Friesian horse

The Friesian is a horse breed originating in Friesland, Netherlands. Although the breed's conformation resembles that of a light draft horse, Friesians are graceful and nimble for their size. It is believed that during the Middle Ages, 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.

The Friesian is most often recognized by its black coat color, though color alone is not its only distinguishing characteristic. A Friesian horse also has a long, thick mane and tail, often wavy, and "feathers"–long, silky hair on the lower legs, deliberately left untrimmed. The official breed rarely has white markings of any kind; most registries allow only a small star on the forehead for purebred registration. Though extremely rare, and not accepted for registration in most cases, Friesians are occasionally chestnut. If a Friesian is chestnut in color and competes, they are penalized, with stallions being more severely penalized. Any discoloration from old injuries or fading from the sun are not counted towards penalties. The Friesian's average height is about 15.3 hands, although it may vary from 14.2 to 17 hands at the withers, and mares or geldings must be at least 15.2 hands to qualify for a 'star-designation' pedigree. Horses are judged at an inspection, or keuring, by Dutch judges, who decide whether the horse is worthy of star designation. The breed is known for a brisk, high-stepping trot. The Friesian is considered a willing, active, and energetic horse that is also gentle and docile. A Friesian tends to have great presence and to carry itself with elegance.

The breed has powerful overall conformation and good bone structure, with what is sometimes called a "Baroque" body type. Friesians have long, arched necks and well-chiseled, short-eared, "Spanish-type" heads. They have powerful, sloping shoulders, compact, muscular bodies with strong, sloping hindquarters and low-set tails. Their limbs are comparatively short and strong. To be accepted as breeding stock in the FPS studbook, a stallion must pass a rigorous approval process.

Today, the two distinct conformation types are the "baroque" type, which has the more robust build of the classical Friesian, and the modern, "sport horse" type, which is finer-boned. Conformation type is considered less important than correct movement, and both types are common, though the modern type is currently more popular in the show ring than is the baroque Friesian.

From the latter part of the 20th century until the present, demand for purebreds, particularly the "modern" style, finer-boned, taller, more agile version of the Friesian, increased, so breeders have bred both purebreds and a lighter-weight crossbred horse with valued characteristics, resulting in the Friesian cross and the Friesian Sporthorse.

Friesian horses are popular in both Europe and the United States, and are often used today for dressage competition, pleasure riding, and driving. Friesian horses can do well in dressage competition due to the breed's movement, trainability, appearance, power, and body control.

The Friesian also remains popular as a carriage horse, as it is a powerful horse and its high-stepping action is eye-catching. It is particularly popular in competitions that require the driving of a team, partly because of its movement and disposition, and partly because it is easy to match teams of black horses. Friesians are also good all-around horses, used for showing, driving, and general riding, and are also used as circus horses.

Due to its flashy appearance, the Friesian has become popular in the film industry. Though Friesians are of dramatic appearance, sometimes their use in dramatizations of actual historical events is of dubious accuracy, given the breed as it is known today only came into being within the last 400 to 600 years. The breed owes much of its current popularity to the appearance of the Friesian stallion Goliath in the 1985 film, Ladyhawke, which ignited a worldwide interest in these horses. Films such as Eragon, The Mask of Zorro, Alexander, The Chronicles of Narnia, For Greater Glory and The Wolfman have also featured Friesian horses. An episode of the TV series Lost featured a Friesian/Saddlebred cross. Most recently, Friesians were seen in the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans, where two horses named "Boech" and "Gallo" each took turns playing the winged horse, Pegasus, and they were also used in the 2011 remake of Conan the Barbarian. Friesians are also used for the Tribute Parade in The Hunger Games and in Catching Fire.

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