Friesian horses

[Foxtrot_s]

Iron Spring Farm has a number of stallions whose semen they sell.

Also if you are in the PNW you will know The Driving Training Centre -
they have the stallion Rembrandt who has done dressage to a high level, although I think he is retired from competition.

There were/are a couple at a nearby boarding barn, but they were a sad story - never allowed out and only ridden in a small indoor with a person with hands of steel, held high, with a bicycle chain bit.

I think they would not do well in hot, humid climates - they were developed in Holland. All that hair, cracked heels, etc.

[netg]

[QUOTE=Libby2563;8811867]
Horses can hallucinate!?[/QUOTE]

We’d never heard of it either! She would randomly dodge “monsters” in the center of the arena, turned out in the round pen, on the trail, wherever. Good horse, but literally seeing things. We took her off the alfalfa and within 3 days the spook was gone other than real blowing wavy items (plastic bags in the wind, etc.) She’s a horse who wouldn’t voluntarily break a walk on her own, so the energy she put into it was surprising until we figured it out.

[exploding_pony]

They aren’t my kind of horse, but I’m very petite and need a light horse.

The one thing I will say is that they are LOUD and dramatic under saddle - hooves pounding and hair flying everywhere.

I got pretty much run into by one in the warm-up of a rather busy show a couple of weeks ago and my poor little horse bolted like I can’t even describe. He was scared to death of the thing.

[yaya]

I just lost my Friesian mare, one month shy of her 25th birthday.

She had been anhidrotic for the past 10 years or so. Nothing worked with her (although the Equiwinner patch did seem to relieve the panting).

She was the alpha mare in my little herd, but not from being bossy, just because all the geldings were in love with her. One gelding was so attached, I was afraid I would have to put him down and bury him with her if she died first (he died two months before she did). If ever a horse was hard to catch, all I had to do was bring her into the barn, and he would be at the gate wanting to go in (and they weren’t even in the same pasture).

I suspect she had immune system problems. She was allergic to gnats (solved with allergy shots). She got EPM. She ended up with Cushing’s. She forever had crud under her feathers (suspect mites, and treated, but never resolved). Frequent respiratory discharge. Lymphangitis occasionally.

She was so not forward, I often called her backward. She was smart, and caught onto things quickly (saved my ass in a test once when she knew the test better than I did!) Performed at a dressage demonstration after only six rides under saddle, and the trainer who taught her to drive said she was the only horse in 50 years he ever hooked to the cart and went for a drive the very first day. Spookier at home than at shows, but spooking consisted of about three steps, then back to normal. Very non-reactive to whip or spur (sometimes not a good thing). Hard to get to stretch over her back, and curled behind the bit. The thundering noise she made cantering spooked several horses at shows, or made people think there was a loose horse.

Very neat in the stall - one pee spot, one poo spot. Super easy keeper - called her air fern.

Very sweet, and very loving, never once tried to bite or kick, never even threatened. Loved to give hugs with that great big neck. (She was old baroque type.) Great mama, but when it was time to wean, she never looked back (weaning took about 30 seconds for her and her very sweet baby).

Loved her, love the breed, but as long as I live in the Gulf South, will never have another.

[tempi2007]

My DD owned two Friesians. The first had bolting issues during his training, but grew out of them and became a wonderful Open Pleasure Horse. He was small and refined for a Friesian. He was a very sweet soul and had very little spook. We sold him when she went to college.
Fast forward a year and DD is home from away college for good. She still has the Friesian bug so we purchase a huge boy for her to work with in dressage, her new passion. She is all of 110 pounds with lots of riding experience, just not so much in dressage. She found out eventually that he was too large, too bold and hated dressage. All he had to do was use his shoulders and neck to brace against her and he was gone in flash. Thankfully, the nice people who sold him to us accepted him back and he has done wonderfully with a male trainer.
We did notice heat intolerance, especially with the larger gelding and Friesians seem to have no second wind. They do not recover or cool out easily. Being part of the Friesian world for 5 years, we also noticed a lot of weak stifles and cantering problems.
With a few exceptions, I think there are better jobs for Friesians than dressage.

[MysticOakRanch]

I guess I’ll give the other side to it, as have some others here. I’ve owned a few purebreds and quite a few crosses. First of all, whoever said they are not intelligent - that is so NOT true. They are a “slow twitch” type, so they may not respond as quickly, but the ones I’ve had have all been VERY smart. One reason they are so popular in movies is because they are so trainable.

