If you’ve ever perused a collection of Baroque-era European portraits, chances are you’ve come across at least one painting which depicts a finely-dressed nobleman or lady on a tall, muscular and elegant mount. European horsemanship dates back thousands of years, and some experts have argued that evidence from unearthed horse teeth in Ukraine reveals horseback riding in Europe as early as 4000 B.C.[1] But by the 17th century, a wide array of horse breeds had been developed for specific purposes and often under the explicit sanction of local or national governments. Horses, and horse breeding, underpinned rapidly growing European economies, to say nothing of their foundational roles in European militaries. The term “cavaliers”, for example, was coined in reference to the highly-skilled noble horsemen who supported English King Charles I (r. 1625 – 1649) throughout the English Civil War.
But for Europe’s monarchies, horsemanship was a matter of both war and leisure. Louis XIV (r. 1643 – 1715) commissioned the “Great and Small Stables” at the Versailles palace grounds where as many as two thousand horses were stabled in the care of 1,500 “squires, pages, coachmen, postilions, footmen, lads, messengers, chair bearers, stablemen, blacksmiths, saddlers, tack manufacturers, chaplains, musicians and horse surgeons”.[2] Many of these horses were bred solely for hunting game, a wildly popular pastime for the French royal family throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.[3] A modern Equestrian Academy exists at Versailles today, and is available for public tours and equestrian shows.
But which horses would one likely find at the vast stables of Versailles, or those of the German princes, or the Italian and English dukes, or even the Pope himself? Below are some of the horse breeds which might have grazed throughout these noble estates, always ready to gallop after a stag or whisk their master into a smoky battlefield.
The Friesian
Avid watchers of Game of Thrones will recognize this stunning breed. Originally a Dutch breed from the Friesland province, Friesians have been renowned for their beauty, strength, and energetic yet gentle natures for hundreds of years. This breed is “recognized by its upright, noble carriage, its black hair coat, its long thick mane, tail and forelock, and the trademark feathers on its lower legs”.[4] Friesians in the medieval period were sought after as war horses given their power, weight and size (15 – 17 hands, depending on breeding lines).[5] William the Conqueror reportedly rode Friesian horses (or perhaps the breed’s forebears) into the Battle of Hastings during the 11th century.
Later in the 17th century, Friesians may have been among the first horse breeds introduced to North America via the Dutch-controlled New Amsterdam, later New York, where they influenced future American horse breeding lines.[6] The original Friesian was cross-bred with Spanish Andalusian and Arabian breeding lines during the Baroque period in Europe, and Friesians grew in popularity for non-militant roles – particularly royal riding schools and dressage.[7] The Friesian’s flowing, wavy locks and feathered feet present a quintessentially regal profile, and these horses regularly appear in historical television and film as well as international dressage and other equine competitions.
You can learn more, and see majestic Friesians in action here.
The Andalusian
The Andalusian also originates in the Middle Ages but was exclusive to the Iberian peninsula, reportedly nurtured by Carthusian monks who were entrusted with the breed’s development.[8] The Andalusian is approximately as tall as the Friesian, but are generally lighter in weight and better suited for speed. The breed is considered highly athletic, intelligent and docile, and can appear in a wide range of colors (although the standard white or gray are most common).[9]
Andalusians became popular in early modern Europe as war horses, particularly as heavily armored knights from the medieval period gave way to mounted cavalries with the advent of firearms. The Andalusian soon became “the royal horse of Europe” throughout the courts and noble houses of the continent.[10] In the mid-17th century, the English Duke of Newcastle reportedly lauded the Andalusian as “the noblest horse in the world, the most beautiful that can be. He is of great spirit and of great courage and docile; hath the proudest trot and the best action in his trot, the loftiest gallop, and is the lovingest and gentlest horse, and fittest of all for a king in his day of triumph.”[11] Today, Andalusians are a rare (but highly sought after) breed, and have influenced a broad range of newer horse breeds throughout Europe and the Americas.
