| The Lipizzan is a rare breed with less than 4500 existing worldwide. Originally breed by the Habsburg Monarchy during the Renaissance, this magical breed still enchants people today. The Lipizzan is an extremely athletic horse capable of many disciplines. The Lipizzan is a late maturing horse that can often work well into their 20's and live well into their 30's. Contact us to see a Lipizzan today! |
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| With your help, including questions and suggestions, I'd like to begin a "Lipizzaner FAQ" as it's called on the Internet: a compendium of Frequently-Asked Questions about the breed. Please don't hesitate to send in the questions you are asked most frequently, and if you have favorite answers (including great one-liners), send 'em on. You can send them to me, Judith Tarr, through this websites contact page c/o the or e-mail me directly at capriole@gmail.com |
Q: I've been reading up on Lipizzans, thinking about buying one, and I keep coming across all these condemnations of Lipizzan
mares. Even Podhajsky said they're inferior to mares of other breeds, and had nothing good to say about them. Are they really that
bad? Should I totally exclude mares when I go looking for my first Lipizzan?
A: Absolutely not! My first Lipizzan was (and is) a mare, and I wouldn't have her any other way. I love mares. As much as I love the boys,
when it comes right down to it, I'm a mare person.
So what's with the bad press? One accusation is that they're "not strong enough for dressage." My reply to that is, in a breed as rare as this one,
where the best mares tend to be pulled out of the riding ranks and put to work making more Lipizzans, it's seriously illogical to condemn these hard-
working ladies for not being dressage stars as well as baby machines. It's also illogical to contend that inferior mares will consistently produce
superior stallions. Mares are not simply containers for the stallion's offspring. They contribute 50% of the genetic material plus all the gestation and
nurture of the foal. Just as in any breed, from great mares come great stallions.
My personal and purely idiosyncratic theory for the bad rep of the ladies is that they are, by nature, less tractable than their sons and brothers. They
have strong opinions, distinct personalities, and zero idiot tolerance. The boys will put up with a lot more pushing around than the ladies will. You
can tell a gelding, so the adage goes, and discuss with a stallion, but you ask a mare. And being a mare, she may just tell you to go away, leave her
alone; she's busy ruling the universe. This is a problem for the more masterful kind of trainer. As challenging as a stallion or gelding can be, the
mare's refusal to capitulate unless you've truly won her respect can be seriously injurious to the trainer's ego. These are even poorer candidates for
assembly-line training programs than the boys. They need sensitivity and perception, and a willingness to be flexible in your methods--if something
has worked for other horses, you can't force it on your Lipizzan mare if she decides she's not going to play.
I've been told that "Lipizzan mares resent anything that takes them away from making babies. If you can find one that actually wants to do
dressage, cherish her--she's rare." If that's the case, then I must have every dressage-prone mare in the breed, because all of mine have the same
strong tropism toward dressage that the boys do. Male or female, they all show their breeding. They know what they were designed for.
Longtime breeder Cele Noble said to me once of our mares: "They're all queens." And so they are. Ride them well, treat them as they feel they
deserve, and they're wonderful. They make superior lesson horses, once out of their lively youth they're excellent babysitters, and they make
exceptional therapeutic mounts. And yes, if they're not kept constantly barefoot and pregnant without any strengthening or conditioning, they are
strong enough for dressage!
Q: So what's with these Lipizzan stallions? What's with the mystique? It's just hype, right? Under the pretty white coats and all the
propaganda, they're just horses. They're not any different than any other horse.
A: That's a very good question. It's not the look, which can be very unfashionable, what with the convex profile, the big neck, the spherical
body, the short legs, and the fact that the majority of our stallions are quite a bit on the short side by modern standards--let's face it, when we call
them Short Fat White Ponies (as some of us lovingly do), we're pretty accurate. And no, it's not the Vienna Mystique, either, as powerful as that
can be for those of us who spent our childhoods dreaming of dancing white horses.
The Old Masters of classical riding contended that the stallion is the best (if not indeed the only) horse for the arts of the high school. He has the
greatest fire, the strongest presence, and the most intense focus, and his performance has the most brio. Geldings in gaining docility lose the fire.
Mares, they say, don't have what it takes, see first question). Neither of them has the sheer physical strength that the muscular mass of a stallion
can produce.
Still, that's true of any stallion. What is it about the Lipizzan that makes him special? I believe that it's the mind of the horse. We all know and love
the distinctive personality of the Lipizzan: the high intelligence, the extreme sensitivity, and the intense focus on the world around him and the people
who interact with him. These are strong-willed, high-spirited horses, but they are calm-minded and profoundly sensible.
