Читать книгу The Majesty of the Horse: An Illustrated History - Tamsin Pickeral - Страница 21

HEIGHT

15–16.2 h.h.

APPEARANCE

Majestic horse with fine, quality head set to an elegant and upright neck. Large, kind, expressive eyes and small, neat ears. Compact and muscular through the frame with powerful quarters and sound, feathered legs.

COLOR

Black

APTITUDE

Riding, light draft, dressage, classical dressage, jumping, competitive horse sports

THE MAGNIFICENT FRIESIAN HORSE is one of the less well-known breeds and also one of the most majestic. There are truly few breeds that can match these stunning black horses, which combine an extraordinary regal air with showstopping movement and unmatched temperament. They are descended from prehistoric roots and have remained extremely pure and true to type throughout their history. This history has seen their fortunes greatly fluctuate, and although they are strongly supported today, numbers of purebred Friesians remain unnervingly low.

The breed originated on the northern tip of the Netherlands in the Dutch province of Friesland, which was first properly settled around 500 B.C.E. Horses existed in this part of Europe many thousands of years before this, gradually evolving along separate lines. Excavations in Friesland have uncovered a variety of prehistoric horse bones of differing sizes that could plausibly belong to prehistoric types such as the Asiatic Wild Horse, the stout and heavy Forest horse (Equus caballus silvaticus), the Tarpan, and the large Equus robustus (big horse). There is no way of telling to what extent these horses crossbred, but based on type and frame alone, the Friesian is most commonly believed to have developed from the Equus robustus, a large animal with substantial bone.

During its early history the Friesian, as with most ancient breeds, was used in all capacities from farming and transport to packing and war. Records show they had been exported to northern England around 122 C.E. along with laborers to work on the construction of Hadrian’s Wall, where they influenced local breeds such as the Dales and Fell. They were the favored mount of Friesian mercenaries because of their excellent agility and self-carriage, and by the fourth century they had carried their warring riders to Carlisle in Cumbria, northern England. The presence of these horses at such an early date in the British Isles was most significant in the development of a number of British breeds, including the aforementioned Dales and Fell, the now extinct Old English Black, and the Lincolnshire Black, the last two of which were crucial in the development of the iconic Shire horse. Further Friesians arrived in England during the sixteenth century when Dutch engineers came to drain the fens in East Anglia and brought their beloved horses with them.

During the Middle Ages, the Friesian proved its worth as the mount of knights and was in widespread use in the military, which brought it into contact with horses of eastern origin, particularly the Arabian. It was used again during the Eighty Year War (1568–1648) and came into contact with Iberian horses such as the Andalusian. Both of these breeds had a greatly improving effect on the Friesian and contributed to the development of its characteristic free, high-knee-action trot and the magnificence of its bearing. Other than this, the Friesian has remained very pure genetically and rather than being influenced itself has instead been a significant contributor to a number of other breeds such as the Mérens of the Pyrenees, the German Oldenburg, and the North American Morgan. It has also had a decisive influence on trotting breeds such as the North American Standardbred, the Russian Orlov Trotter, the British Hackney, the Norwegian Døle (Gudbrandsdal horse), the North Swedish horse, and the Finnish Universal.

By the seventeenth century, the Friesian had made its way into the French and Spanish riding academies for classical riding, making its mark alongside the better-known Andalusian, Lippizzaner, and Lusitano, with a number of engravings from this period depicting what are clearly Friesian horses. William Cavendish (1592–1676), one of the preeminent equestrian masters of his time, wrote that the Friesian was very qualified for dressage and High School riding. The breed was also gaining in popularity as a carriage horse, based on its extravagant appearance and movement, and as a trotter for use in short trotting races. Despite its earlier popularity, however, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a fashion arose for the often lighter-framed European warmblood breeds that were bred for sporting events such as dressage and jumping, and the Friesian gradually started to disappear from the international stage, though it retained importance in Friesland. Significantly, today the Friesian horse can be seen competing in dressage events and competitive driving, as well as show jumping and showing.

The Friesian’s agricultural role in its homeland was jeopardized by the development and use of larger, stronger draft breeds such as the Bovenlanders and Dutch Draft (from the turn of the twentieth century), and suddenly the numbers of Friesians began to decline. To combat this, breeders bred their horses to be stouter and more draftlike, but this resulted in a loss of their elegance and quality. Simultaneously, there was a decline in breed standard, since the horses were increasingly bred specifically as trotters and started to lose some of their fine and versatile qualities. In 1879 the first studbook was opened for the breed to try to rectify the situation, but by 1913 only three stallions were left in Friesland. The situation rallied somewhat during World War II when there was a demand for the horses for use on the land to save on fuel costs. After the war, though, and in line with the increasing use of machinery on farms, breed numbers again dropped. Farmers were unable to sustain horses for pleasure uses, and the Friesian horse became somewhat redundant. The situation began to change during the 1960s, when a group of dedicated Friesian enthusiasts set about promoting the breed and restoring it to its former glory in both quality and numbers.

Breed numbers are greatly improved today, and Friesians are much admired internationally, particularly in the British Isles and North America. Unique in appearance, they are bred to always be jet black now (though chestnut and brown used to occur) and have a magnificent aspect.