The Thoroughbred
Even a casual observer of horses, or anyone who has ever watched the Kentucky Derby, is familiar with the Thoroughbred. The Thoroughbred is well known for its nimble, lean and muscular build, and is usually solid-colored in brown, black or gray and often bears white markings (such as “stars” on the forehead). Although English and American Thoroughbreds became more common (and famous) in the 19th and 20th centuries, their origins date back to the late 1600s with an English program of cross-breeding a trio of Middle Eastern stallions with forty-three English mares.[12] These “Royal Mares” had been imported under the reigns of James I (r. 1603 – 1625) and Charles I, and ultimately produced the Thoroughbred’s earliest breeding lines.[13]
Unlike other breeds, which were originally sought after for military use, the Thoroughbred was developed among British nobility specifically for horseracing. The sport surged in popularity during the 17th and 18th centuries throughout the United Kingdom and the new United States (although imported Thoroughbreds in North America pre-dated the American War for Independence by over four decades).[14] While Thoroughbreds are still most prominent today on the racing track, they are found in a variety of disciplines including polo, endurance sports, dressage and occasionally jumping. Healthy, spirited former racehorses (whose careers are often confined to the first few years of their lives) often excel in these other disciplines.
The Lipizzan
The Lipizzan, or Lipizzaner, is famous for its breathtaking agility and ballet-like performance in equine competition. These horses are known for their almost exclusively white coats, which typically develop from a darker birth color as the horses mature. The breed’s origin owes exclusively to the influence of the 16th century Spanish and Austrian Hapsburgs who required a fast, athletic horse capable of success in Renaissance-era warfare as well as royal Hapsburg riding schools.[15] The first Hapsburg stud farm for the earliest Lipizzans was established by Archduke Charles II at Lipizza, Italy in 1580, earning the breed its name. These early breed lines were developed from the “Spanish Horse”, a cross-breed of Middle Eastern and Iberian horses.[16] In the 17th century, the Lipizzan became nearly synonymous with the Hapsburgs’ Spanish Riding School, founded in Vienna in 1572, which still trains riders and horses today.[17] Young noblemen in the 16th and 17th centuries were expected to train in the intricate, highly technical art of “classical riding”, at which the supple Lipizzan horse excelled. During this era, the exacting standards of the “Haute Ecole” or High School of classical riding, were established, requiring Lipizzans and their riders to achieve “[m]ovements such as pirouettes, piaffe, and passage…at the highest level of training.”[18]
Despite their exalted status at the Hapsburg court in Vienna for centuries, the Lipizzan was nearly rendered extinct by the violence of World War II. In a remarkable quirk of history, US General George Patton played a critical role in rescuing 350 threatened Lipizzans from Hostau in what is today the Czech Republic. In May 1945, “Operation Cowboy” saw the herd safely ferried via railways to Bavaria, then under US control, arguably saving the breed from relegation to history books.[19] Today, Lipizzans remain a rare breed with just a few thousand purebred horses worldwide, but they continue to astonish audiences with their exceptional agility and showmanship.
