These horses are a matter of national pride for the Dutch. The Frisian horse owes its name to the northern province of this European country, Frisland, which is also known as Friscia.
These beautiful animals are often called "Black Pearls" for their bright, memorable exterior. The history of this breed has experienced bright ups and downs. At one time these animals were on the verge of extinction, followed by a truly wonderful resurrection. Now this breed is experiencing a second birth, the number of its fans is steadily growing, amateurs is growing, and this despite the fact that the maintenance of these animals requires serious material costs
Origin
The Frisian horses are a native Dutch breed, whose unique appearance was formed more than seven centuries ago.
Historical chronicles generally mention Frisian horses a thousand years earlier, but, judging by the description presented in them, those horses did not resemble modern ones. The first friezes were unguarded and stunted, though very enduring. They were used both for military purposes and in agricultural work.
His own, truly royal, to become an excellent ability to dress up horses of the Frisian breed acquired from their ancestors, belonging to the Andalusian and Berberian breeds.
A large number of these horses were brought to Holland after the Spanish conquered the country. Knights' times and numerous, often very cumbersome, carriages made their demands on what the horse should be. Power and majesty, mobility and good learning ability were what was required of horses in those times. These requirements were best met by the friezes, and as a result, they were widely spread in the seventeenth century throughout Europe.
However, there were people in the Netherlands who cared about the historical value of these animals. Through the efforts of these enthusiasts, the Tribe Book of the Frisian breed of horses, the first in the Netherlands, was launched in 1879. All surviving friezes were added to it, dividing them into thoroughbreds and mixtures. The deplorable state of the breed at that time is evidenced by the fact that only three Frisian horses were able to be enrolled in this book in the first twenty years. However, true fans of these animals were not confused by this result, and they formed.
Society of Frisian horses, which developed a competent program to save and further preserve the Frisians as a separate kind of horse tribe. The livestock began to recover a little bit. But the tendency that existed at that time "practicality and efficiency at the expense of beauty" could not be broken. In order to protect the breed from extinction, it was necessary to sacrifice a spectacular appearance and to become, bringing to the fore the endurance and strength. As a result, the legs of Frisian horses became shorter and the torso became more massive. But even such changes for the sake of practicality could not save the friezes for a long time, and the number of these horses went down again.
In the 60s of the last century, the number of these horses again came close to a critically low level. Even the intervention of the Dutch royal court, which took the friezes under its patronage, could not save the breed.
Salvation came from the unexpected side. The sharp increase in interest in equestrian sport around the world has made the breed popular again. Beauty, glamour, majesty, good learning and natural ingenuity - all these qualities were the best suited to the needs of new sports disciplines.
The current situation
Nowadays frieze horses are used very widely: in sports, circus, for entertainment and leisure equestrian activities.
At present, the Royal Frisian Breed Book of Horses (abbreviated as KFPS) contains more than 60,000 of these animals scattered all over the world. The largest part of the stock (more than half) is concentrated in the Netherlands, the homeland.
The friezes are not particularly large, but their body proportions are very harmonious: the back, middle and forearm parts have a ratio of 1 x 1 x 1. The height in the withers is from 150 to 160 centimeters.
The neck is long, with a beautiful curve, smoothly turning into a withers. The back is muscular and strong. The lumbar region is wide and strong. Croup is long. Head - small size, with very expressive large eyes and a slightly convex profile. Forearm has a long line. Tibiae are well developed. The headstocks are flexible and of good length. The front hooves are slightly wider than the hind hooves.