Lipizzaner

The Lipizzaner horse is a breed that is known for their grace and elegance, and it is used in classical dressage.

In this post, we will share everything there is to know about Lipizzaners, so whether you’re a seasoned equestrian or just getting started, this post has something for everyone!

Lipizzaner Breed Info

Here are some of the key things you need to know about the Lipizzaner:

Height (size) 14.2 – 15.2 hands high
Colors The most common color is gray, and black and brown occur rarely. Gray Lipizzaners are born dark (black-brown, brown, or mouse-gray), and they gradually lighten with age until their coat is white between the ages 6 and 10.
Country of Origin Former Austro-Hungarian Empire (present day Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary)
Common Uses Spanish Riding School in Vienna, dressage, driving, general riding

Lipizzaner Facts & Information (Breed Profile)

This uncommon baroque breed is primarily known for the highly trained white stallions of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna (Austria), who execute the challenging airs above the ground maneuvers.

These horses today are associated with the countries of Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary.

Early Development of the Breed in Lipizza (Lipica)

The Lipizzaner horse is considered to be one of the oldest breeds in all of Europe.

The first known instance of the breed was in 1580, when Archduke Karl Ludwig of the Austro-Hungarian Empire built a stud farm in Lipizza (or Lipica), which is located in what is now Slovenia.

The breed is named after the stud farm which still exists to this day.

Archduke Karl Ludwig had a strong ambition to breed a horse that was not only fit for combat, but also for pulling carriages and performing in the style of classical riding.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire slowly created the Lipizzan breed using Spanish horses and native Karst horses.

The outcome of this long, meticulous breeding was a horse that was not only stunning to look at, but also powerful and athletic.

A famous receipt dating from 1580 shows the import of 9 stallions and 24 mares from Spain to the Imperial stud at Lipizza.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, more Spanish horses were purchased and transported to the stud farm.

The Lipizza stock of Spanish horses were bred to the native Karst horses, and succeeding generations were crossed with the Neapolitan breed.

Due to the lack of original Spanish horses by the 1800s, Arabians were used to help maintain the bloodlines.

Only one of the seven Arabian stallions that were used – Siglavy – founded a distinct line.

Two other stallion lines that were not successful at Lipizza were moved and used at other studs within the borders of the Habsburg empire.

Each country within the AustroHungarian Empire had its own way of naming, branding, and identifying Lipizzaner horses.

The Beginnings of the Spanish Riding School

The foundation of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna took place at the same time as the breed was developing in Lipizza.

The Spanish Riding School was established in 1572, and ever since then, it has been famous all over the globe for its commitment to preserving the art of classical horsemanship.

Years of practice are required for the horse and rider to do the Haute Ecole dressage moves.

The elegance and coordination of a ballerina may be seen in movements like pirouettes, piaffes, and passages, which can only be performed by those, horses and riders, with the greatest levels of training.

For centuries, the Lipizzan has been a symbol of the power and prestige of the Habsburg monarchy, and it is the true horse of royalty.

The Spanish Riding School in Vienna is the world’s oldest institution of its type that is still in operation today.

It got its name from the early Spanish horses that were brought into the country in the 16th century.

Through its history, its primary goal has been to preserve and pass on the art of classical horsemanship in its purest form.

In order to achieve this goal, the School has relied only on the Lipizzan as a horse that is capable of completing all of the dressage steps and movements, including the airs above the ground, also known as the Levade, the Courbette, and the Capriole.

World War I

World War I forever changed more than 300 years of Lipizzan breeding.

When Italy entered the War in 1915, Emperor Franz Joseph decreed that the stud must evacuate Lipizza.

The breeding stock was moved to Laxenburg, near Vienna, while the remainder of the horses were sent to Kladrub in Bohemia (another big Habsburg stud, to this day famous for their Kladruber horses).

Up until 1916, the Lipizzan stud farm was always privately owned by the Habsburg monarchy.

After the conclusion of World War I, the Lipizzans were still divided.

The new Czechoslovak government took possession of 37 young mares that had previously been sent to Kladrub.

The 17 mare lines in Laxenburg were finally split after long negotiations and 107 horses were given to Italy and returned to the Lipizza stud that after the War belonged to Italy, while 97 mares remained in Austria (and formed the foundation stock of the modern day stud of Piber).

Another important development took place after the end of WW1 – the Spanish Riding School started giving public performances of its white stallions in order to generate revenue, and also win public support for the breed.

These performances had previously been reserved solely for the royalty and for visiting dignitaries.

World War II

The Second World War was a significant factor in the deterioration of the breed, as it resulted in the death of a huge number of horses and the destruction of the pedigree records of many of those that survived; these animals were subsequently excluded from the population of purebred horses.

After the Anschluss in 1938, Germany gained control of Austria. Almost every area of Austrian life was jeopardized, and the Lipizzans were no exception.

Because Nazi Germany mandated that daily life goes on as usual, the Spanish Riding School was compelled to maintain its performance schedule during the first few years of the Anschluss.

Not only were the stallions in Vienna at risk, but the majority of the royal herd that was stationed in Piber was also in serious danger of losing its distinctive lineages.

