Please talk to me about Friesians!!!!!!!!

[SatansLittleHelper]

After alot of deliberation I have decided to hold off buying a horse just now while I carry on with lessons etc.
With everything that has happened over the last year, esp. the death of my little girl, I have decided life is too short....sooooo I'm putting all of my money together and saving a bit more for my dream horse, a Friesian.
I would really love to hear people's stories/advice/experiences etc. Inc the bad stuff.
I'm not going to rush into this but I'm determined to make it happen

 

[Michen]

If you are having one imported be very very careful. My friend had two imported from different places and both were not at all as described, arrived covered in ring worm and were a huge amount of money and time to get right.

Both of hers (different breeders) are quite spooky and lazy but very pretty!

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Well not a pure bred, but we have two Friesian x Hackneys, apparently I couldn't stop at just one .

First one we bought was Topaz, and is as mad as a box of frogs and moves like that too . She is sharp and spooky but also massively affectionate and will try her heart out for you! She is much less explosive now than when we got her at 6 (she's 12 now), still a bit spooky and very reactive but much more onside and measured in her response to things. I have been told more than once though that it is the hackney that gives her her hot nature rather than the friesian, when she is being ridiculous we get a lot more comments of her being hackney... We're doing affliated dressage now (competing elementary, training adv med), but she has a fabulous jump on her!

The big thing with her was her movement, she is extremely bouncy! She is super uphill and has a lot of natural spring, so when she is tense she is awful to try and sit to. It took a while before we really got use to how she moved, though the more through she is and working correctly the easier it is to sit, not sure which of the breeding makes the bouncing worse. Perhaps you could try and ride a few purebreds to test the waters, as it took my mum especially a lot of getting use to.
This is Topaz:

Hedge hopping:

When we're tense...

Showing we can lengthen not just go knees up!

Then my little baby pony SKylla, shes just turned three, bought as a Gelderlander x Hackney but turned out to be another Frieisan cross .
Deep mid-winter fluffball:

Proving she can shift some:

Summer version (yes it really is the same horse):

She is much more laid back in nature, so I'm hoping she will be a much calmer ride than Topaz.

Not sure how much use the above will be to you, but I'm a fan of the cross from my own experiance. The Frieisian seems to bring a lot of substance (and hair ), and seem very loyal and biddable once onside. Plus they are just beautiful to look at .

You deserve your dream horse after the year you've had!

x x

 

[littleshetland]

I acquired my first Friesian two years ago after a lifetime of other breeds of horse. I found him on the internet, and then went to view him, then had him shipped over. That whole process went very smoothly - I was lucky enough to have found a very trustworthy dealer. He was 3 when I got him, and had been broken in - very sympathetically and professionally - so when I got him, he was pretty much a nice blank canvas for me to work on. His temperament is fantastic, he's a bit stubborn at times, he's pretty brave - so not to spooky and being the more modern dressage type - he actually moves really well! He's incredibly strong (not in hand..), but can be a bit lazy. They're not big on stamina - so not to much second wind. I absolutely love him - and is so beautiful, I could look at him all day. Apparently, they can be prone to heart problems, and dependant on the breeding, some can be quite difficult (but isn't that true of all horses tho!). I can thoroughly recommend the place I got my boy from if you're interested (no, they're not paying me!) All in all - i'm really in love with my Friesian and very glad I got him.
Just edit to say - they not natural cantering horses - I've had to work very hard on the canter. It's starting to come now, and it's slowly getting there.

 

[alainax]

Wonderful breed, all the flash and power, with a kind and sweet temperament.

You are doing the right thing by saving up and waiting to find the right one. There are quite a few out there who are not registered or from unknown parentage. Which can also be lovely horses, but you know a lot less about them, and can restrict you for showing. There are some out there advertised as friesian on certain dodgey websites we all know, who have awful conformation and would not be true to type of the breed.

