Lipizzaner History with a mention to the Mezöhegyes herd at the State Stud

19 yrs Lipizzan gray old Spanish type Pluto II, by 12 Pluto II out of 20 Neapolitano Capriola

When the third court farm in “Kopchany”, established by Charles IV, was dissolved in Hungary near the Moravian border, it was decided in Vienna to breed the heavier carriage type horses in Kladruby by the river Elbe. Further more, the objective of Lipica was to become the breeding of the lighter type Spanish-Italian horses, which would be more useful for the saddle and would have more speed and endurance. This was to be achieved by crossbreeding with the Arabian horse, but always so, that at least part of the herd would remain intact (into the studbook were entered so called “rein Karster”, which is a Lipizzan of pure Karstic-Spanish-Italian type, against the “gemishter Karster”, which is a Lipizzan with more Arabian blood). There was for this reason added a herd of Arabians to Lipica from the “Kopchany” stables and the heavier carosiers were relocated to Kladruby. In those days there were established individual lines of stallions and mares in Lipica and Kladruby, thus from that time it is spoken of the Kladrubian (Kladruber) and the Lipizzaner. This separation is justified, despite of the same origins, only from the perspective in size and massiveness.

By the end of the XVIII century in Europe it was only in these two stud farms where the pure Spanish-Italian horse managed to remain pure. The object in breeding at Kladruby was to preserve the heavier, carosier type of horse, while in Lipica was added to the Spanish-Italian horses more of the Arabian blood to make them more suitable for riding as well as a lighter carriage. The Lipizzaners were used in Vienna for the high school near the castle at the Spanish riding arena, a beautiful baroque architecture build and finished by Joh. Bernard Fisher from Erlach in the year 1735. This high school was concurrently a test of strength, maneuverability, endurance and learning ability of the Lipizzan stallions, which as four-year-olds were coming to Vienna for at least two years or longer training. Any stallion that did not graduate with success this High School was not allowed back to Lipica as a breeding material.


11 yrs black Lipizzaner 81 Maestoso IV, by Maestoso I, out of 276 Neapolitano

From the Arabians, one of the best-proven stallions in Lipica was especially Siglavi 1810, who established after himself a line that was preserved till this day. To Lipica also arrived a large transport of Arabian horses (16 stallions and 50 mares) purchased in 1857 by colonel Brunderman in the desert from the Bedouin tribes in Syria and Arabia. However, from this transport remained in Lipica only two stallions, honey gray Samson, and silver gray Hadudy, furthermore 16 desert imported mares and one foal. It was in those days, in the middle of the XVIII century, that the Lipizzaners were crossbred the most with the Arabian. In those days a part of the breeding program in Lipica was to breed also pureblooded Arabians, but later this was abandoned because the Arabian progeny was too slender/delicate for riding at the court riding stables. The Arabian material was therefore moved to other state stud farms, outside of the mares and stallions used for crossbreeding with the Lipizzaners. On the hard, stone paved streets of Vienna the Arabian crossbreds could not equal the Lipizzaner, and because it was constantly more noticeable that with further crossbreeding with the Arabian the Lipizzaner would lose his original type/form and invaluable characteristics, the use of the Arabian for crossbreeding in Lipica came suddenly to an end. The last Arabian stallions active in Lipica were: Arabian halfblood Ben Azet, “fly-gray” born 1851 and an original Arab Massaud, “trout-gray”, born 1869. From the older Arabians stallions there were mainly: Tadmor Or. Ar. 1834 and Gazlan Or. Ar. 1840, whose lines we can often see in the Lipizzaners pedigrees; especially in the line of Favory and Neapolitano is widely spread the blood of Gazlan.

Lipizzaner stallion Favory, Hungarian import, by Favory XVIII, out of 23 Maestoso XIX, Bábolna bred. At one time a main stallion in the Kladruby stud farm used for the blood refreshment of the Kladrubian grays

From Kladruby to Lipica were often sent mares that came out of Kladrubian female stock by Arabians stallions and for the Kladrubian frame were too slim and too light. In those days the breeding stock exchange between the two stud farms was quite frequent. In the stallion stable of Kladruby stood usually one Lipizzaner with whom were mainly bred the rougher types of mares for the production of tough/hard “figural” horses used for pulling the postal wagons; the female crossbreds were not usually added to the Kladrubian herd, but were sent to Lipica instead.

It should be mentioned that there were some experiments made to improve certain weak forms of the Lipizzaners, especially the less prominent withers, sometimes soft back, too steep shoulder blade, with the use of several English thoroughbreds, Northern Light, Millord, Pilgrim, Grimalkin Worthy and others. These experiments were a total failure because the progeny was absolutely unsuitable for the Lipizzaner type and the crossbreds were more or less a caricature of the Lipizzaner as well as the Kladruber.

From the 1953 Special Zoo-Technique - Breeding of Horses
Published in 1953 by the Czechoslovakian Academy of Agricultural Science and certified by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Written by: MVDr Ludvik Ambroz, Frabtisek Bilek, MVDr Karel Blazek, Ing. Jaromir Dusek, Ing. Karel Hartman, Hanus Keil, pro. MVDr Emanuel Kral, Karel Kloubek, Ing. Dr. Frantisek Lerche, Ing. Dr Vaclav Michal, Ing. Dr Zdenek Munki, Ing. Vladimir Mueller, MVDr Julius Penicka, pro. MVDr Emil Pribyl, MVDr Lev Richter, prof. Ing. Dr Josef Rechta, MVDr Karel Sejkora and Ing. Dr Jindrich Steinitz.