With such a great response from last weeks blog, we thought this week would be a fantastic opportunity to continue on with the theme of how to train a Friesian…

So many people ask me – how is a Friesian different to train as compared to a normal horse? So I thought I would outline the five things I think about and have learned with working with the breed. 

1. Size

When you train a Friesian, you need to know that they are heavier than a normal horse, and get tired more quickly. 

So to trot and canter them for 20 minutes just to warm up might not be what they need. It’s actually hard to paint all Friesians with the same brush. Certainly Abe doesn’t work long, but on some mares I have worked them for an hour and they have handled it fine. These have generally been a hotter type of mare and also not as heavy. But for your typical Friesian, short and intense work is better than long and drawn out.

So people laugh at me when I say I train Abe for 35 minutes - 

• 5 mins walk on a loose rein to warm-up, 
• 5 mins round, long and low trot and canter warm up, 
• 15 mins work on exercises, 
• 5 mins long and low to cool down,
• 5 min walk cool down on loose rein.

I have found over all the years that suits him the best. 

Sometimes we work longer, sometimes we work even shorter, but that is the average.

You need to remember the horse must be kept fresh. The biggest thing with a Friesian is they tend to become lazy and behind the leg, so you must keep them fresh and active.

Also they are very intelligent – you must always be doing different exercises, different school figures to keep their brain interested.

2. Using Their Back

The Friesian can come out with a very high neck and not using their back at all. This can confuse some people into thinking their horse is ‘on the bit’ – however, the horse is not through to the contact at all, and not using his back. 

They need to be trained to lift the back, and use their bodies correctly. Remember they came from being cart horses and pulling things, and now we are asking them to be dressage horses and carry instead. So they need to be taught how to do this and their muscles slowly developed.

3. Forward is so important.

Friesians can become lazy and behind the leg if you let them. You need to make sure you are training a quick response from the leg, and that they are reactive and energetic to it. Like I said – don’t overwork the Friesian as they will get tired, and lose their quick and light response. 

4. Friesians have big hearts – they need attention. 

One of the most important things I have noticed is that you can’t treat them as another horse, another number. 

They have immense pride and love and want to be treated as special, and to bond with you. I ride up to 5 horses a day and I need to make sure each one gets some love

5. Reward. 

I have found the Friesians are like the labradors of the horse world, and love to be told they are doing the right thing. Some love praise in the form of pats or scratches, and others will do anything for you for food.  

They will try their heart out for you if they know you will love and respect them for it. Reward your Friesian often and he will try harder and do even more for you.

To Your Success,

Natasha Althoff

p.s. I would love to help you out, wherever you are in your riding journey!!  So for this weekend, from Friday 24th Feb 5pm until Sunday 26th Feb 10pm, I will be available, right here online, to answer ANY questions you post on my Your Riding Success facebook page! So if you have any riding or Friesian questions, or if you just want to know what I eat for breakfast, I will be totally open and giving of all secrets, knowledge and experience to help you get what you need – click here to go to the facebook page now, and click on ‘like’ so that you don’t miss out!

I had the Horse Physio out to see the boys, and we were chatting about the way Friesians tend to ride – which is up front and tending to be quite short in the neck.

She was looking at Achillies, our young 3 1/2yo stallion and I was explaining to her, that all we do with him in the first year is to teach him how to get his neck out and away from him and then down and round in a long deep frame.

This is can be a hard thing for young Friesians as they are so used to going short. The minute you take up a contact they suck back – and yes, it might ‘look’ like they are ‘on the bit’ but they so are not!!!!

Here is the first ride I had on a Friesian broodmare in over a year. In this shot she has come short and behind the bit

When I ride, I rarely care about the head if it’s up or whatever. I’m riding the back part, the engine, the important part! Because riders can’t see it, sometimes it is easy to forget about it! But this is where all the good stuff is! If you have a horse that is relaxed through the back, active hindlegs, and using the back half properly, the head is where it needs to be – it simply must be!

And here is the same horse, same ride where I have pushed her back out to take the contact

I call it ride back to front! But if you ride front to back, and only concern yourself and worry about the neck – well, you can get it to ‘look’ kinda right, but the back will be tight and the hindlegs traveling out behind useless and it won’t ‘feel’ right.

When I was learning, I used to actually close my eyes, so I could develop feel. I got it to the point that when I ‘felt’ the horses back soften and lift, and the hindlegs engage and swing, that the head was right – and I would open my eyes, and of course it was.

It is sometimes so tempting to just pull that neck in, especially on a Friesian, so it looks ok. But believe, me your training and your riding, and your scores will improve so much more if you let go of the head and ride the back. Loes will tell you I am constantly saying ‘let go’! Let go of the head and ride forward, especially on the young ones!

They need to find their own balance and equilibrium and learn how to hold themselves, as well as me on their back.

To Your Success,

Tash

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Friesian horses pranced their way into popular culture in the 1986 movie “Ladyhawke,” and they’ve majestically stood their ground in cinematic imagination ever since.

It is fantastic to see how diverse the movies are that Friesians are appearing in, and we are often amazed to see which historical period a Friesian horse will end up in next.

The Modern day Friesian has regularly been seen on the big screen in movies such as The Mask of Zorro, Interview with a Vampire, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Disney’s-Tall Tales, Sleepy Hollow, 300, Bedazzled… and more!! This all started with the magnificent Othello, known as Goliath, a Friesian who caught many people’s eyes in the 1986 movie, LadyHawke.

