Horses - horses and ponies on the internet

This page has been sourced from REC.EQUESTRIAN, the body of the text has been unaltered as far as possible. The information is for use at own risk. Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1993 15:05:57 CET From: Dr. Lutz Massonne Newsgroups: rec.equestrian

East Friesian
Ostfriese

The original "old" East Friesian breed is extinct. That was a heavy warmblood, nearly a draft horse but with warmblood gaits and character: used as carriage and farming horse. Later lighter and more noble stallions were used, but not always with favourable results. About 30 years ago the Arabian stallions "Wind ox", "Jason ox" and "Haladin ox" were used to transform the breed into the "Friesian Arab".

However, this proved not to be the end of the experiments. Lately, the East Friesian breed was changed to Hanoverian blood to get a larger sport horse with enough noblesse and verve. Not only the horse type shall become "Hanoverian", also the East Friesian breed registry has joined the Hanoverian registry. Only stallions of Arabian, Hanoverian or East Prussian breed will be approved.

Exterior: Small head, frequently with Roman nose, strong neck, deep and wide barrel and straight, well muscled croup. Well proportioned shoulder, low withers, short and strong legs. Colour: Mostly chestnuts, some bay and blocks horses. Friesian Arabs have a large proportion of grey horses. Size: Friesian Arabs: 155 to 160 cm, other East Friesians 175 cm and more. Character: Well tempered Usage: Hanoverian type: good sport horses Friesian Arabs: used as pleasure horses (2) ... Ostfriese: located in Germany's East Friesland region. Origin: The heaviest warmblood breed in Germany, close to draft horses. During the last century Hanoverian stallions were crossed in.

Since the second world war Arabian blood is included to achieve a modern riding horse type ("Friesian Arab"), but with few successes. Today the breeds is included into the Hanoverian breed registry, putting an end to the breeding of the original type. Appearance: Size about 160 cm, Good-looking small head with Roman nose, very high set muscular neck, low rounded barrel, strong short croup and legs. Colours: Mainly chestnut, but also grey, black and bay. The Friesian Arabs are similar to the purebred Arab in size and type, but have stronger bones. Usage: The old-type East Friesian was a heavy and spirited carriage horse with noble appearance and impressive knee action. The Friesian Arab was a rather small riding horse with long strides and excellent jumping ability. After the inclusion into the Hanoverian breed registry in 1975 the East Friesian broodmares are used to breed towards the Hanoverian type