Stallions bring to this an extra fire, a special brilliance, and also, in many cases, a peculiar and powerful sweetness. People just love them, and they
are profoundly lovable. They reward the rider's devotion with a deep devotion of their own. They embody the conception of riding as a
partnership. They demand a great deal of the rider; they tend to be more sensitive and reactive than mares and geldings, and their responses
(assisted by their greater physical strength) can be more extreme--plus of course there are their powerful herd and breeding instincts. And yet once
you win your stallion's respect and gain his loyalty, he becomes the Fred Astaire of dance partners. He gives you everything he has--with that
inimitable Lipizzan intelligence and willingness to work.
Stallions, like Lipizzans in general, are not for everyone. But for those who can deal with their special needs and requirements, the Old Masters were
right--they really are extraordinary to ride and train. Plus of course, after all, they have that magic. The Lipizzan stallion is, when it comes down to
it, the ultimate representative of his breed.
Have a question for Judith? Send it to capriole@gmail.comQ: Everybody tells me Lipizzans are no different from any other smart, sensitive horse.
They kept telling me their Arabian, their Quarter Horse, their Thoroughbred, their Warmblood, their whatever acts just like this, and I'm just getting
carried away by the mystique. How do I explain to them that there are times when this horse just does not act normally, and whatever I try to do
with him that worked with my Arabian/Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred/Warmblood/ whatever is pretty much a total disaster?
A: You can't explain. Nobody who hasn't been there will understand. What you can do is accept that these are not horses, they are Space Aliens
in horse suits, and just smile and be polite to the "MY Horse Does That TOO" crowd.
The following things are completely normal for a Lipizzan:
-They're smart. I believe that in general they're about as bright as a three-year-old human child. They're not so good on abstracts, but concrete
concepts get through just fine.
-They're sensitive. You can't bully a Lipizzan. Either he shuts down and turns to stone, or you discover that he really is genetically predisposed
toward the Airs Above the Ground. He is also a warhorse, which means that where another horse might run, he may stand and fight. This can
backfire severely with trainers who view horses as purely flight animals, and don't allow for a horse who fights back.
-They understand English (or French or German or Spanish or whatever language you like to speak to your horse). You can talk to them,
and in fact explaining a new exercise before you execute it can be very helpful. If you treat your Lipizzan like a fellow sentient being, he'll respond
in kind.
-They are powerful one-man horses, sometimes to the point of trouble. They do not generalize from the Chosen Human to anyone else, and have
to be taught to acknowledge any other human's right to tell them what to do. This is a great deal of fun in a boarding situation, as too many of us
know.
-They have really low idiot tolerance. Inept handling on the ground and poor or imprecise riding will result in a horse who is difficult or
impossible to handle. This is particularly evident in connection with vets and farriers. (My first Lipizzan ran through three or four farriers in her first
year. How many have you had so far?)
Here we are, back again, with one of the most frequently perpetrated myths about our favorite breed.
Q: My trainer says Lipizzans can't do dressage. He's disgusted that I insist on buying one of those dinky little things (his words). Is
he right? Should I just forget about it?
A: Certainly not. But you might want to consider changing trainers.
So why is this belief so prevalent? My response at first was a stunned silence. The horse for whom and by whom the art of dressage was
invented, "can't do dressage"? Is "just a circus horse"? Just isn't suitable for "real dressage"? What can these people possibly mean by that?
Usually I've found that they mean competition dressage. Let's walk delicately around the brawl over Classical versus Competition, and look at the
average horse pictured in, say, Dressage Today. He's big. He's brown. He's a Warmblood of some variety or other. He's nearly always depicted in
the show ring, one foreleg at its fullest extent, performing an "extended" trot.
You interject, "My trainer said Lipizzans can't extend!"
But of course they can. A true extension comes from collection. Lipizzans are born and bred to collect. They also have a free shoulder and a
strong, supple back. What they don't have is height. And long legs, which can be thrown a good foot farther out front even while the hindlegs are
paddlewheeling along in the next county. They're smallish, short-legged, cobby horses, and as such, won't impress judges with the sheer size of
their stride.
Does this mean they can't compete, let alone win? Not a bit. If they're ridden and trained correctly, they'll show very well, especially now that the
"average" dressage horse is getting smaller, lighter, and less exaggerated in size and movement. And, because they're built and designed for
collection, and have the mind to go with it, the higher they go, the more suitable they are. They're not the best horses to spend a life at training and
first level with, but once collection enters the equation, they have an increasing advantage. Nor need they be short little choppy movers, either.
