By the early 1900s the Friesian horse was down to three breeding stallions
The jet-black Friesian, with its flowing mane, feathered legs and high-stepping trot, is a favourite of fantasy films. It nearly vanished more than once: at one point only three stallions remained for breeding, and a travelling circus fleeing Nazi Germany helped spark its later revival.
The breed comes from Friesland in the northern Netherlands. Horses of Friesian type carried medieval knights, and in the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Low Countries were linked to Spain and warfare favoured lighter mounts, breeders crossed them with Andalusians to create elegant carriage horses. Historian Ann Hyland notes the breed held on to its native character through those Spanish infusions. Claims that it fathered Britain's Shire horse and Fell pony remain speculation.
Popularity peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries, when Friesians pulled carts, worked farms and raced as trotters. Breeding for speed produced what many considered weaker stock, and fashionable heavier warmbloods called Bovenlanders nearly swamped the pure breed. A studbook founded in 1879 helped at first, but the best stallions were sold abroad until only three remained. Tractors on dairy farms later threatened the last working role, though World War II slowed mechanisation, and the Strassburger circus family showed the horses off beyond Friesland during and after the occupation.
Today a Friesian stands about 152 to 163 centimetres at the withers, is compact and muscular, and must be solid black with no white markings. When chestnut foals began appearing in 1991, the official studbook required genetic tests on stallions and refused those carrying the gene. Registration is tightly policed: stallions face a rigorous inspection by Dutch judges, foals born each year receive names starting with a set letter, and horses born since 1997 carry a neck microchip instead of a tongue tattoo.
A small gene pool has a price. Recognised inherited problems include dwarfism, which affects about 0.25 percent of the breed, hydrocephalus, aortic rupture and an enlarged oesophagus, and 54 percent of mares retain the placenta after foaling. Even so, about 7 percent of horses in the Netherlands are Friesians, prized for dressage, carriage driving and their calm on film sets.
Source: Friesian horse