Getting one who is KFPS registered is great, but importing from overseas takes a bit of guts. There are many KFPS in this country already, that you could try before you buy, however be prepared to wait, and pay the price they demand. People tend to keep the good ones!

Once you find the right one, they can be an amazing breed. I have never met such kind and affectionate horses. They seem to really care for their rider, and try so hard to do right. They have an amazing combination of being flashy, but yet quite laid back! My guy is forward and flashy, but not spooky hot or silly.

The only thing is the power can give some people a fright. Big trot, bigger canter, and can be a right power ball. But once you know they are not about to tank off with you, and allow them to move, you will both relax much more. Stamina is a downside. I am sure there are some very fit friesians, but I have noticed they can tire quicker than you would imagine.

There is a breeder & trainer of friesians I highly recommend, who can match you with your ideal partner. She even organises experience days where you can get a feel for the breed.

 

[Cortez]

I have a wonderful half Friesian mare who would put her heart on a plate for you. She's been the best girl all her life (she's 17 now), always tries her hardest, not spooky or lazy, but (whispering now) she's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier and takes forever to learn stuff. I'd have another Friesian in a heartbeat.

 

[Tiarella]

I've come across a few and they were all rude, bolshy, and had absolutely no respect what so ever. They were all imported. They're nice to look at from a distance moving round a field but that's as far as my opinion goes I'm afraid!

 

[Barnacle]

I love Friesians but you do need to take care. They are a breed with a rather small gene pool (no thanks to some very silly stud book rules) and therefore rather inbred and hence prone to a variety of health problems. Check up on the pedigree and make sure you ask lots of questions about all the family, any sibling etc. Personally, if buying one from someone I don't know, I'd go for a mature horse (like at least 8) so that anything very serious will hopefully have already showed up. There are still many things that can go wrong later in life though so careful background investigation is a good idea. If you can settle for a part-bred (perhaps a Warlander?), you reduce the risk of health troubles considerably...

 

[tiggipop]

they can be lovely... but do make sure you do your research.. many health problems in the breed..
the friesian horse society of great Britain and Ireland (FHAGBI) may be a good place to start... also Friesian horse owners group on face book... loads of owners who are more than willing to help give advice .. and you can see loads of pictures as the breed has 3 main types - very different in build and personality!
.... I have a 9 year old stallion and he is gorgeous !.... but only really matured at 8... so is really only just showing what he will be like!

have fun finding your perfect pony

x x

 

[laura_nash]

A friend did much the same thing, she came into some money after a very unpleasant and stressful few years and after an unpleasant experience with a nappy, bargy cob, plus some problems with her hip that made riding said cob uncomfortable, she decided to get her dream horse, a friesan.

The first one she bought was a nice older schoolmaster already in the UK, but it turned out not to travel (at all) so went on working livery somewhere with nice hacking - she still went and rode it regularly. She then went on a shopping trip to the Netherlands with an experienced importer and came back with a youngster, who stayed at the dealer's yard while he was gelded before moving to the local DIY yard. He was a lovely horse to handle and hack out with a great temperament, and very beautiful.

 

[Tern]

Can be temperamental and stubborn. Very much like welsh cobs. Just bigger and one colour. Maybe buying from a reputable stud would be better than just finding one online from a private seller or a dealer.

 

[npage123]

I've never owned one, but I'm hoping you'll like this link to a video of Frederik the Great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBGWooBiip0

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I have 2 neighbours who bought a Friesian each, one mare and one colt (possibly from the same breeder/importer). Both horses spent the VAST majority of their time standing around in the field, very rarely ridden. The colt was gelded after escaping and terrorising a neighbouring gelding, the mare was put in foal. I know that the Friesian gelding was not reliable in traffic and that there has been a problem getting the foal registered. I wouldn't bother with one tbh, except to drive.

