# what are friesians like ?



## friesian1 (Apr 3, 2012)

I have been looking into getting a friesian , i know theyre expensive but we are a pretty wealthy family . Im just wondering what their characteristics are like ? And if you can share your friesian pictures 
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## countryryder (Jan 27, 2012)

I know there are some people out there who don't like Friesians for whatever reason,but I personally love them.I like their temperaments and toughness,and their smooth gaits;although they have a more upright action,I've found it to be very easy to ride with lots of power behind it. Friesians can vary greatly in size and build,some are more "drafty",big headed,while others are lighter boned with fine, sculpted faces. It depends on what you are planning to do with a Friesian,but I like them.


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## sapphiresrider (Dec 19, 2011)

I used to exercise my friends Friesian for him, they are lovely horses but I found his to be quite rough, and I had a fall on him away.


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## gigem88 (May 10, 2011)

My friend has about 5 or 6 of them and they are all so laid back! My trainer is riding the stallion and he is just spectacular to watch. I wouldn't mind having one I know that!


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## BooBear (Mar 23, 2012)

I've never had the pleasure of riding / working with a Friesan, but at my old barn, there was a woman who did dressage with hers. I have the most distinct memory of sitting on the observation deck watching her and being able to feel every footfall that horse made. It was like thunder. Ever since then, I've been intrigued by them. If you do end up getting one, I hope you enjoy that extra special magic that seems to radiate off of them. =)


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## FeatheredFeet (Jan 27, 2010)

Hi Friesian1 and welcome to the forum.

*what are friesians like ?*

That's a bit like asking what apples are like. They seem to be a fad breed lately, so they can be seen in all types, quality and temperament. 

What type of riding do you do? What would be your plan for a Friesian? Many don't like their ride at all. Some who come from QHs for instance, are not used to having a neck and head way in in front of the rider. 

You should visit as many responsible breeders as possible and get a feel of the breed. Get aquatined with their registries and know what to look for. There are tons of Friesian and Friesian crosses about right now. I've seen some which received the good points from both parents, but many who are a mess of a cross. 

Lizzie


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

I have a friesian cross which I tend to favor so they all don't look alike. They are very personable and would do best with one person. They like lots of attention.They are very food oriented. The link attached has some good info.
About the Friesian Breed


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## CinderEve (Oct 26, 2010)

I have a Friesian cross as well. She's a one-person kinda girl. I've heard that's common for the breed. I adore her.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

Featheredfeet had some sound advice. I really depends a LOT on the riding you plan to do and what you're looking for. Frisian do tend to have pretty good personalities in general. Like any horse they can spook, but will "usually" recover quickly. You really need to look at the stock they are coming from.
The riding you plan to do will mean a lot in determining if a Frisian will fit your needs.
Like churmbeque and CinderEve I have Frisian crosses. In my case because a "Frisian" would not meet my needs, but added good features to the Saddlebred breed in creating a horse the would meet my needs (e.g. over 1,000 lbs, heavy cannon bones, good endurance, intelligent, easy going and sweet disposition). But again, you need to check what you're buying. Horses, like people, have their own personalities.
If I had to own a Frisian I'd want my mares sire (who also happens to be CinderEve mare's sire). Only because he is so easy going even for a Frisian and a stunning classical baroque style Frisian and because I've dealt with stallions before. He's one of the easiest stallions I can imagine having to deal with (keeping in mind that he is a stallion). In reality he still would not be a good choice for the riding I do although many of his offspring are.
Just have to ask yourself what you espect to do with this horse. If you want to do a lot of jumping I probably would not pick a full blood Frisian. If you wanted a horse that probably had a good disposition, a great look and probably an impressive trot to show off, then a Frisian might be a good choice. Always check them and if possibly their parents before hand.
I tend to look at Frisians in the same way that many breeders in history looked at Arabians. A good horse for adding cerrtain traits for improving a breed, but not able to meet my needs as breed on their own.

Don't let my view discourage you though. For certain types of riding they are incredible horses.


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## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

here are some pictures of Friesians I took


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## happy123 (Jan 4, 2012)

I just saw a fresian today while I was on a trail ride.... it was so pretty. Next to it was a super fat donkey though so that probably made it look better xD


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## FeatheredFeet (Jan 27, 2010)

Anyone purchasing a purebred Friesian, absolutely must do a ton of homework. Google can bring up some very shady doings, by a well known Friesian breeder/seller. 