Relocation of the Piber stud to Hostouň

In 1942, when the royal stud farm in Piber was transformed into a facility for the Germans to produce pack animals, the Lipizzans were forced out and relocated to Hostouň (German: Hostau) in what is today the Czech Republic.

In 1941-1942, the Lipizzans of the Yugoslavian Imperial stud farms, private studs, and the stud farm at Lipizza (then part of Italy) were also relocated to Hostouň, thereby concentrating the majority of the population in one location.

After the Germans were driven from Hostouň in April of 1945, the town came under Russian control.

The town’s strategic location put it in the path of both the Soviet and American forces.

The Soviet army was famished, and it was not unusual for them to eat any available livestock.

The future of the Lippizaners was hanging in the balance.

In a miraculous turn of events, a German commander Colonel Walter H., who was fascinated with the Lipizzaner horses, decided that they had to be protected at all costs.

Risking his life, he turned himself in to the Third Army’s United States Second Cavalry, and was then brought before the commander Colonel Charles Reed to inform him of the situation.

Colonel Reed wasted no time in getting in touch with his commander, a lifelong horseman, General George S. Patton.

General Patton competed in mounted steeplechases, played polo and fox-hunted.

At the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, he competed in the first modern pentathlon and finished sixth out of 23 in the equestrian phase.

The operation was known as the Operation Cowboy, and on May 12 1945, American forces started riding, trucking, and herding the horses 35 miles (57 km) over the border into Kötzting in Germany, which was held by the United States.

Along with 375 Lipizzan horses, a total of 1,200 horses were rescued including Europe’s finest Arabian stallions, and 400 Allied prisoners of war.

Eventually, the Lipizzans were relocated to Wimsbach in Upper Austria, where they remained until the breeding stock was relocated back to Piber in 1952.

Robert Taylor starred in the 1963 film adaptation of the event that was produced by Disney and titled The Miracle of the White Stallions.

A much more detailed description of the event was depicted in the book Ghost Riders by Dr. Mark Felton, published in 2018.

The Faith of the Stallions from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna

As the conflict progressed, the Lipizzans at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna faced increasing risk from air raids.

It was soon obvious that they would have to leave the city.

In February of 1945, the Spanish Riding School was finally evacuated to the Castle of Count Anton Arco Valley in Saint-Martin in northern Austria under the direction of Colonel Podhajsky, the head rider.

This was the first time that the School had left the capital city since 1572.

The stallions were kept secure in Saint-Martin, where they were kept far out of reach of battle zones.

Lippizaners in Modern Times

In 1944, Lipizza became part of Yugoslavia and was renamed to Lipica.

By the end of 1947, there were 23 breeding horses in Lipizza, and work had started on recreating the old herd.

In 1947, the Lipizzans that were sent to Hostouň from Lipizza (then Italy) were brought back to Italy and placed at a stud farm Monterotondo, close to Rome.

The horses returned from Germany to Austria and ultimately Piber in 1952, where they continue to live to this day.

Today, the Piber Federal Stud employs 52 people, and has 60,000 visitors per year, who may see horse training sessions at the riding arena, visit the stables, and participate in special activities for children.

In more recent times, the civil war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s destroyed many herds in that region.

After declaring independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the Republic of Slovenia now operates the Lipizza stud farm.

Today, there are 6 classical lines named after the foundation sires (Neaplitano, Maestoso, Conversano, Pluto, Favory, Siglavy),

There are also 2 additional lines, one from Croatia, the youngest sire line of the Lipizzan breed, called Tulipan, and the other – bred in Transylvania, and sold to the Hungarian stud farm Mezőhegyes – by the name Incitato.

Several more stallion lineages have died out through time, but were employed in the early breeding stages.

Additionally, there were 20 “classic” mare lines, 14 of which still exist today.

However, many Lipizzan groups acknowledge up to 35 mare lineages.

There are about 12,300 Lipizzan horses currently registered in the world under the Lipizzan International Federation.

If you’re interested in learning more about this fascinating breed, keep reading!

Alternative Names

“Lipizzan horse”

Temperament/Personality

Gentle, friendly, highly trainable and intelligent, but stubborn

Physical Characteristics

The head lacks refinement, and features a Roman nose.

The eyes are large and expressive, and the ears are small.

The neck is crested, and shoulders are powerful.

The hind quarters are muscular.

The legs are strong with well-defined tendons and joints.

The overall body is sturdy and they have a proud carriage.

Colors

The most common color is gray, and black and brown occur rarely.

Gray Lipizzaners are born dark (black-brown, brown, or mouse-gray), and they gradually lighten with age until their coat is white between the ages 6 and 10.

Height (size)

14.2 – 15.2 hands high

Stallions

n/a

Mares

n/a

Weight

1,000 – 1,300 pounds (450 to 590 kg)

Blood Type

Warm

Common Uses

Spanish Riding School in Vienna, dressage, driving, general riding

Health

n/a

Popular Traits

Roman nose, white coat

Feeding/Diet

n/a

Country of Origin

Former Austro-Hungarian Empire (present day Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary)

Ancestors

Local Karst horses, Spanish horses, Arabian, Neapolitan horses