 

[Caol Ila]

Alainax's horse is lovely. Fabulous temperament, great mover. When she tried him out, I rode a mare owned by the Freisian breeder, all of us hacking out together. The mare I rode was great. If I were horse hunting and had the cash to burn (neither was the case) I would have happily taken her home with me.

Like any breed, there is the good, the bad, and the ugly.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

I've been told to think very carefully due to their more bouncy way of going...I have Fibromyalgia so being jagged about all the time might not be the best thing. I think it may be back to my other great love...heavy horses.....

 

[OldNag]

I've been told to think very carefully due to their more bouncy way of going...I have Fibromyalgia so being jagged about all the time might not be the best thing. I think it may be back to my other great love...heavy horses.....

If you want a good looking horse with a smooth, comfortable action, have you thought about a Morgan?

 

[madlady]

I have 4 friesians. We bought a mare and her (then 3yo daughter) 12 years ago. We have then bred 4 ourselves. We sold one, we lost one and we still have the other 2 homebreds who are both now 6 (mare and a gelding)

They are all nicely bred and for the ones we bred ourselves we did lots and lots of research, went to the central stallion gradings in Holland to choose sires and then had frozen semen sent over. The older mare is now retired (but I did used to ride her) and the other 3 are all ridden. They all ride completely differently. Daegan - the gelding, when you watch him from the ground has a very elevated trot but it is the smoothest thing in the world to ride - sitting trot on him is so easy! Freyja - the 6yo mare has a really uphill trot which can be very bouncy but her canter is amazing. Dandea who is now 15 is very smooth to ride and she does anything asked of her - she is an amazing hack and I can take her pretty much anywhere and know I'm not going to have any issues but it took me almost 3 years of hard work to achieve that. I backed her myself after we bought her and then brought her on slowly.

The 2 6yo are still work in progress - Freyja can still be a bit spooky and spinny if she sees something she doesn't like and we are still working on solo hacking. Daegan isn't phased by much but isn't the most forward going.

None of them are particularly brave but they don't panic - if they come across something they really don't like the default reaction is a 180 turn, none of them have ever done anything worse than that.

I find them to be very intelligent and overly friendly - they can be real space invaders if allowed to and again can be rude and bargy if they aren't handled properly - our older mare was when we got her but with consistent firm handling we stopped the barging and the rudeness.

I have had issues finding saddles for them as they have such a huge shoulder - all 3 are now treeless and it suits them (and me) but then again I don't compete. If I did I'd probably have had to fork out a small fortune for a saddle to fit properly.

There are a couple of places that do a 'friesian experience' where you can ride and handle them to get a better understanding of whether one would suit you. I wouldn't have anything else now but they aren't necessarily everyones cup of tea.

 

[Gloi]

All of the Friesians I have met have had serious health or temperament issues which has rather put me off the breed. One died of a burst aorta at 4yo which was quite horrible. He had also managed to pass it on to his offspring some of whom died of it at a similar age, one while being hacked out.
http://fhana.com/webinars/details.php?unid=5348

 

[Shady]

i tentatively looked at Friesians over here in France as i think they are beautiful horses and visited a stud and rode one, it was very bouncy!! they have such an enormous presence and i admit to feeling a bit overwhelmed by the size of them, in the end i decided against as they are rare to find here below 16-17hh.
if you are not sure i would consider a big Spanish horse, seriously beautiful, fantastic paces ,gentle and a bit less bounce!xx

 

[Alec Swan]

Up North there's a Stud Farm which is closing down, so I'm told. Sadly the owner has died, and a friend is going to look at a colt which is now a 2 yo. 'Can he come and stay with us, …….. For A While' Not sure about that, but we'll see how well behaved he is, first! Apparently he's to be gelded when he arrives. Hmmmmm, still not sure!

Alec.