Last year there was a whole lot about it on another forum by a lady who actually owned the horse in question. It was a long story, but the shady people purchased the horse from the lady on the forum, advertised him for sale again, using a picture of a horse still in Germany, and sold the real horse for $25,000 to some unsuspecting buyer. I don't know what became of the horse, but this breeder/dealer/seller, is still in business.

Lizzie


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## CinderEve (Oct 26, 2010)

its lbs not miles said:


> Featheredfeet had some sound advice. I really depends a LOT on the riding you plan to do and what you're looking for. Frisian do tend to have pretty good personalities in general. Like any horse they can spook, but will "usually" recover quickly. You really need to look at the stock they are coming from.
> The riding you plan to do will mean a lot in determining if a Frisian will fit your needs.
> Like churmbeque and CinderEve I have Frisian crosses. In my case because a "Frisian" would not meet my needs, but added good features to the Saddlebred breed in creating a horse the would meet my needs (e.g. over 1,000 lbs, heavy cannon bones, good endurance, intelligent, easy going and sweet disposition). But again, you need to check what you're buying. Horses, like people, have their own personalities.
> If I had to own a Frisian I'd want my mares sire (who also happens to be CinderEve mare's sire). Only because he is so easy going even for a Frisian and a stunning classical baroque style Frisian and because I've dealt with stallions before. He's one of the easiest stallions I can imagine having to deal with (keeping in mind that he is a stallion). In reality he still would not be a good choice for the riding I do although many of his offspring are.
> ...


That's kind of awesome that we have siblings lol! I recently discovered a lady here in town has several horses from the same farm that Lyric came from.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

CinderEve said:


> That's kind of awesome that we have siblings lol! I recently discovered a lady here in town has several horses from the same farm that Lyric came from.


 
It is humorous . I have two from them now. Baron was what tipped the scales for getting my mare over a couple of others that made the short list, because she had his disposition. My filly is not out of him. She's got more of the Sport horse build like her sire. And she'll also have the height, since she's already 16.3 and will likely top out close to 17.2 before she's finished. The only problem I've had with my mare has started just in the last couple of months. I've never jumped her (no desire to), but she's got it in her head now that she like jumping (has to be the Saddlebred in her) and has taken to jumping a partitioning fence between two of the pastures, when she could easily go through the open gate a couple feet away. At least she's limiting herself to the 44" high divider and not trying the higher outer fence.
We've known George and Fredericka for quite a while. Started out with dogs from them. My first was an English Mastiff from them, but that was some time ago. I'm currently on my second replacement Mastiff from them. Looking forward to riding horses up to their place in a few years after I've finished with training and conditioning them for it. Will be my first 500+ mile ride.

A couple of other drawbacks I should have pointed out to the OP about Frisians.
Feathering and the long tails, while looking pretty, can also be a handicap. If you ride in an area that has burrs, etc....they'll be attracted to the feathering and tail like iron filings to a magnet. If I ride through the wrong field my crossbreed will come on with an extra 10 lbs matted on her feet and tail.
I've seen feathering become an issue with getting scatches. I've avoided it, but I keep a small bottle of teatree oil around for the times I find what feels like the start of scratches. Rub some on the spot for a day or two and it goes away without developing.
Frisians also take awhile to finish growing, so that might need to be taken into account depending on how much time they want to spend and how old a horse their looking at is.

I personally didn't really want the long tail and feathering, but I've avoided clipping them to keep some people like how it looks when she trotts happy. Will likely trim it anyway once I start using them for long distance riding, because I won't have the time to deal with cleaning a lot of burrs if they get some.

Again, FeatheredFeet has made a good point about being careful and making sure of what you're getting. As with dogs, you'll find people who feed on the popularity and don't breed responsibly. The example she gave plays out a lot with dogs and I'm sure there's more then enough cases of hte same with horses. Even with a breeder I know and trust I still go and check out the horse. The horse needs to be what you are looking for and only you can tell if it's what you want. And if you're not use to looking over a horse (i.e. what to look for), then take someone one with you who does know. A vet check is always in order too.

Bottom line is to make sure of what you're getting and that it's what you really want for the riding you plan to do. There are some great Frisians out there, but as with any breed of horse they are not all equal or the same.


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## Shasta1981 (Nov 12, 2010)

I like the Fresian personality. Very chill. The ones I have ridden (both crosses), were not the easiest rides and they tend to shorten their necks but that's totally dependant on the horse. 

Like the others said, it really depends on what you want to do. I don't think I would buy one for competitive sport, and definitely not for jumping!

