LIPIZZANER HORSE BREED

LIPIZZANER

STUD FARM LIPIZZA

DRESSAGE
SPANISH  RIDING SCHOOL

Of all the horse breeds in the world, the Lipizzaner is perhaps the most graceful. In fact, with its ability to "dance," the breed is often known as the "ballerinas" of horses. 

The Lipizzaner is an old breed of horses and can be traced to AD 800. The amazing success story began with equines known as Barbs. 

The Moors brought the Barb horses in the 7th century to Spain and bred them with the Spanish native studs, the Andalusian horses, and Iberian horses.

In the 16th century, the Habsburgs ruled Spain and Austria. 

A powerful but agile horse was required for military purposes and for the growing fashion of riding schools for the nobility. 

In 1562, the Habsburg Emperor Maximillian II brought the Andalusian horses to Austria and started a court stud at Kladrub in 1580. His brother, the Archduke Charles II, started a stud in Lipizza (Lipica) in today's Slovenia, from which the breed got its name.

Both studs were bred with the native Karst (Kras) horses and followed on with the now extinct Neopolitan from Italy and other Baroque horses. 

The breeding stock was exchanged between the two breeding studs. Kladrub produced heavy carriage horses, while Lipizza produced riding and light carriage horses.

During 1572, the Austrian Emperor insisted the now-famous Spanish Riding Hall be built, and it is the oldest in the world. The Spanish Riding School is located in Vienna, Austria, was named after the original Spanish heritage of the horses. 

The famous Spanish Riding School displayed highly trained Lipizzaner stallions in public performances, showing classic dressage movements and training. In 1729, Charles VI built the Winter Riding School in Vienna. Completed in 1735, the institution can still be seen today.

One interesting and amazing fact is that the Lipizzaner horse is born completely black and becomes white after about two years. These horses have an elegant - almost delicate - appearance, yet they're incredibly powerful. They have good bone and dense muscle, along with clean, straight legs.

The Lipizzaners experienced quite a lot of relocations due to wars. In March 1797, during the First War of Coalition, the horses were evacuated from Lipizza. During the journey, sixteen of the mares foaled. In November of 1797, they returned, but the stables were ruined. In 1805, they were evacuated again because Napoleon invaded Austria. The horses were kept in hiding for two years.

After the Peace of Schoenbrunn (Austria) in 1809, the horses were evacuated three times because of the unsettled times of Austria. A lot of the horses were lost, along with the stud books prior to 1700. The horses returned to Lipizza in 1815 and remained there until the beginning of the 20th century.

In the First World War, the Lipizzaners were placed in Laxenburg and Kladrub. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up, and Lipizza became part of Italy. The animals were divided among stud farms in Austria, Italy, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Austria kept the stallion from the Spanish Riding School and some breeding stock. In 1920, a breeding stud was allocated in Piper, Austria.

During World War II, high ranking Nazis transferred Europe's Lipizzaner breeding stud to Hostau, Czechoslovakia. The stallions for the Spanish Riding School were transferred to St. Martins, Austria, when the bombing neared Vienna in 1945. Therefore, Colonel Alois Podhajsky prevented the breed being destroyed. In the spring of 1945, the horses in Hostau were in danger from the approaching Soviet Army, to be slaughtered and eaten as horse meat.

The rescue came from the US Third Army commander, Colonel George S Patton. The army was stationed near St. Martin, and they heard that the Lipizzaners were nearby. Patton, like Podhajsky, was a horseman and competed in the Olympic Games; therefore, he was aware of the quality of these horses.

On May 7, 1945, Podhajsky put on a show for Patton and Undersecretary of War Robert Patterson. Podhajsky requested that Patton give the horses US protection. At the same time, the Third Army's US second Cavalry's commander, Colonel Charles Reed, discovered the horses in Hostau, along with 400 Allied prisoners of War. "Operation Cowboy" resulted in the recovery of 1200 horses, including 375 Lipizzaners. Patton heard of the raid and made Podhajsky fly to Hostau.

On March 12, American soldiers were riding, trucking, and herding the horses for 35 miles across the border to Kotzrinz in Germany. The Lipizzaner were settled in temporary shelters in Wimsbach until 1952. Then they were returned to Piper. The stallions returned to the Spanish Riding School in 1955.

In 2005, the Spanish Riding School celebrated the 60th anniversary of Patton's rescue by touring the United States. There was also a film made by Disney calledThe White Stallion.

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