- Every horse lover who has seen them is captivated by the Lipizzaners of the Spanish Riding School. Watching the Lipizzaner stallions perform with their riders dressed in brown tails is an unforgettable experience. The Lipizzaners are one of the worlds olders breeds of horses in the world. They have been bred specifically for the Spanish Riding School for over four hundred years. The school was founded in 1572 to instruct noblemen in classical horseback riding.
- Outside of Vienne, Lipizzaners are also bred in many of the countries that used to be part of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although the Lipizzaners originated from the Andalusian line, other ancestors include Arabian, Neapolitan and Kladruber horses.
- During the Baroque era (the seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth centuries), Spanish horses were considered to be the best thoroughbred riding and carriage horses. Ownership of these horses was a status symbol in all the royal courts of Europe. The Spanish horses, also known as Andalusians, were a cross between the heavy, native horses of Spain and the horses belonging to the Berbers of Arabia. The Berbers came to Spain in the eight century, when Spain was conquered by the Moors. When it eventually became too expensive to import horses for the royal stables directly from Spain, many European courts began to establish their own breeding areas.
Lipizzaner Facts
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