They are beautiful horses!


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

its lbs not miles said:


> It is humorous . I have two from them now. Baron was what tipped the scales for getting my mare over a couple of others that made the short list, because she had his disposition. My filly is not out of him. She's got more of the Sport horse build like her sire. And she'll also have the height, since she's already 16.3 and will likely top out close to 17.2 before she's finished. The only problem I've had with my mare has started just in the last couple of months. I've never jumped her (no desire to), but she's got it in her head now that she like jumping (has to be the Saddlebred in her) and has taken to jumping a partitioning fence between two of the pastures, when she could easily go through the open gate a couple feet away. At least she's limiting herself to the 44" high divider and not trying the higher outer fence.
> We've known George and Fredericka for quite a while. Started out with dogs from them. My first was an English Mastiff from them, but that was some time ago. I'm currently on my second replacement Mastiff from them. Looking forward to riding horses up to their place in a few years after I've finished with training and conditioning them for it. Will be my first 500+ mile ride.
> 
> A couple of other drawbacks I should have pointed out to the OP about Frisians.
> ...


 I am just wondering about your long distance riding since the are not known for stamina. They do not even use them in CDE"s because their heart can't take it. They get hot and overheated quicker than the average horse so I wouldn't think long distance riding would be a good future for a Friesian


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## CinderEve (Oct 26, 2010)

well I believe she's actually referring to the crosses not full breds.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

churumbeque said:


> I am just wondering about your long distance riding since the are not known for stamina. They do not even use them in CDE"s because their heart can't take it. They get hot and overheated quicker than the average horse so I wouldn't think long distance riding would be a good future for a Friesian


For a Frisian maybe not. I even stated earlier that a Frisian would not give me what I wanted for my riding, but.......
my horses are not Frisian. They are Georgian Grande's (1/2 Frisian).
The 1/2 brother of my filly (same Frisian sire, different Saddlebred mothers.....bit like CinderEve's mare and my mare), who actually looks remarkably like my filly, has successfully competed in Endurance races, including a 3 day Mojavi Desert endurance race. Might still be doing it, but he's no longer in CA. They must do ok, or the horse would have been pulled out on some of the Vet checks. A 3 day Endurance race is more physically demanding than averaging 25-30 mile days for 3-6 days a time with rest day(s) each week. Distance riders are NOT racing. They ride purely for getting from point A to pont B. We don't have to cover 300 miles in 5 days. We can do 100 miles a week and be very happy. My mare can carry more with less impact than my QH ever could. My days of taking just a poncho so I could cut the weight down (slept rolled up a folded blanked I used under the saddle with the poncho around it) are long over. In my teens and 20's that was fine, but I like a tad more comfort today, so I want a horse that can handle the extra weight of a tent and a few other small, light creature comforts beyond the necessities.

Frisians also aren't known for jumping and yet my GG mare (who had never been jumped) has taken to jumping the fence between the pastures. Clearing the 44" fence even though the open gate is a couple feet away. And GG are used in Cross country eventing, fox hunts and other jumping events.

The Frisian blood has actually given me a stronger and more durable horse then todays Saddlebred would give me. It's common breeding story. Improving a breed by introducing another breed with charactistics you want added. 

I selected the GG for a variety of reasons that made it good choice. If I wanted to work cattle again I'd have gotten QH (and my head examined for working cattle again). Just some pleasant trail riding I'd likely have gotten a RMH or a Morgan, because the easy gait is hard to beat :lol:.


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## 94broncoxlt (Mar 31, 2012)

Hello! I worked at Full Spectrum Friesians of Lima, Ohio for almost two years. There are different builds that are bred - baroque, modern, and 'sport.' I am in love with the breed from working there. They are kind horses that have a good head on their shoulders and are patient and gentle. I own an english mastiff and he reminds me a lot of them - impressive and large stature, but a true sweatheart inside. They make great dressage or driving horses and can also be great for pleasure. I was very impressed with their feet working there. They have hard, upright hooves that need little maintenance other than regular trimming. Shoes would be needed for driving most likely. The farm I worked for has ster mares, foals, occaisionally stallions, geldings, and works with the sister farm in Holland to decide upon which direction to head each year with breeding (this depends a lot on the keuring judging!) The link to the farm I am talking about his here 

Full Spectrum Friesian Stables - Local Business - Lima, OH | Facebook
Full Spectrum Friesian Stables | Friesians for Sale | Breeding, Training, Importation

Best of luck in your decision.


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