A comprehensive and fascinating history of the Friesian breed can be found on the web site for the Friesian registry. We recommend that every Friesian admirer read this authoritative information. Go to www.kfps.nl  Select English language. Put your cursor on “Home” in the left column and click on “History”.

The Friesian horse has a long and romantic history. The breed developed many centuries ago in Friesland, in Northwestern Europe, which is now a part of The Netherlands. By the early Middles Ages, the horse was already known by the name of the area in which it originated. Because of their strength and agility Friesians were coveted war horses and they carried knights in the Crusades and into battle.

Originally descended from Equus robustus (big horse), Andalusian blood was introduced during the 16th and 17th centuries when Spanish stallions were left on the battlefields during Thirty Years War between the Dutch and Spanish. This gave the Friesian horse higher knee action, a relatively small head and an arching neck.

Throughout the ages breeding horses and dealing in them was very important to the Friesian people. Before the Reformation, monks in many Friesian monasteries were skilled horsebreeders.

At various times in their long history the versatile Friesians were used in the classical riding schools of Europe, were bred as racing trotters, were included in royal stables as elegant coach horses, thrilled European crowds as circus horses and also had to perform as light draft and all-purpose horses. 

In spite of its long history, the Friesian breed almost died out by the mid-1960’s. But after regaining some visibility in its native Friesland, the Friesian horse soon appeared on the international driving scene. That fueled a strong revival for the breed and in 1974 the first importations of modern times were made to North America. 


Friesian horses now number in the tens of thousands and are found on every inhabited continent. The greatest number of Friesians is still in its native Netherlands, but Germany has thousands of Friesian horses and the Friesian population in North America is growing rapidly. We can expect that the breed will continue to grow steadily in popularity as more and more people discover the magnificent Friesian horse.

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