KFPS REGISTERS & TERMS
Approval Process for Stallions
A young stallion must be subjected to 3 rigorous rounds of testing before he is granted entry in to the main studbook and given temporary breeding privileges.
First off, he must be born of pure blood, from studbook stock to begin with. The first found of testing occurs when he is 3 years of age and is judged on conformation and movement as set out by the FPS. If he passes the first round he will then be qualified for consideration in the Central Stallion Proving, but if denied, he may re-apply for testing the following year.
In the second round, video footage may be submitted for review by the FPS, where again, he will be analysed on his strengths and weaknesses, and if he is good enough the FPS will request him to pass a series of X-ray tests on knee-joints and the like, and a complete health soundness certificate required. He must also have a Semen analysis done and met the minimum Motality standard, and DNA blood-typing to prove correct parentage lineage as stated on the registration papers and that of his Dam will also be tested.
In the third round at the annual Central Stallion Proving he will be tested and given a score for his walk, trot, canter (gallop), performance under saddle, driving (to demonstrate obedience), pulling, carriage show horse (to demonstrate trot action), character, temperament, trainability, and stable manners. If he performs exceptionally well in all areas, he will be granted temporary breeding license approval, a new name and corresponding life number. His offspring will be tested at 3 years, and if they show sufficient characteristics and ability to improve the breed, the stallion will be approved. If the offspring are not up to scratch then the Stallions License will be revoked, although he will still remain in the studbook with his name and number but any offspring produced after this date will not be recognised by the studbook.
Once a stallion is approved on offspring, he is still required to attend the annual Stallion Show and be presented for judging every year, no license is concrete until the stallion has continually proved himself for a number of years to be a consistent positive producer of exceptional offspring.
An approved Stallion is one which has been granted an unrestricted breeding License by the FPS, that is he has passed his provisional testing period and proven to be a positive influence on the breed through his offspring produced. He is only allowed to be bred to purebred FPS mares and is identifiable by his unique name and number (unless he has been disqualified). There are no Approved Studbook Stallions standing in Australia, only some who are available through frozen semen. Top
This is the primary book for all mares, geldings and approved stallions which are older than 3 years. Within the studbook there are also status ratings for exceptional quality horses such as Premies, Ster, Model, Preferent and Performance. In order for a Friesian to be eligible it must be able to show 3 generations of Studbook parentage on both sides. The studbook adheres to a set of strict guidelines relating to conformation, movement, colour, temperament and soundness. It is the highest level of the registers and the purest, it denotes the ‘best’ of the Friesian blood based on ancestral lines. Top
This is the registry for Friesians stallions that did not gain entry into the studbook, and also for all friesians under the age of 3 years that can prove 3 generations of studbook parentage and those that have not yet been graded. Basically this is the beginning register for all horses who would also nominally qualify for entry into the studbook when they reach 3 years of age. The progeny of Foal Book mares are eligible for inclusion in the Foal Book, and later studbook, but, any colts born of Foal Book mares, are not eligible for Studbook entry as stallions, unless the mare is upgraded prior. Top
This refers to the tracing of Mare-lines, which can be quite useful when studying pedigrees and looking at some of the more influential stam lines which have produced a number of approved stallions over time. The mare-line is the bottom line on a pedigree – dam, grand-dam, great grand-dam etc. A paper is said to be “Full” when at least the 3 previous generations from the horse’s Stam-line are rated at Ster or better. A paper is said to have ‘holes’ if that line is ‘broken’ and not complete with a Ster or higher at each generation, eg- Ster – Studbook – Ster Pref – Ster Pref would be a ‘Holed’ or broken paper. Top
Similar to the stamboek, it is a registry specifically for purebred geldings. Geldings are eligible for statuses such as premiums, ster, and Preferent. Top
The B-Books were created for countries that do not have a large number of Friesians and do not possess a sufficient number of Studbook stallions. Horses eligible are those sired by a Foal Book Stallion with a restricted breeding permit from the FPS (also known as B-Book Approved Stallions) and Dam is also registered Studbook, Foal book or B-Book 1. A horse may also be eligible if the Dam is B-Book 1 registered and the sire is a studbook stallion.
