The Friesian breed

[fell lover]

I have always wanted a Friesian but can never afford one. I have eventually got Abbi who is Friesian x coloured cob and I love her!!

What I would like to know more about is the Friesian characteristics. Please tell me more about your girls and boys as I think Abbi has a great temperament and want to know if it is because of the breeding. Any added photos are also welcome

[Jessica]

Well, my Una is an FPS reg friesian, her sire is Brandus 345 who is one of the Worlds top stallions and her mum is a STER graded mare Carolien Fan Marksate. When i was searching i was spoilt for choice for youngsters and there were some bi-book ones that were cheaper (Una was rather expensive lol) but i opted for the fully reg one because i had hoped to possibly breed from her to an approved stallion in the future, and may well still do this. Also, for the difference in price (about £500) it seemed worth going for an approved one and i was lucky that one with the breeding i really wanted was available.

Una's father is famous for passing on his amazing, gentle, trainable temperment and he certainly has done with Una. She is as sweet natured and well mannered as you'd expect from one of his babies She's been the easiest horse to train, i broke her completely by myself at the beginning of the year with no help at all, so that was a daunting undertaking as i've never done it before! But she was perfect, never put a foot wrong and is the safest horse to ride. She's just had a go at jumping recently and has taken to that really well too!

As a breed they are generally very people orientated and sweet natured. You get "hot" lines which you might want to avoid if you want an easier horse, but for a competition horse that would possibly be an advantage if you can work through some of the training issues you could have. A friesian with an attitude problem would be a nightmare to work with (i've heard of a few!!) as they are BIG horses. My Una is very trusting and does everything i ask of her with no fuss. If she decided to have a tantrum i wouldnt stand a chance, so i do appreciate her lovely nature

They are lovely horses, but researching lines is SO important. Cos of their popularity in recent years they are being churned out - often poor quality, just being sold for a lot of money cos they're black and hairy. So its a minefield buying a good one these days!!

Anyway, here's my Una. You've probably seen the pics before but any excuse to show my wonderful pony off!!

[Smurf]

I have Vinnie he is not a registered Friesian. His dad is but mum is not. He was bred by a man who initially bought very good Friesian stallions into the country and replaced them after so long, this man was a very good breeder and had an eye for good stallions. But fell out with the FPS [friesian breeding organisation] and as a result its very hard for the likes of me to even try and reg Vinnie. Vinnie is a gelding so i obviously cant breed from him but as Jessica says they are lovely horses, easy to train, very human orientated, love to please and very trusting.

There are 2 different types, baroque - chunky, rounder also alittle smaller and sports horse, finer, taller.
Each has its own character, and Vinnie is super and alittle mischevious but there is no badness in him. He always listens to what i say and has alot of trust in me to guide him.

In all honesty i wouldn't be without him.




Maybe someone could tell me if they think he is baroque or sports type, when he first came i thought baroque but now i think he is inbetween??

[Jessica]

I would say Vinnie is more towards the "Classic" type which is what Una is, which is pretty much halfway between the baroque and Sports. Vinnie looks a little too tall and finely boned to be a true baroque, but is too chunky to be a sports. Una has classic, sports AND baroque lines so she has a bit of everything in there so doesnt perfectly fit into any category. I would say Vinnie is the same. Makes for a better riding horse (IMO lol).

Is Vinnie not bi-book reg?? For some reason i thought he was!

[fell lover]

I always thought he was more baroque but maybe he is just going through a growth spurt?

[Autumn]

Like others have said, they are very people orientated and generally very easy to do. I like Jess, and others on here, backed mine myself and he was very easy to do. He's very trainable and is quite a sensitive chap, he doesn't like being told off, I rarely have to raise my voice with him, they are gentle giants.

He is a good doer, would easily live out unrugged. I can go for days/weeks without riding him and he's the same horse when I get back on him, he's not the type of horse that needs riding every day. Their canter work can take some training being a carriage breed, it's quite unnatural for them, but once they 'get it' life's alot easier! Charlie is very trusting, he can be a bit spooky but he takes his lead from the rider, if you tell him it's ok, he'll be brave and go past that scary horse eating leaf that's a different shade to the others!!

[vels mum]

Smurf, I do think Vinnie will end up baroque he has the short back and he is quite chunky at times but seems to look finer when he is going through his growth spurts.

Vel is Vinnies half brother as you know, sire is regersted with the FPS, I am currently working on getting Vel registered witrh FPS, Ive been lucky enough to find a breeder who has DNA samples of all Vels relations on his mothers side apart from one, which they are looking into. I also know his dams owner who has sent me a sample of her hair so hopefully in the future I can register Vel. But to be honest it doesnt matter that much to me, only good thing would be I could get him to the gradings one year.

So characteristics are (this is Vels anyway) very ppl orientated, he will come to the fence as soon as he see my car and stay there till my car leaves. He has a sensible head, not scaty, spooky ot too excitable.
Loves learning new games and has enjoyed his training so far. He is ALWAYS hungry, ive never met a horse who can eat so much yet not pile on the pounds, but I dont think this is a general characteristic although some friesians seem to be less good doers than others, I think Una is a bit like Vel in that she doesnt put weight on too easily, but Vinnie is quite a good doer.
I have found they can cope with very cold temeratures and still be qwuite warm without being rugged however its the wind that gets them and for that reason I rug Vel as im in windy Shetland.
I cant fault the breed, they are unique in looks and temperament, ive never met a horse quite like Vel and wouldnt sell him for all the tea in China!

A few pics of him 2 days ago after his bath

[Smurf]

Originally Posted by Jessica

I would say Vinnie is more towards the "Classic" type which is what Una is, which is pretty much halfway between the baroque and Sports. Vinnie looks a little too tall and finely boned to be a true baroque, but is too chunky to be a sports. Una has classic, sports AND baroque lines so she has a bit of everything in there so doesnt perfectly fit into any category. I would say Vinnie is the same. Makes for a better riding horse (IMO lol).

Is Vinnie not bi-book reg?? For some reason i thought he was!

No, i haven't even bothered to try and follow it up. It would mean lots and lots of tracing, dna, trips down to get him graded and from Shetland that would cost alot of money. Im not going to sell or breed from him so there is no gain from my point of view. If i had a mare i would think differently though, i would def be trying to get it graded then.

Originally Posted by fell lover

I always thought he was more baroque but maybe he is just going through a growth spurt?

Your both right, when he goes through a growth spurt he looks really chunky, then after a few weeks he looks all refind, i'll try and find some piccies to show you! I cant wait till he has finished his growing! lol
Chunky [baroque???]


Sports [slim line!!]
Not the best pic but you can see what i mean