The Black Pearl of Friesland....

The Frisian Horse is a reflection of the dedication and determination of their creators, the Frisian people.  Frisians are a very proud people, they have a long tradition of being very persistent and clinging to their own standards and values, they are proud, fair and tough on themselves and unyielding to even their own standards.  When the Friesian Horse breed was close to extinction several times, the Frisians remained true to their breed when many others were lost to cross-breeding.

Friesians are considered the only representative of the original native forest horse of Western Europe.  Originating from the Friesland in the Netherlands they are regarded as a National Treasure, the black pearl.

Experts say that the Friesians’ most influential ancestor is Equus Robustus, a large draft horse found in Northern Europe centuries ago. Around 150AD there is evidence that the Friesian cavalry used the breed as their partners in battle when they joined the Romans in the fight near Hadrian’s Wall in Brittania.  William the Conqueror also used horses resembling Friesian Stallions at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

In the middle ages the monastery monks crossed the Friesian with the Barb blood to create a lighter, powerful horse able to carry the heavy weight of a soldier and his amour with excellent agility for the battlefield, the Friesian became the number one choice for royalty.  Together with their unrivalled ability in battle the Friesian also possessed an extremely stable mind, willingness and gentle nature.  This new breed became distinguished as the first Pure Breed of Europe and one of the founders of the world’s first Warm-Blooded horses.

At the time the Friesian was seen as unpleasant to the eye, so the influence of Eastern breeds was used to improve their exterior and later the introduction of Spanish Andalusians in the 16th and 17th centuries which in turn were previously influenced by Arabians refined them even more.  Andalusian influence gave the Friesian his high knee-action, more speed, slight concave nasal bone and craning neck.

Hungarian King Louis II, Prince George William of Prussia, the Danish Stud and Salzburg Stud in Germany are just a few of the countries who embraced the illustrious breed.  The KFPS magazine, which was started in 1950 is also named after the Royal Friesian Stallion Phyrso who was owned by Austrian Don Juan.

In the mid 1620’s Friesians were being exported to America, but they did not last, as too much cross-breeding diluted the purebred stock until they were extinct in the country.  They did not re-enter the USA until 1974.

For the past two centuries Friesians have been bred pure, they have been kept free from the influence of the English Thoroughbred.  Since their creation, Friesians have now been used to create and influence many breeds such as: Oldenburg Warmblood which was founded majorly on Friesian blood and then later used to infuse more refinement back to the Friesian , Holsteiner, New Forest, Dale, Fell Ponies, Morgan, Standardbred, Orlov Trotter, Swedish Warmblood, Kladruber, Norwegian Dole Gudbrandsdal, Gelderlander, Old English Black, Dutch Warmblood and the Shire.

During the 17th century the Friesian was highly sought after by Riding Schools training the Haute Ecole in France and Spain.  Master trainers preferred the Frieisian because of his lighter build, suppleness, greater knee-movement and agility.  Friesians were also regarded as the best carriage horse and the Royal Courts would have no other breed in their stables.

By the end of the 18th and early 19th century breed numbers had started to rapidly decline, this was attributed to the decline in Nobility, and poor economy after the French Revolution.  By this stage the main use for friesians were Sunday carriage drives to church and games afforded by few noble countrymen.  At the end of the 19th Century some Frisian people noted a new talent of the Friesian Horse – Short Distance Trotting Races (325m).  The Friesian was ridden with a small Orange cloth instead of a saddle and the winner was awarded the Golden Whip.  This led to the export of Friesians into America for their superior trotting speed and the creation of the American Trotter, and also the Russian Orlov Trotters.

By the 20th Century the future was not looking very good for this magnificent breed.  Friesians were forced to compete with the heavy breed Gronings-Oldenburger type, known as Bovenlanders.  Because of the heavy farm work that was needed to be done the Friesian Horse wasn’t suited to this role, its talent was for ‘dancing’ thus farmers favoured the Bovenlanders which were purpose bred for heavy farm work or they would cross their Friesians with the heavier breeds. Farmers thought Friesians ‘danced too much in front of the plough and wasted useful energy.’ This almost drove the Friesian to extinction.

Finally when the situation was in a critical stage on 1 May 1879, a group of dedicated people concerned for the welfare of the breed met at De Drie Romers, a tavern in the town of Roordahauizum, Friesland and founded the Friesch Paarden Stamboek, which became the first studbook of the Netherlands.  Strict breeding guidelines were developed, focusing on performance, athletic ability, trainability, conformation and breed characteristics classification.

By 1913 due to the impact of the Bovenlanders and the rapid decline in Friesian horses there were only 3 older studbook stallions available for breeding (Age, Ritske, and Tetman) with no quality younger stallions to continue the line.  At this time, it looked like the end of the Friesian horse was near.

With the perseverance of the Frisian people and their stubborn nature not to change the breed, the was no choice but for the Friesian to compete with the Bovenlander, which meant some aspects of the breed would have to change.  Some of its glamorous regal looks were compromised for more power and the Friesian evolved into a smaller, heavier type typical for farm work and pulling ploughs.  A type that the Frisian people did not want, but a necessity to keep the breed alive and cater for industry demands.

In the 1960’s farming became mechanized which made most horses on farms redundant.  By 1965 the studbook recorded only 500 registered mares.

The Friesian was again looking at the fate of extinction and no matter how hard the Frisian people tried to fight to keep the breed alive if the economy had not taken a positive turn, it may have ended in a tragic memory.  With prosperity in the economy again, people now had the money and time to devote to this beautiful breed and they once again became a horse enjoyed simply for their pleasure.

The Friesian’s wonderful character and friendly nature made it perfect for amateur riders and its intelligence, honesty and agility were re-discovered.  Friesians quickly regained their position as an ideal and preferred partner for activities which they were originally suited plus many other talents - Carriage Driving, Marathon, Show and Combined Driving, Pleasure, Dressage, Circus, Natural Horsemanship, even Western!  But most recently, an immense talent for the higher levels of Dressage.  You may even remember catching a glimpse of some famous Black horses in some Hollywood blockbusters such as – Lady Hawke, Interview with a Vampire, Lord of the Rings, 300, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, The Mask of Zorro, and Disney’s Tall Tales.

During the entire history of the Friesian Breed, even when extinction seemed inevitable at several times, not once did the determined Frisian people give in to the pressure of introducing other blood for a quick fix to their beloved breed.  A Friesian horse must remain a Friesian horse, there just is no substitute to the nobleness, love, luxurious looks and characteristics that we all admire about a Friesian.

Learn more about the Friesian Horse