The Arabian
No discussion of European horsemanship could be complete without acknowledging the importance and influence of the Arabian. The Arabian is easily recognizable for its sloped, concave head and bright, intelligent eyes. These horses, as their name suggests, originated in the Middle East and are among the oldest and most storied horse breeds in the world. Compared to some of the heavier European breeds like the Friesian, Arabians are relatively small, lightweight and nimble horses with exceptional endurance capabilities due to unusually large lung capacities.[20] These qualities made the Arabian horse invaluable to Bedouin and other Arab tribes from antiquity through today; the prophet Mohammed, notably, revered the breed and instructed that the horses be especially well-treated and highly valued.[21] Experts have argued:
“The very nature of the breed, its shape as well as its color, was influenced by religious belief, superstition and tradition. It was believed that the bulging forehead held the blessings of Allah. Therefore the greater the ‘Jibbah’ the greater the blessings carried by the horse. The great arching neck with a high crest, the ‘Mitbah’ was a sign of courage, while a gaily-carried tail showed pride. These traits were held in high esteem and selectively bred for.”[22]
European crusaders had been exposed to the legendary breed and its manifold beneficial qualities during the Middle Ages, but the 1600s saw official breeding efforts to import Arabians into Europe and integrate them with native, often heavier, horse stocks. The Thoroughbred was among the breeds to benefit from this infusion of Arabians into the continent in the latter part of the 17th century, but the Arabian influenced a number of European breeds, such as the French Percheron, as well as American breeds after the first Arabian stallion arrived in Virginia in 1725.[23] In addition to cross-breeding, Europeans and Americans came to value purebred Arabians for military roles. George Washington and Napoleon, among many other generals, favored the Arabian in battle. Today, Arabians excel in an array of equine sports and disciplines, although (true to their heritage) these horses still dominate trail and endurance competitions the world over.
For anyone fortunate enough to have owned or ridden any of these horse breeds, it is easy to understand why they were so favored by the royals and upper nobility of early modern Europe and why they are sought after today despite the vastly different roles that horses play in our lives. In many ways, horses represent a living record of human history, given their vast influence on our development as a species and especially our interactions with one another. Hopefully, these astonishing breeds will remain with us, as a part of our story in centuries past, for centuries to come.
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[1] David Anthony, Dimitri Y. Telegin and Dorcas Brown, “The Origin of Horseback Riding”, Scientific American, Vol. 265, No. 6 (December 1991), pp. 94-101.
[2] The Chateau of Versailles. “The Royal Stables”, “https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/royal-stables.
[3] The Chateau of Versailles, “Horses at Versailles: From the 17th to the 21st Century”, https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/horses-versailles#the-kings-horses.
[4] United States Equestrian Foundation, “Friesian”, https://www.usef.org/compete/breeds/friesian.
[5] Fédération Équestre Internationale, “The Fairy Tale Friesian,” March 16, 2020, https://www.fei.org/stories/lifestyle/horse-human/horse-friesian-breed-profile.
[6] Audrey Pavia, “The Friesian Horse,” Horse Illustrated, November 19, 2021, https://www.horseillustrated.com/friesian-breed-profile.
[7] The Friesian Horse Society, “Friesian History,” https://friesianhorsesociety.com/friesian-history/.
[8] United States Equestrian Foundation, “Andalusian/Lusitano”, https://www.usef.org/compete/breeds/andalusian-lusitano
[9] Ibid.
[10] International Museum of the Horse, “Andalusian”, http://imh.org/exhibits/past/breeds-of-the-world/europe/andalusian/.
[11] Ibid.
[12] International Museum of the Horse, “Thoroughbred,” http://imh.org/exhibits/past/breeds-of-the-world/europe/thoroughbred/.
[13] The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, “Thoroughbred,” https://www.britannica.com/animal/Thoroughbred.
[14] Horse Canada, “Thoroughbreds,” https://horse-canada.com/breeds/thoroughbred/.
[15] Lipizzan Association of North America, “Origins and History of the Lipizzan Horse,” http://www.lipizzan.org/aboutlipizzans.html.
[16] Ibid.
[17] The Tempel Lipizzans. “The History of the Lipizzan Breed,” https://www.tempelfarms.com/the-history-of-the-lipizzan.html.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid.
[20] United States Equestrian Federation, “Arabian”, https://www.usef.org/learning-center/breed/arabian.
[21] Arabian Horse Association, “Arabian Horses,” https://www.arabianhorses.org/discover/arabian-horses/#History.
[22] Ibid.
[23] International Museum of the Horse, “Arabian”, http://imh.org/exhibits/past/breeds-of-the-world/asia/arabian/