Brief History & Origin of the Lipizzaner
These horses were named after a small village called "Lipizza", hence the name Lipizzaner. It was near this village that the court stud in 1580 was founded with mainly spanish horse stock. Lipizzaners were bred from Spanish horses crossed with Arabians and Berber horses. This horse was considered the most suitable mount because of its sturdiness, beauty and intelligence.
Lipizzaner Stallions are and have always been the main players in the Spanish Riding School. They were originaly bred to be light, fast, military mounts. But as the breed became more popular, they soon dominated the royal studs throughout Europe, and later were bred to preform the "haute ecole" dressage.
Conformation & Attitude
They are distinguished by their perfect, classic bodies, their gracious movements, willingness to learn, vivaciousness and good temper and their resilience.
An expressive head with the occasional "ramsnose" ( a trait of the african inheritance or Barb horses), a highly set neck, relatively low withers, a fairly long and powerful back, which runs into a muscular croup, pronounced bodily proportions and simple profiled limbs with strong well formed joints and elegant, sturdy hooves; the tail and the main are thick and finely haired - absolutely the perfect horse for dressage and the "haute ecole".
The horse's size is between 14.3 hh (155 cm) and 15.3 hh (167 cm). He has a springy gait with a high knee action and is unusually nimble and flexible.
The Lipizzaner matures late, but often lives to a ripe old age between 28 and 32 years. As for the coloring, the white horse is dominant, but although a brown Lipizzaner is rare, one can always be seen at the Spanish Riding School.
The foals are born dark or black brown and acquire their white coats only further on between the age of 4 and 10 years.
For six months the foal remains with its mother, then it is separated and unhitched and marked with the traditional 4 brandings.
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