20 Interesting Friesian Horse Facts You Might Not Know

Speaking of Nazi war crimes, even horses were victimized. The Dutch Friesian is a direct descendants of European war horses. Hitler almost exterminated them in WW2. Three stallions and 55 mares were smuggled to South Africa on a cargo ship, and the entire breed has been brought back from the brink of extinction by extremely careful breeding and genetic management. (A few Friesians survived in the Netherlands, but we're talking a few dozen.) Every breeding horse had to be certified by a board that looked for any genetic anomalies because of how closely they all were related for about fifty years. Standards for breeding are loosening up a bit, now. These are not draft horses, and you can tell that by their small feet. Draft horses have hooves like dinner platters to give them traction while pulling a load. War horses need to be much more nimble than a draft horse, hence the smaller hoof. Friesians also have very short backs which helps them carry the weight of a fully armored knight without back strain. They're fast, strong, super smart, and aggressive--not easy horses to handle if you don't know what you're doing around horses. They were often trained to attack foot soldiers and would bite and kick (both with front and back feet), and sowed death and mayhem around themselves in battle. A horse of this size can pick up 1500 pounds with their neck and bite off a human finger. A solid kick with a hind foot could kill an adult man. The good news, they have to actually be trained to be that aggressive, so modern Friesians are as safe as any other horse to be around