I’ve also found them to be the KINDEST horses ever - the ones I have dealt with were SO sweet, loved people, very tolerant, you could put little kids on them, rank beginners, yet put a good rider on, and you got a whole 'nother gear and performance ability. I fell in love with the breed because I’d never seen such people oriented, soulful horses. I had ridden a lot of Warmbloods, a few Arabians, and several Morgans. Friesians were just - different - so tuned in to their people.

They are generally heat sensitive - although I personally have not known one that had anhydrosis, , they do tend to be heat intolerant. As do some Warmbloods. They are a northern European breed, bred for cold weather. I kept mine clipped year around, which helped a lot, but it is maintenance.

Personally, I found the FPZV/FHS horses much more dressage suited then some of the FHANA horses. One thing to be aware of, the Friesians have kind of followed the Dutch Warmblood breeding model - some are bred for riding, some are bred for driving. It isn’t quite as delineated as the Warmblood model (yet), but when you see sports predicate in the bloodlines, you are probably looking at more of a dressage type breeding.

They are more susceptible to certain health issues - although so are many Warmbloods and Iberian horses. Allergies, reproductive issues, and colic are all more common in the Friesian. But they tend to be SOUND - we use to joke about it at one of the training barns I use to ride at - my Friesian cross and the purebred Friesians were ALWAYS sound. The Warmbloods - seemed at least one or two were always lame, and several were neuro. Interestingly, there were more colic issues with the Warmbloods over the years (I rode there for about 15 years or so, so I saw a lot of horses come and go).

Personally, I LIKE the crosses because less inbreeding = less health issues. I bred several crosses, and they have been great dressage and eventing horses. I had a cross stallion that showed through Grand Prix, and in his late teens, is a young rider’s schoolmaster. One of the crosses I bred is currently in the top rankings at 2nd level. My own personal riding horse is a cross too. I talked to a judge who said she has judged a lot of nice crosses, through the FEI levels. Sometimes you just don’t KNOW it is a Friesian cross.

I know a lot of other breeds that have retired early due to neuro or lameness issues - every breed has its issues. Not discounting the Friesian issues, just pointing out, all breeds and types seem to have their problems, and you have to go into it with eyes open.

Personally, I think they are great dressage horses, but they need to be ridden properly if you want to get up the levels. As a “lower level horse”, they are easy - always round - they are great confidence boosters for beginner riders. But if you want to get them up the levels, you have to get them through their backs - which means riding round and deeper then you might with a Warmblood. And keep them forward and quick behind. As a well known judge and clinician said - training horses is easy, make them do what they don’t do naturally…

Interestingly, while I agree they don’t all have good canters, the ones I’ve known have all had great canters. Anytime you look for a dressage horse (of any breed), of course you need to look at the canter!

[egood]

I have a Friesian x American Saddlebred.

He’s been frustrating to train. He pulls with his front end, is tense through his back and is hard to get consistent contact with. He has a Friesian front end/shoulders, a long neck, and a saddlebred butt. I’ve been working more consistently with a trainer, and we’re getting mid 60s at 1-2. Hard for me to get him to step under more and lift his shoulders for lengthenings. I’ve been doing more hill work/caveletti work with him which has helped.

He gets distracted very easily. This is more prevalent in schooling for some reason. At shows he does much better, which is kind of strange to be honest. He’ll occasionally do spooks/shy away at stuff in schooling. Has never been malicious under saddle.

He’s an alpha in the pasture, although we have one horse that ranks above him. He’s a character though, and very pretty - so he has that going for him.

[Can_tFindMyWhip]

I’ve had experiences with a couple of full Friesians, and a lot of crosses. I’ve observed that men often seem to ride Friesians and Friesian crosses better than women do.

The full Friesians are very kind and try very hard under saddle, even if they aren’t always the most talented. And their ammy people LOVE them, and frequently call them their “heart horses.” They are high maintenance, especially the feathers. You gotta towel-dry those bad boys to prevent scratches, and it takes forever. Their manes and tails aren’t actually too much work though. Running braids are much easier than button braids for shows, so that’s a plus!

The crosses that I have dealt with have been a mixed bag.

When I was a working student I worked with one was out of a Friesian by some type of German sporthorse, and bred with eventing in mind. He was very confident and bold, and I’m sure he is doing a great job as an event horse now, but good lord was he a stubborn youngster.

