Friesian Horse: Everything You Need to Know About the Breed

Nicknamed “The black pearl”, we recognize the Frisian horse at a glance thanks to its particular characteristics. This rare zain-coated horse originates from Friesland, a province of the Netherlands, from which it takes its name. It is a very old breed, used as a trotting racing horse, a war horse and a sports horse.

The Friesian is currently a saddle horse, also a very popular draft horse. It is a prestigious equine that greatly appeals to riders. Intelligence, kindness, a graceful physique, elegance and strong charisma.  Let's find out up close everything about this equine breed.

The two types of Frisian

The Sport Friesian and the Baroque Frisian are the two existing types of Friesian. The Frison sport has a powerful hindquarters, its morphology is light, its gaits are extended with beautiful flexibility, loose and very shiny. He has the morphology of a saddle horse. This one has an excellent aptitude for competition and dressage. The Baroque Frisian, on the other hand, is heavier. His physique is like that of a draft horse. However, it should be noted that this distinction is not made by the Dutch Friesian Studbook.

The physical characteristics of the Friesian horse

The head of the Friesian is powerful, long and narrow. He has small ears, pointed and mobile, and very expressive black eyes. The black pearl is also remarkable for its noble and expressive head carriage. Thenecklineof this equine is worn high with a swan neck and curved. Regarding his body, he has broad shoulders, quite long and oblique. A horse with a powerful chest and a well-released withers, it has a broad and muscular croup and a somewhat long back. In terms of its limbs, it has muscular legs, wide and strong joints as well as full dewlaps. Its hairs are wavy, fine and full on its long mane. Its tail is also full. It has a uniform black coat, without any white markings, especially for breeding males. The small white stars on the head may be an exception for others. Finally, this impressive Dutch horse has ample and elastic gaits. With a more or less raised knee movement.

Characteristics of the Friesian horse

The Friesian is an affectionate animal with great intelligence. A quality horse with a lively and balanced mind, he is determined and learns very quickly. Of all horses, this breed of equine is very close to humans, it is sensitive, kind and docile. However, he displays a sensitive and stubborn temperament.

Singularities of Frisian

Despite his large muscles, the Friesian cannot take part in high endurance disciplines because he has small lungs. Due to his lack of breath, the Friesian is unfit for high-level competitions. Therefore, he has a fragile heart, likely to be subject to cardiac arrest. Besides, he is not a good jumper because he has a little weakness in his hocks. Then he can suffer from summer dermatitis during the summer period. Also, probably because of its small lungs, it reaches maturity later than other equine breeds. Between 5 and 6 years old rather than at the age of 3 years old. Otherwise, the life expectancy of a Friesian is between 20 and 30 years, lower than that of other horse breeds.

On the other hand, these qualities as a trotting horse allow it to be more adapted and better even to other disciplines. The disciplines most recommended for Friesian are: dressage, driving, circus, hiking, TREC (Competitive Equestrian Trail Techniques), leisure and equestrian shows. To this end, he can be at the peak of his performances having a very good gallop. Furthermore, the following disciplines are not recommended: Eventing Horse Riding Competition (CCE), Show Jumping Competition (CSO), racing, endurance, western riding, Polo, Hunter, Pony-games.

Frisian Breeding

In France, the Friesian was recognized as a saddle horse by the national stud farms in 2004. Since then, Friesian breeding has spread over several areas, particularly in Auvergne. On a global scale, the Royal Friesian Horse Stud Book Association has managed the breed's Stud Book since 1879. Friesian breeders are found almost everywhere in the world, but the Netherlands has a share of more than 70% of the world's herd. The Friesian obtains green-yellow papersif his parents were born in the stamboek register when he was born. On the other hand, this one will have brown papers if one of the parents is not registered in this register. Finally, if both parents are not approved for reproduction, and therefore are not registered, the Friesian will have the blue paperss.

What is the price of Friesian?

The Frisian price can vary depending on many parameters, such as the characteristics of the animal, its riding capabilities or the intended use for the horse. Just as an experienced horse costs more than a beginner equine. Indeed, the situation of the Friesian is special from the point of view of its rarity and its degree of selection. Since the market value of this breed of horse is all the more important, especially for the Netherlands which holds ¾ of the international Frisian herd.

A half-year-old foal can be sold for 4000 to 6000 euros if it has all its papers. On the other hand, a 3-year-old “full paper” equine could only be acquired for 7,500 to 10,000 euros. If the lineage is also interesting, you should count on up to 12,000 euros for the price of a filly. This threshold can even increase for those with good origins. In short, for the purchase price of a Friesian, we can take a range of 4000 to 15000 euros. However, you must also take into account the additional costs if you decide to buy a Friesian.  

Can the Friesian be a beginner's horse?

The Friesian horse must be perfect for beginners if we only consider its elegance, its state of mind and its light warm blood, favorable to leisure and competitions. In addition, he is very skilled in dressage. However, this breed of horse also has its wild and stubborn side which makes it a little difficult to tame. However, its extremely rare existence makes it quite expensive.