 

[kez81]

My old boss used to say of friesians and cobs " of course they move well, they must or they wouldn't stay sound. Doesn't mean they should be doing anything other than pulling a damn cart!"
Needless to say he wasn't a fan lol!
Personally I have known and worked with quite a few. The few i met from driving lines seemed to have a better temperament and a bit more stamina but were bouncier to ride and took longer to develop a good canter. The more sporty dressage types had lovely floaty trots and big rocking horse canters once they were balanced enough to properly collect ( they are a lot of horse to collect!) But temperament wise, were a bit hit and miss with some really really nice ones and some real nasty pieces of work. I've always really liked them myself and would happily have one although I would probably go for my favourite cross... An arabofriesian!

 

[MDB]

i tentatively looked at Friesians over here in France as i think they are beautiful horses and visited a stud and rode one, it was very bouncy!! they have such an enormous presence and i admit to feeling a bit overwhelmed by the size of them, in the end i decided against as they are rare to find here below 16-17hh.
if you are not sure i would consider a big Spanish horse, seriously beautiful, fantastic paces ,gentle and a bit less bounce!xx

Oooh, I would second that! But then I am biased, living in Spain with two Iberian horses, and I am not particularly experienced with horses either
Fresians are beautiful, and i always feel sucked in when i see them. But from past experience, I always now say I would rather have a healthy 'donkey' with a good temperament than a stunner which was either sickly or of poor character.

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

really dont like them im afraid, never known a genuine one they have all been lazy be that sharp lazy or idle lazy.

get a spanish type instead,beautiful,smooth and fab work ethic.

 

[wiglet]

None of them are particularly brave but they don't panic - if they come across something they really don't like the default reaction is a 180 turn, none of them have ever done anything worse than that.

I find them to be very intelligent and overly friendly - they can be real space invaders if allowed to and again can be rude and bargy if they aren't handled properly - our older mare was when we got her but with consistent firm handling we stopped the barging and the rudeness.

My friend has a Friesian and I agree with the above statements. He's not too spooky but he is an absolute wuss when confronted with farm machinery (we're liveried on a farm). He sees the traffic day in, day out but always responds with a spin and bog off... but only for a few metres - too lazy to really bog off!!

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

OK. ..I'm not feeling the love for them very much lol

 

[rowan666]

my friends friesian is an absolute sweetheart, stunningly beautiful and a real pleasure to have around hes so loving and gentle, get him in the show ring though and omg he goes from a 15.2 dope on a rope into a 19h fire breathing dragon! the atmosphere is just too much for him to cope with and he gets worse each time!? also its taken her a very long time to get him cantering correctly, years infact, and i believe this is common, his feet are terrible too, always chippung and splitting and his elevated paces make him erm shall we say different, awkward perhaps to ride. I would never own myself having gotten to know one as much as i do adore him

 

[Amicus]

How about a Dales you could probably get an overgrown one that'd be close to Friesian size?

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

I adore Dales but I'd need to find one at least 15.2.....do they exist???

 

[madlady]

I adore Dales but I'd need to find one at least 15.2.....do they exist???

See if you can find a Dales x Friesian, they do exist as I know someone who bred a few - that way you get the best of both worlds

I do love my friesians (all of the monsters) and even though they are not brave and do have their faults the one thing I have always felt with all of them is safe and that to me is worth more than anything. I have been riding them for 12 years now and haven't had a fall off any of them, equally I've never had any issues at all on the ground - yes the older mare was rude at first and I did get squished toes but never ever anything dangerous.

My nieces have been riding them for the last 3 years and handling them before that (nieces are 15 now) - the biggest problem we ever have is getting mugged in the field

 

[Micropony]

Haven't ridden many Fresians, but the ones I have were not big moving or uncomfortable and felt very safe. One of them was a bit 'all talk and no trousers' - pretence at being fire breathing dragon, but really so not!
There is good and bad in every breed, and apart from being aware of genetic health problems etc. I think it's always best to meet and try a variety of individual horses rather than getting too hung up about a particular breed. Unless there's a particular reason you need something very specific, e.g. your passion is showing ridden Arabs or whatever.
Best of luck and have fun looking!