Many Lipizzans being bred these days can compete favorably with Warmbloods in that department—they win scores of 8 and 9 for their movement,
as well as delighting judges with their brilliance and stage presence.
Go ahead and buy that lovely-moving Lipizzan with the great mind and the willing attitude. Who knows, your trainer might actually become a
convert. It's happened before, many times, and I'm positive it will happen again
So you want to buy a Lipizzan. But you have, you think, a problem.
Q: I'm 5'7" and long-legged. I need a horse at least 16 hands tall, or I look ridiculous. Is there any such thing as a 17-hand Lipizzan?
A: Yes, occasionally, but you probably don't want him. He's either got the turning radius of the Queen Mary, or nine-tenths of his height is legs.
So do you have to give up your dream of owning a dancing white horse?
Not at all. Yes, the breed standard calls for a horse between 14.2 and 15.2 hands, and strongly discourages horses over 15.3 from being bred—the
reason being, according to the experts from Austria, that over that height, the horses begin to lose piaffe and the Airs. But the reason for that is also
the reason why you don't have to worry. A Lipizzan over 15.3 is a big, massive horse. I have a personal formula that seems to work for any but
the most refined Lipizzan: to calculate the relative body mass of a Lipizzan versus a horse of most other riding-horse breeds, add 4-6 inches to the
measured height of the horse.
Lipizzans are deep-bodied and short-legged, with well-sprung ribcages. Many of them are also quite scopey movers, with a long stride for their
height. I have known 14.2-hand Lipizzans who took up more of the rider's leg than a well-built, 16-hand Thoroughbred, and wore a bigger blanket,
too. My 14.2-hand mare, for example, is a solid 80, and takes a Large Horse halter. My 14.3-hand, somewhat long-backed mare needs an extra six
inches or so in spacing for ground poles, because the average spacing is too short for her. She can use the same saddle—including the same girth—
as my trainer's 16.2-hand Hannoverian longe horse. And she's fairly lightly built, for a Lipizzan.
Lipizzans are big little horses. They've been carrying full-grown Austrian men without looking either stunted or absurd for over four centuries now,
and one can hope they'll be doing so for another four hundred years. Personally I find it delightful to have a horse who moves with the suspension
and scope of a Warmblood, but who is short enough that I can see over his back when I groom him. The ride is as big as you could want—and
with your height and inseam, if he's a good, deep-bodied 15 hands or so, you won't look silly on him, either. He'll take up that long leg, balance it
with a good length of neck and body, and even give you that tiny-rider-on-huge-horse look that is so much in fashion for dressage these days.
mares. Even Podhajsky said they're inferior to mares of other breeds, and had nothing good to say about them. Are they really that
bad? Should I totally exclude mares when I go looking for my first Lipizzan?
A: Absolutely not! My first Lipizzan was (and is) a mare, and I wouldn't have her any other way. I love mares. As much as I love the boys,
when it comes right down to it, I'm a mare person.
So what's with the bad press? One accusation is that they're "not strong enough for dressage." My reply to that is, in a breed as rare as this one,
where the best mares tend to be pulled out of the riding ranks and put to work making more Lipizzans, it's seriously illogical to condemn these hard-
working ladies for not being dressage stars as well as baby machines. It's also illogical to contend that inferior mares will consistently produce
superior stallions. Mares are not simply containers for the stallion's offspring. They contribute 50% of the genetic material plus all the gestation and
nurture of the foal. Just as in any breed, from great mares come great stallions.
My personal and purely idiosyncratic theory for the bad rep of the ladies is that they are, by nature, less tractable than their sons and brothers. They
have strong opinions, distinct personalities, and zero idiot tolerance. The boys will put up with a lot more pushing around than the ladies will. You
can tell a gelding, so the adage goes, and discuss with a stallion, but you ask a mare. And being a mare, she may just tell you to go away, leave her
alone; she's busy ruling the universe. This is a problem for the more masterful kind of trainer. As challenging as a stallion or gelding can be, the
mare's refusal to capitulate unless you've truly won her respect can be seriously injurious to the trainer's ego. These are even poorer candidates for
assembly-line training programs than the boys. They need sensitivity and perception, and a willingness to be flexible in your methods--if something
has worked for other horses, you can't force it on your Lipizzan mare if she decides she's not going to play.