Here is a collaboration of movies that Friesians have been in by Gabriela… see how many movies you can spot!!

Enjoy!

We have just sent out our February edition of the Ebony Park Friesian Magazine – sign up in the box at the top right hand side of the site to read all about it!! 

This month Kate talks about the horse chestnut, Natasha talks about the excuse, and Loes and Danielle share their stories too!! We also have a special feature on one of our stallions’ fantastic sires… and much more! 

To Your Dreams Becoming Reality,

The Ebony Park Team

It’s January, and time again to have the yearly visit out from the horse dentist, Mark Burnell!

We tend to get all of our adult horses teeth checked annually, with the ridden horses done every 6 months, just to make sure their teeth are in top condition!!

The first time our horses are seen by Mark is around the time that they are broken in. Young horses teeth tend to grow faster, and at around this age (3years) they start to lose their milk teeth or caps, which might need some help coming out if they are particularly stubborn!

When the horse is being broken in, they will often have what are called their ‘wolf’ teeth taken out. Wolf teeth are small peg-like teeth that are just in front of the first cheek teeth in the horses mouth – right where the bit sits. So when the horse is being broken in, some of the behavioural problems such as tossing the head are because the bit is against their wolf teeth, causing pain! So the removal of these wolf teeth, which have no function for chewing is often advantageous, and better to take them out when the horse is first getting educated, so that it doesn’t develop bad habits from trying to avoid the pain of the wolf teeth.

So why do we even need to get our horses teeth done? It’s not like they ever had a dentist in the wild!

Horses teeth are constantly being worn down due to the grinding action horses use to chew their feed. The shape this grinding creates of the teeth can cause problems. The upper jaw of the horse is wider than the lower jaw, so the molars don’t sit directly over each other.  The outside edges of the upper molars and the inside edges of the lower molars don’t get ground down at the same rate as the rest of the teeth and become very sharp. These sharp edges need to be correctly dressed to prevent lacerations to the cheeks and tongue. This is especially the case with the first molars that need special attention to be shaped correctly. In the wild, they tend to graze on grass and don’t wear them down as quickly… and if they do have problems, they just have to put up with the sharp edges (plus they are not ridden so there is no bit pulling the mouth in unnatural directions onto the sharp molars!)

So make sure your horses teeth are done regularly, and he will love you for it!! Click here to go to the Equine Dental Association of Australia website, and find your local dentist!

Check out Orlando (3/4 Friesian by Ebony Park Abe) – it’s just his second time having his teeth done, and he is all smiles! Mark can’t get over how quiet the Friesian temperament is – we tell him that’s exactly why we have Friesians in the first place!!

You can see there are no caps on his front teeth – these are the adult teeth. He has also had his wolf teeth taken out this time too!

We have been eagerly anticipating our last foal for the season – Victoria was due to foal with her first foal (sired by Ebony Park Jorrit) on the 31st January… looks like she couldn’t wait as at 6am Sunday morning, she gave birth to a gorgeous colt!!

Onyx at 24 Hours

Victoria has quite a story… she was our first purebred Friesian bred right here at Ebony Park, and is the only purebred Friesian sired by our Grand Prix stallion Ebony Park Abe… she was born 6 weeks premature and wasn’t expected to live… but here she is a proud mother at 5 years of age!!

Onyx has developed a very interesting method of suckling!!

Congratulations to Michelle, who has been patiently waiting for Victoria to foal after investing in Victoria’s first foal on our in utero payment plan! She has name this little cutie Onyx of Ebony Park!

Onyx at 2 days Old

p.s. If an Ebony Park payment plan sounds perfect for you, click here for more information now!!

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Natasha and Abe had a bit of fun last week, with Natasha choosing her new mount Rocky to compete on (!!!!) and Abe deciding that Emily would be his new Grand Prix trainer and rider!! Check out the pics

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We have just sent out our January edition of the Ebony Park Friesian Magazine – sign up in the box at the top right hand side of the site to read all about it!! 

This month, as we head into the new year, Kate talks about seedy toe, Natasha talks about overcoming fear, and Loes comes back from Holland!! … and much more! 

To Your Dreams Becoming Reality,

The Ebony Park Team

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I trust everyone had a fantastic Christmas, with heaps of cool pressies, far too much food, and general enjoyment!!

This week we have been having some fun playing with the foals… all of whom have the most gorgeous and individual personalities!!

There’s Loes of Ebony Park, born 23/10/2011 (by Ebony Park Elko, out of Ebony Park Jantje)… she is so inquisitive, she tends to nuzzle you if you are not paying her enough attention!!

Then there’s EP Loki, born 28/10/2011 (by Ebony Park Abe, out of The Carrock Dancer)… she took a bit longer to come out of her shell, but now she can’t get enough of those scratches!

The next foal born this year is EP Zena, born 11/12/2011 (by Ebony Park Elko, out of The Carrock Zip)… she loves to run full pelt around the paddock!

And lucky Krixus of Ebony Park has all the girls to himself, being the only colt born so far this year!! He was born 14/12/2011 (by Ebony Park Jorrit, out of Ebony Park Gjanna)… and is the most chilled out foal – you can go right up to him when he is lying down, and he literally rolls over like a dog to let you scratch his belly!!

We still have Victoria of Ebony Park left to foal… this will be her first foal and we can’t wait to see the result – so watch this space!

Enjoy your New Years celebrations, and we can’t wait to see what 2012 holds!

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We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year!!!

To Your Dreams Becoming Reality,

The Ebony Park Team