B-Book 1 has all the same status ratings as the Studbook and is open to mares, geldings, stallions, and foals. There is the potential for a B-Book 1 horse to be upgraded to the Studbook register if the previous 3 generations of Sires were all studbook and the horse meets the required qualifications. Top
This is a register to recognise friesians that are purebred, but not of significant ratings or breeding quality, and are generally a product of a Foal Book Stallion, or B-Book stallion with no breeding approval from the FPS and out of a friesian mare registered in any of the books. Also a B-Book 2 mare who is put in foal to any Friesian stallion from any book will produce a B-Book 2 foal. Horses registered here are not eligible to receive status identification or awards, nor are they permitted to participate in any Keurings. It is highly discouraged to produce such horses, and they do nothing to contribute in a positive way to the friesian breed and is recommended that they neither be intentionally bred, bought, or sold, but act as a last resort to recognise that the horse is still of pure friesian blood, but not necessarily quality. Although this does not take anything away from the horse as a sport prospect and may very well still be successful in the open competition arena. Top
All friesians worldwide are now micro-chipped, no exceptions. Branding is no longer permitted by the FPS, and neither is Tongue Tattoos, these are a thing of the past. Each Friesian foal is now micro-chipped on the left side (on-side) of its upper neck as part of their registration process. Top
This is a rating open to all purebred friesians. Friesians generally will be graded at least twice during their lives, once as a a foal where they may receive a premium rating, and then again as adults at age 3 or 4 years. Premiums may be awarded at inspections to those horses who possess enough characteristics desirable of the FPS score sheet to signify excellence, horses are judged individually against an ideal breed characteristics list, they are not competed against each other, and those that score well will be given a premie rating dependant on score. A third premium (white ribbon) is most common and means a horse has ‘met expectations criteria’ and accounts for around 50% of horses. A second premium (red ribbon) is a horse which has exceeded criteria expectations and is of very good quality, approximately 20% of friesian horses will receive this. A first premium (orange ribbon) is for those which show exceptional quality over all aspects and only the top 5% of friesians will receive this award. Those who receive a 1st or 2nd premium as an adult may also receive a honorable ‘ster’ status. But not all friesians will receive a premium status, only those that can show enough desirable characteristics which inspectors believe are good for the breed and not all will be entered into the studbook if they do not meet the requirements. Top
Ster is a rating given to mares and geldings in the studbook and unapproved stallions in the foalbook. It is awarded to those horses that show ideal movement and conformation, and only a small number of all friesian horses will be good enough to receive this status. To receive a Ster status, a horse must show totally correct conformation, correct extended movements with good extension, straight walk, powerful and flexible with good reach from the shoulder. Hind legs are equally powerful and brought well forward underneath the body. The trot must be extended and elevated, with power from the hindquarters, light footed with a moment of suspension and good flexion of the hock and absolutely no paddling of the leg or plaiting. Within a Ster rating, horses will also be given a Premie status of 1st or 2nd Premium depending again on exactly how much of these ‘ideal’ characteristics they possess. There are only one or two mares in Australia and New Zealand who have been declared Studbook Ster 1st Premium and around half a dozen who have the rating of Studbook Ster 2nd Premium. Top
A predicate which can be awarded to Ster mares of exceptional quality which represent a ‘model’ for the Friesian horse. Not only do they possess superior movement and conformation, but the mare must have born a foal to prove fertility and pass an IBOP test (one day suitability). The IBOP requires the mare is at least 1.58m (15.2 ¼ hh) and she scores at least a 77 or more shown either under saddle or driving for the test. You can also elect to perform the AFBP test which is a 5 week aptitude and ability test). She is a fine example of the best of her breed in all aspects and very few will receive this prestige. At present there are no mares in Australia with this status. Top
Preferent can be given to both Mares and Stallions, but not geldings and it is awarded to very few horses based on the superior overall quality of their offspring. Qualifications for preferent mare and stallion differ.