I've been told that "Lipizzan mares resent anything that takes them away from making babies. If you can find one that actually wants to do
dressage, cherish her--she's rare." If that's the case, then I must have every dressage-prone mare in the breed, because all of mine have the same
strong tropism toward dressage that the boys do. Male or female, they all show their breeding. They know what they were designed for.
Longtime breeder Cele Noble said to me once of our mares: "They're all queens." And so they are. Ride them well, treat them as they feel they
deserve, and they're wonderful. They make superior lesson horses, once out of their lively youth they're excellent babysitters, and they make
exceptional therapeutic mounts. And yes, if they're not kept constantly barefoot and pregnant without any strengthening or conditioning, they are
strong enough for dressage!
Q: So what's with these Lipizzan stallions? What's with the mystique? It's just hype, right? Under the pretty white coats and all the
propaganda, they're just horses. They're not any different than any other horse.
A: That's a very good question. It's not the look, which can be very unfashionable, what with the convex profile, the big neck, the spherical
body, the short legs, and the fact that the majority of our stallions are quite a bit on the short side by modern standards--let's face it, when we call
them Short Fat White Ponies (as some of us lovingly do), we're pretty accurate. And no, it's not the Vienna Mystique, either, as powerful as that
can be for those of us who spent our childhoods dreaming of dancing white horses.
The Old Masters of classical riding contended that the stallion is the best (if not indeed the only) horse for the arts of the high school. He has the
greatest fire, the strongest presence, and the most intense focus, and his performance has the most brio. Geldings in gaining docility lose the fire.
Mares, they say, don't have what it takes, see first question). Neither of them has the sheer physical strength that the muscular mass of a stallion
can produce.
Still, that's true of any stallion. What is it about the Lipizzan that makes him special? I believe that it's the mind of the horse. We all know and love
the distinctive personality of the Lipizzan: the high intelligence, the extreme sensitivity, and the intense focus on the world around him and the people
who interact with him. These are strong-willed, high-spirited horses, but they are calm-minded and profoundly sensible.
Stallions bring to this an extra fire, a special brilliance, and also, in many cases, a peculiar and powerful sweetness. People just love them, and they
are profoundly lovable. They reward the rider's devotion with a deep devotion of their own. They embody the conception of riding as a
partnership. They demand a great deal of the rider; they tend to be more sensitive and reactive than mares and geldings, and their responses
(assisted by their greater physical strength) can be more extreme--plus of course there are their powerful herd and breeding instincts. And yet once
you win your stallion's respect and gain his loyalty, he becomes the Fred Astaire of dance partners. He gives you everything he has--with that
inimitable Lipizzan intelligence and willingness to work.
Stallions, like Lipizzans in general, are not for everyone. But for those who can deal with their special needs and requirements, the Old Masters were
right--they really are extraordinary to ride and train. Plus of course, after all, they have that magic. The Lipizzan stallion is, when it comes down to
it, the ultimate representative of his breed.
Have a question for Judith? Send it to capriole@gmail.comQ: Everybody tells me Lipizzans are no different from any other smart, sensitive horse.
They kept telling me their Arabian, their Quarter Horse, their Thoroughbred, their Warmblood, their whatever acts just like this, and I'm just getting
carried away by the mystique. How do I explain to them that there are times when this horse just does not act normally, and whatever I try to do
with him that worked with my Arabian/Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred/Warmblood/ whatever is pretty much a total disaster?
A: You can't explain. Nobody who hasn't been there will understand. What you can do is accept that these are not horses, they are Space Aliens
in horse suits, and just smile and be polite to the "MY Horse Does That TOO" crowd.
The following things are completely normal for a Lipizzan:
-They're smart. I believe that in general they're about as bright as a three-year-old human child. They're not so good on abstracts, but concrete
concepts get through just fine.
-They're sensitive. You can't bully a Lipizzan. Either he shuts down and turns to stone, or you discover that he really is genetically predisposed
toward the Airs Above the Ground. He is also a warhorse, which means that where another horse might run, he may stand and fight. This can
backfire severely with trainers who view horses as purely flight animals, and don't allow for a horse who fights back.
-They understand English (or French or German or Spanish or whatever language you like to speak to your horse). You can talk to them,
and in fact explaining a new exercise before you execute it can be very helpful. If you treat your Lipizzan like a fellow sentient being, he'll respond
in kind.
-They are powerful one-man horses, sometimes to the point of trouble. They do not generalize from the Chosen Human to anyone else, and have
to be taught to acknowledge any other human's right to tell them what to do. This is a great deal of fun in a boarding situation, as too many of us
know.