I worked in a barn with a mare that was also Friesian/German sport horse paint thing. She was a nice mover and an uncomplicated ride. She was a good girl, but also kind of a disaster. I would turn her out in her pasture, and she would trot along the fence line and go splashing through her water trough. She wouldn’t run around it, but she would picker her feet up high enough to get over it, in it and then back out. She didn’t hang out in it to play, she just didn’t appear to see it. She was forever doing goofy things like that. It’s a wonder that she never seriously injured herself doing something stupid.

And then there have been Georgian Grandes. They are generally Friesian/Saddlebred crosses. Imagine that brain for a second! They’re hot and athletic and silly, and therefore usually a professional ride. They are also frequently conformationally-challenged. Their temperaments have to be their most endearing quality. Like, if our Georgian Grande was actually just a big, black dog, he’d be the perfect dog. But they’re not all bad. I also saw an amazing Friesian/Saddlebred mare at a show a couple of months ago. She was beautiful! She looked just like a Friesian, but with finer bone structure. And she was doing 3rd with a very nice ammy lady who was talking about moving up to 4th soon.

[Can_tFindMyWhip]

Oh, and one of the coolest horses I ever got to work with was a Freisian X Thoroughbred. He was the least spooky horse I’d ever met, go figure!

[quietann]

[QUOTE=exploding pony;8812190]
They aren’t my kind of horse, but I’m very petite and need a light horse.

The one thing I will say is that they are LOUD and dramatic under saddle - hooves pounding and hair flying everywhere.

I got pretty much run into by one in the warm-up of a rather busy show a couple of weeks ago and my poor little horse bolted like I can’t even describe. He was scared to death of the thing.[/QUOTE]

My mare had the same reaction to the “thundering hooves” of a Friesian – “GET ME OUTTA HERE!” Now that I am at a barn that has one, she has become more used to the thundering hooves.

[MyssMyst]

[QUOTE=Libby2563;8811867]
Horses can hallucinate!?[/QUOTE]

Maybe this was before Pokemon Go showed us what they were spooking at???

[Draftmare]

My only input is to make sure that you get a sport bred one, not a carriage bred one. The trots on the carriage bred Friesians are just awful to ride. Like, physically hurt to ride.

My first horse was a Friesian cross, and I can agree with those that said they are a bit slow to learn. He was also the most rubber necked horse I have ever met. I am not sure if that is a Friesian thing, or not, but getting him to go straight was hard.

[HappyTalk]

@MysticOakRanch;8812380

Personally, I think they are great dressage horses, but they need to be ridden properly if you want to get up the levels. As a “lower level horse”, they are easy - always round - they are great confidence boosters for beginner riders. But if you want to get them up the levels, you have to get them through their backs - which means riding round and deeper then you might with a Warmblood. And keep them forward and quick behind. As a well known judge and clinician said - training horses is easy, make them do what they don’t do naturally…

This ^^^^.

I have one crossed with TB (no, it did not make him more forward/hotter) Impulsion is always an issue, though he is getting better. I was frustrated with him for several years until I started riding with an instructor that preached the above.

Mine is so laid back that he will canter down the trail on a loose rein just like an old QH. I have NEVER been able to get him into a gallop under saddle. He is very kind and loving. He tends to be easily distracted and needs to be kept busy all of the time. As my instructor said " do not EVER go down a long side without making him DO something" (shoulder in, 10 m circle… something, anything).

I love this horse, but am looking for another dressage horse. I am going to try to transition this one into a driving horse.

They can be prone to develop megaesophagus and aortic aneurysms. These defects have been discussed in the Friesian breed magazines.

[2miniB]

I don’t have any personal experience with Friesians. If it’s the look you like (black, lots of hair and feathers) the Welsh Cob, Fell or Dales pony would also fit that bill, without all the health issues Friesians have. I have a black Welsh Cob section C/Arab, and she was a very nice dressage pony.

[MysticOakRanch]

Something I totally don’t understand. Anytime the topic of Friesian horses in dressage comes up, many people have such a negative reaction. And a good percentage of them have never ridden a Friesian, or have ridden ONE. Yet, if someone brings up Andalusians, Thoroughbreds, Haflingers, many of the other “non-Warmblood” breeds for dressage, there is much less push-back. Yet - go through the dressage rankings every year, and there are ALWAYS Friesians in the top 100 at every level through Grand Prix. In spite of it being a rare breed, there are always representatives doing well at each level.

