Today's featured horse is the Friesian, a large draft horse-like breed that originally was developed in Freisia, a province of the Netherlands. Here's a brief description in Wikipedia:
The Friesian (also Frisian) horse is a breed of horse from Friesland, a province of the Netherlands. Although the breed's conformation resembles that of a light draft horse, Friesians are graceful and nimble for their size. During the Middle Ages, the ancestors of Friesian horses were in great demand as war horses throughout continental Europe. Through the Early Middle Ages and High Middle Ages, their size enabled them to carry a knight in armor. In the Late Middle Ages, heavier, draft type animals were needed. Though the breed nearly became extinct on more than one occasion, the modern day Friesian horse is growing in numbers and popularity, used both in harness and under saddle. Most recently, the breed is being introduced to the field of dressage.
I haven't had occassion to ride these yet so and all I can say is that from the ground, they're quite imposing, even the smaller-sized ones. The thing about them is that they tend to keep their heads more straight towards the vertical as opposed to forward and this tends to make them seem larger (sort of an optical illusion). With the full mane, tail, and hair about the fetlocks, they're a real pain to groom and people I know who own them tend to keep the tails and manes in special bags so they don't have to groom them as much. Nothing worse that getting mud all up on there and then having to clean it out.
Hopefully, I'll have a change to try one out in the near future.
The Friesian (also Frisian) horse is a breed of horse from Friesland, a province of the Netherlands. Although the breed's conformation resembles that of a light draft horse, Friesians are graceful and nimble for their size. During the Middle Ages, the ancestors of Friesian horses were in great demand as war horses throughout continental Europe. Through the Early Middle Ages and High Middle Ages, their size enabled them to carry a knight in armor. In the Late Middle Ages, heavier, draft type animals were needed. Though the breed nearly became extinct on more than one occasion, the modern day Friesian horse is growing in numbers and popularity, used both in harness and under saddle. Most recently, the breed is being introduced to the field of dressage.
I haven't had occassion to ride these yet so and all I can say is that from the ground, they're quite imposing, even the smaller-sized ones. The thing about them is that they tend to keep their heads more straight towards the vertical as opposed to forward and this tends to make them seem larger (sort of an optical illusion). With the full mane, tail, and hair about the fetlocks, they're a real pain to groom and people I know who own them tend to keep the tails and manes in special bags so they don't have to groom them as much. Nothing worse that getting mud all up on there and then having to clean it out.
Hopefully, I'll have a change to try one out in the near future.
1 comment:
Hey, I drew a picture of your Friesian horse.
Just letting you know(:
Thanks.
Please visit my page.
ForeverFriesian
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