Ebony Park Stud

We have recently had questions about Friesian registration papers from people interested in breeding and purchasing Friesians at Ebony Park… so today I thought I would talk about some of the terminology used by the Friesian society… what does everything mean on the registration certificate – it’s all in dutch!?

Firstly, here are a few of the terms that you will hear in relation to Friesians and their registration or status…

Premie – Only the best quality horses are awarded premies at the Keuring. A 1st Premie is the highest award to the top 5% of horses presented to the judges.  A 2nd premie will be awarded to the top 15% & a 3rd premie to the top 25%. If the horse fails to be awarded a premie at a grading, it will show on their papers as ‘niet geprimeerd’.

Ster  - Also known as Star, is awarded to horses showing a much higher quality conformation and movement, mostly 3+ year old mares and gelding’s who display ideal confirmation and movement. (Although there is a category for older mares and geldings and you are allowed to try your horse for Ster status several times). Ster is awarded to around 20% of Friesian horses.

This status can be awarded to any horse over 3 years of age. The FPS publishes the results of the offspring from the approved stallions which make Ster status. So some stallions will have a high Ster status of their offspring, such as 50%, but mostly they will not get higher than 35% Ster offspring. Horses that receive Ster are also given a new premium. You can have either a first preemie Ster or a second preemie Ster. Horses that receive a 3rd preemie, do not make Ster, but are entered into the stud book.

Stamboek – Studbook. Both mares and geldings can be entered into the Studbook from the age of 3. To be entered they must meet a certain requirement and be a good representation of the breed with no white markings (except a small white star no bigger than your thumb). If they qualify, their height will also be registered and shown on the papers.

Veulenboek – Foalbook – Foals are entered into this book and issued with papers. The microchip details and any premies will be shown on their papers, as well as their pedigree.

Model – Awarded to top 1% of mares who are 7 years or older. This is based on a strict evaluation of various factors including, conformation, movement and performance (under saddle and pulling a carriage), as well as the quality of their offspring.

Preferent – Awared to a mare who has 4 or more offspring who have received Ster Status or to an approved Stallion who has a high percentage of Ster/Model daughters or Approved Stallion sons.

Inbreeding Co-efficient – Because the Friesian breed nearly died out (when the Friesian registry was founded in 1879 there was only one purebred stallion remaining – all of today’s Friesian can trace their ancestry back to that one stallion), all Friesian have an inbreeding coefficient. This is a percentage measure of how much their sire and dam were related to each other. Generally, it is desirable to get less than 5%, and less than 2% is ideal (but less than 12% is acceptable).

Sport Predicate – All Friesian horses are eligible to earn the Sport Predicate.  This title is awarded to horses who have proven to be very successful in their chosen sport – dressage, harness, or show carriage. Abe is the first Australasian Friesian to receive the Sports Predicate in dressage! We are very proud of him

Names – Each year purebred Friesians have to be named after specific letters in the alphabet. For example, in 2012 Friesian owners have to choose their foal names from the letters M, N and O (eg. Onyx…), and in 2011, the letters were J, K and L (Krixus, Loes…). Usually there is no problem if two breeders are wanting the same name for their foals, as they will generally put a stud suffix after the name (eg, “of Ebony Park”).  With this system, horses can easily be identified by their name, as well as the year they were born in.

So, now that you know all of the terminology you need to interpret the stallion registration papers… let’s put that all into practice! Here is Jorrit’s registration papers below… can you read what you are being told about him on the paperwork? If you are confused, refer to the second set of registration papers below, which explain in more detail what you are looking at…

Jorrit FPS Registration Papers (click to enlarge)

Example FPS Registration Papers (click to enlarge)

Source: KFPS website (click here to go there now)

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