For a mare to become preferent she must be in the studbook and have produced at least 4 quality offspring with a rating of star or model mare, star geldings, or studbook stallion with a breeding license or which has reached the second round of the inspections. There are no mares in Australia at present with a preferent rating.
For a studbook stallion to become preferent his oldest offspring must be at least 10 years of age and there must be sufficient numbers of offspring to judge sport performance and consistency in passing on quality genetics and also have at least one or more sons as approved studbook stallions. The selection process for stallions is a lot more rigorous including an analysis of the number and performance of his quality rated offspring which will be compared with all other studbook stallions over the same time period, everything from sporting results, testing, sore percentages, fertility rate of at least 50%, temperaments of offspring, size of mares plus many other factors are taken into consideration before a decision will be decided. To get an understanding on how difficult it is for a stallion to actually achieve this exquisite elite level, there are currently actually only 2 living Preferent Sires in the entire World, Feitse 293 and Leffert 306. Top
Linear Scores and Breeding Values
The linear score is a chart used by Judges to rate Friesian’s individual racial type, conformation and movement based on a set of standards developed by the FPS. Horses are given a score for each characteristic dependant on how they deviate from the ‘average’. Some characteristics are given more value than others, these are Optimum traits and are marked in a light blue colour which means the closer they are to the middle score (100), the better, and other traits are marked in a dark Blue colour, which means the higher they score over 100 the more desirable, whereas scores below 100 are less favourable.
The breeding values is also used to gather information on a stallion’s offspring, so breeders can see which traits appear to be prepotent, or more dominant and which tend to be his strong and weak traits that are passed on. Top
Each year the FPS chooses specific letters in order of the alphabet which Friesian owners can choose from to name their new foals born in that calendar year. For example, in 2007 the selected letters are W,X,Y and Z. Next year, 2008 they will be A,B and C. If two foals are wanting the same name then usually a breeders initials or a letter will be written as a suffix after the foals name, a prefix is not allowed by the FPS. With this system, horses can easily be identified by their name, and studbook stallions by their number also. Top
With the origin of the studbook being based on three stallion lines –Age being the smallest line, Ritske, who does not have many dominant stallions, and Tetman which is the largest and most influential line, most Friesians will have some degree of inbreeding. Registration papers will all have a calculated inbreed co-efficient value stated which the FPS recommends to be less than 10%, but less than 5% is most desirable. Inbreed values is something every breeder should consider when choosing a stallion for their mare, and something that if not controlled correctly will result in defect foals and problems like Dwarfism, retained placenta, white factor and naval rupture. Top
The keuring is held currently in Australia only every 3 years (this is changing to every 2 years shortly), with the next one due March/April 2009. It is where a group of inspectors travel over from Netherlands to judge all of the Friesian horses eligible for studbook entry and B-Book 1 entry around the country, generally they will also organise training seminars that coincide with their visit. A Keuring is a special breed show judging for Friesians, where they are presented, and judged on their conformation, racial type and movement through all gaits. 40% of the score is comprised of conformation and 60% of the score is based on the horse’s movement. Horses are not actually competed against one another, but against the breed standards set out by the FPS. At the end of the judging horse’s will be given an overall rank dependant on their scoring such as; No Premium (below average), 3rd, 2nd, and 1st premiums, Ster, Model etc.
Judges like to see Friesians fully shod for presentation and the handlers wearing all white and horse’s presented in a white bridle, this is to show respect for the judges and a tradition with the breed. Generally Friesians will be presented as a ‘riding type’, that is faces fully clipped out, all pick hairs removed, a small saddle path trimmed to enhance height and withers, and trimming of hairs from back of legs. But all bulk feathering, mane and tail is to remain untouched and presented un-plaited, although some people like to plait the night before a Keuring and then remove it that morning to give the mane and tail a wavy and fuller appearance. Top