So why do people feel they can’t do dressage? Why do people feel so compelled to say "get something else, even if that “something else” has NO rankings at any FEI level? What is it about this breed that some people just don’t like? I’ve seen a few area trainers with the same feeling - then they rode a Friesian (or a cross), and loved the horse.

When you talk to someone who has dealt with both Friesians and Warmbloods, they will tell you, the Friesian in general is WAY less spooky (and when they spook, it is less dramatic), MUCH friendlier and people oriented, more fun to ride, less fight, more of an attachment. They will be honest in saying they are not as easy to collect and get through (although most riders don’t succeed on that with their Warmbloods either), but will go on to say still more fun and less pushback then the Warmblood. So why do Warmblood riders/breeders have such a dislike of the breed? Why do you think Iron Springs Farm started breeding Friesians?

I could list all the horrible experiences my friends have had with their Warmbloods - would that mean all Warmbloods are a disaster? If I really go through the list, it would appear so! Neuro issues, disasterous riding and handling injuries (athletic broncs!), lameness, colic, OCD, the list goes on and on. So why do Friesians attract all the negative attention?

[HappyTalk]

[QUOTE=MysticOakRanch;8812822]

When you talk to someone who has dealt with both Friesians and Warmbloods, they will tell you, the Friesian in general is WAY less spooky (and when they spook, it is less dramatic), MUCH friendlier and people oriented, more fun to ride, less fight, more of an attachment. They will be honest in saying they are not as easy to collect and get through (although most riders don’t succeed on that with their Warmbloods either), but will go on to say still more fun and less pushback then the Warmblood. So why do Warmblood riders/breeders have such a dislike of the breed? Why do you think Iron Springs Farm started breeding Friesians?

I could list all the horrible experiences my friends have had with their Warmbloods - would that mean all Warmbloods are a disaster? If I really go through the list, it would appear so! Neuro issues, disasterous riding and handling injuries (athletic broncs!), lameness, colic, OCD, the list goes on and on. So why do Friesians attract all the negative attention?[/QUOTE]

For me, my Friesian cross has been the most challenging to ride of any of my horses. I have owned and ridden Trakehners, Arabs, TBs, and QH/TBs. Truthfully, my favorites have been the QH/TB crosses and I am currently searching for another. Just a preference.

[Derbyhorse]

Thank you for all of the replies! I am definitely drawn to their kind, “golden retriever” personalities foremost. If I owned one, I would be shaving off the feathers and hacking off the mane (sorry, breed police). Finding one with a nice canter would be a priority, especially since I am accustomed to riding thoroughbreds, who have arguably the best natural canters of all.

When I do casual searches online, I have seen lovely Friesian/TB crosses and they are always shown jumping in excellent form.

Being a little challenging to train correctly from a physical standpoint does not bother me, as long as the brain is good. I appreciate hearing that they are very sound horses, which is a priority for me after a good brain.

[arlosmine]

From personal experience:
Three TB X Friesian crosses:
The common factor in all of them, unfortunately, was a weakness in loin connection and stifles. Possibly from ill considered crosses of “driving” type Friesians with weakly-muscled TB. They all had funky canters and did not stay sound. The wonderful TB canter did NOT come through in any of them.

If I was looking at a cross, I’d pay very close attention to the topline behind the saddle, and avoid any one who is “rafter hipped”, as many driving horses are. I would be more likely to look at crosses that are more type-to-type (crossed with Iberian, or another light draft) with strong and functional loins/stifles, and excellent canters. Personally, I’d expand search to include cobs and cob crosses. They share some of the potential downsides of drinking breeds for riding, but you’ll have a larger pool to draw from.

[piedmontfields]

[QUOTE=MysticOakRanch;8812822]
So why do people feel they can’t do dressage? … So why do Friesians attract all the negative attention?[/QUOTE]

Fair question. Perhaps because many people get them for their quiet sweet temperaments + looks and not specifically for their gaits or dressage ability? So while there certainly are notable upper level Friesians (and have been for some time), maybe what people often see are lower level or less-trained Friesians.
I also think the criticism is not unlike that directed at other heavier breeds pursuing dressage.

I do think they they are lovely horses for people wanting a devoted partner/friend in cool climates. The ones I have ridden have had the canter challenge (once they get it sorted out, it can be a good canter, but it was not just built in the way a good TB canter can be).

Isn’t Jane Savoie a huge Friesian fan?

[CindyCRNA]