.
If you like attention, ride a Friesian.
I spend half of my time on group rides telling people about my
horse. Many people think they
are too big for trail, well then, ride a Sport Friesian.
They are usually lighter of bone and a bit smaller.
Properly bred, they will still maintain the Friesian type and mind.
The typical Friesian will have a long mane and tail with feathering on all four feet. The color should always be a shade of black with the only white permissible being a small star on the forehead. The Friesian should carry his head high on a magnificent arched neck. The horse should be muscular and in this author’s opinion round and baroque. There are several different types of Friesian out there so it does depend on the individual’s preference. To get an exact standard of the breed associations conformation requirements see the association links at the end of this Website. There you also will find more detailed information on their beginnings and present day status.
What do you need to know before buying a horse?
Things To Consider When Buying a Horse
Buying a horse is a big commitment. There are many things to consider, I am only listing a few things. If you have any specific questions about these suggestions, just e-mail me at Annettehackenberg@yahoo.com. I will be happy to discuss them with you.
- Make sure you can afford the care of the horse. The initial cost is just the beginning. You will have to provide the horse with proper feed, farrier and vet care. Most conscientious breeders want their horses to go to people who will keep them for the rest of their natural life, that is when a horse really meets it’s potential. It’s hard for a horse to give it’s all to you when it has “what I call, the Black Beauty syndrome”. Horses need security and they definitely have problems trusting when they are passed from person to person.
- Get the horse you want! I cannot stress this enough. If you always wanted a black gelding, don’t even go look at the Chestnut mare. If you are anything like most horse lovers, you’ll go out there to look and end up getting smitten. That’s fine and good, if you can forget about that black gelding and be satisfied with your horse. Chance are though, you’ll always want that black gelding. I know more than one person with a barn full of horses obtained by their search for their perfect horse.
- Determine what exactly you want to do with the horse. Show, trail or perhaps both. This will factor big in your decision as to what horse to buy.
- If you are buying a riding horse ask these two questions, 1.How much time does the horse have under saddle. Do not assume because it is l0 years old that it has been ridden for years. 2. What level of rider does it need? Then let the owner get on the horse and ride it inside and outside of the ring before you do. Riding a horse in a ring or arena is whole other ballgame then outside. If that horse acts up for them, chances are good it’s going to act up for you to. If you’re unsure of the horse; DO NOT GET ON! Go with your instinct, it could save you from injury even death.
- How important is conformation? You always hear the stories of horses like Sea Biscuit that should not have been able to, but did. That is great, however, horses with poor conformation will be more likely to break down on you than those with good conformation. I don’t have the space to go into all the details on conformation but what I look for are things like:
q Straight legs,
q Good shoulders that tie into the neck well.
q Pasterns that are in alignment with his shoulders and legs.
q Balance; does the horse look well put together or does his back look too long, his head too big or hind legs too forward or behind.
q Healthy Mouth Look in his mouth for parrot mouth; make sure his jaws properly align.
q Healthy Hooves Look for deep grooves on his hooves, these are founder rings and can be a heartbreak of a problem.
When you are purchasing a foal, don’t fall for that old line, “Oh; he’ll grow into correct conformation.” Little things may change but what you see at 3 months is about what you’ll get.
- Personality, personality, personality. If you are buying an adult horse and it pins it’s ears, lifts it’s legs or even aggressively swishes it’s tail at you. Buy another horse; life is to short for mean horses. I don’t think they should be ridden at all, let alone bred! Sure, you can work it out of them but why bother; there are tons of really good horses out there looking for homes. When you are buying a baby, it is a little harder to judge personality. I first check out the dam and sire if I can. Do either of them have bad personalities? Babies can definitely inherit bad attitudes and if the mare is mean and aggressive and he has spent most of his young life with her, babies learn from Momma period. However, it is much easier to train learned attitudes out of a youngster than an adult horse. Most babies especially under the age of 3 months will be shy of a stranger, but should be able to overcome that shyness in minutes and at least be curious about you if not all over you. I don’t stress a lot of handling under the age of 6 months but that is a personal preference. As long as I can halter that baby and make it stand quiet for petting, grooming, shots and worming, I really don’t do much until they are a year old. Then they have a longer attention span and I find like the challenge. Another thing I truly believe is this; you are not going to get along with every horse the same. I’ve had horses that really didn’t care for me and horses I really never could be attached too. It’s like people some personalities just don’t mix.
- Get a vet check. Be realistic but have the vet do a temp, lung and heart check at least. If the horse has any scars, lumps or bumps, get them checked out. An adult horse should have a cursory lameness check and any doubts, get an x-ray. Babies unless, it has a scar or definite lameness problem, should have what I call a well baby check and that’s simply the temp, lungs and heart. Some people will not vaccinate a baby until 6 months, I personally start at 5 but if the dam was properly vaccinated before foaling, 6 months are okay. Make sure you get a written record of all it’s vaccines, wormings and any sickness or health problems it had along with the vet treatments.
- Last of all, get the paperwork when you pay and pick up the horse or a written guarantee when the paperwork will be available.
I hope this information will be helpful to you. Check back again, I’ll be adding to this information in the near future.
Written for Friesian Farms by Annette Hackenberg.
®Copyright Friesian Farms 2003