-They have really low idiot tolerance. Inept handling on the ground and poor or imprecise riding will result in a horse who is difficult or
impossible to handle. This is particularly evident in connection with vets and farriers. (My first Lipizzan ran through three or four farriers in her first
year. How many have you had so far?)
Here we are, back again, with one of the most frequently perpetrated myths about our favorite breed.
Q: My trainer says Lipizzans can't do dressage. He's disgusted that I insist on buying one of those dinky little things (his words). Is
he right? Should I just forget about it?
A: Certainly not. But you might want to consider changing trainers.
So why is this belief so prevalent? My response at first was a stunned silence. The horse for whom and by whom the art of dressage was
invented, "can't do dressage"? Is "just a circus horse"? Just isn't suitable for "real dressage"? What can these people possibly mean by that?
Usually I've found that they mean competition dressage. Let's walk delicately around the brawl over Classical versus Competition, and look at the
average horse pictured in, say, Dressage Today. He's big. He's brown. He's a Warmblood of some variety or other. He's nearly always depicted in
the show ring, one foreleg at its fullest extent, performing an "extended" trot.
You interject, "My trainer said Lipizzans can't extend!"
But of course they can. A true extension comes from collection. Lipizzans are born and bred to collect. They also have a free shoulder and a
strong, supple back. What they don't have is height. And long legs, which can be thrown a good foot farther out front even while the hindlegs are
paddlewheeling along in the next county. They're smallish, short-legged, cobby horses, and as such, won't impress judges with the sheer size of
their stride.
Does this mean they can't compete, let alone win? Not a bit. If they're ridden and trained correctly, they'll show very well, especially now that the
"average" dressage horse is getting smaller, lighter, and less exaggerated in size and movement. And, because they're built and designed for
collection, and have the mind to go with it, the higher they go, the more suitable they are. They're not the best horses to spend a life at training and
first level with, but once collection enters the equation, they have an increasing advantage. Nor need they be short little choppy movers, either.
Many Lipizzans being bred these days can compete favorably with Warmbloods in that department—they win scores of 8 and 9 for their movement,
as well as delighting judges with their brilliance and stage presence.
Go ahead and buy that lovely-moving Lipizzan with the great mind and the willing attitude. Who knows, your trainer might actually become a
convert. It's happened before, many times, and I'm positive it will happen again
So you want to buy a Lipizzan. But you have, you think, a problem.
Q: I'm 5'7" and long-legged. I need a horse at least 16 hands tall, or I look ridiculous. Is there any such thing as a 17-hand Lipizzan?
A: Yes, occasionally, but you probably don't want him. He's either got the turning radius of the Queen Mary, or nine-tenths of his height is legs.
So do you have to give up your dream of owning a dancing white horse?
Not at all. Yes, the breed standard calls for a horse between 14.2 and 15.2 hands, and strongly discourages horses over 15.3 from being bred—the
reason being, according to the experts from Austria, that over that height, the horses begin to lose piaffe and the Airs. But the reason for that is also
the reason why you don't have to worry. A Lipizzan over 15.3 is a big, massive horse. I have a personal formula that seems to work for any but
the most refined Lipizzan: to calculate the relative body mass of a Lipizzan versus a horse of most other riding-horse breeds, add 4-6 inches to the
measured height of the horse.
Lipizzans are deep-bodied and short-legged, with well-sprung ribcages. Many of them are also quite scopey movers, with a long stride for their
height. I have known 14.2-hand Lipizzans who took up more of the rider's leg than a well-built, 16-hand Thoroughbred, and wore a bigger blanket,
too. My 14.2-hand mare, for example, is a solid 80, and takes a Large Horse halter. My 14.3-hand, somewhat long-backed mare needs an extra six
inches or so in spacing for ground poles, because the average spacing is too short for her. She can use the same saddle—including the same girth—
as my trainer's 16.2-hand Hannoverian longe horse. And she's fairly lightly built, for a Lipizzan.
Lipizzans are big little horses. They've been carrying full-grown Austrian men without looking either stunted or absurd for over four centuries now,
and one can hope they'll be doing so for another four hundred years. Personally I find it delightful to have a horse who moves with the suspension
and scope of a Warmblood, but who is short enough that I can see over his back when I groom him. The ride is as big as you could want—and
with your height and inseam, if he's a good, deep-bodied 15 hands or so, you won't look silly on him, either. He'll take up that long leg, balance it
with a good length of neck and body, and even give you that tiny-rider-on-huge-horse look that is so much in fashion for dressage these days.
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