View source for Lipizzan

{{Short description|Horse breed noted for use in the Spanish Riding School in Vienna}}
{{Good article}}
{{Pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox horse breed
| name            = Lipizzan
| image           = File:Lipizzaner Conversano Traviata.jpg
| image_caption   =         
| altname         = Lipizzaner, Karster
| country         = Developed by the [[House of Habsburg]] from Arab, [[Barb horse|Barb]], Spanish and Neapolitan stock.<ref name=Hofgestut>Das K.K. Hofgestüt zu Lippiza 1580–1880, Wien 1880</ref> Today associated with the nations of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia.
| group1          = Verband der Lipizzanerzüchter in Österreich (Austria)
| std1            = http://www.lipizzanerzuchtverband.at/Zuchtbuchordnung_15.1.2011.pdf
| group2          = Lipizzan International Federation
| std2            = http://www.lipizzan-online.com/main.asp?VID=1&kat1=85&kat2=603&kat3=&_=2
| group3          = Other nations
| std3            = http://www.lipizzan-online.com/main.asp?VID=1&Kat1=81&Kat2=518&Kat3=465
| group4          = United States Lipizzan Federation
| std4            = https://www.uslipizzan.org/contact
| group5          = Slovenian Lipizzaner Breeding Association
| std5            = https://www.lipicanci.si/en/
| features        = Compact, muscular, mostly but not exclusively gray in color, popularly associated with the [[Spanish Riding School]].
|height={{Convert|14.2–15.2|hands|cm inch|abbr=out}}}}

The '''Lipizzan''' or '''Lipizzaner''' ({{langx|hr|Lipicanac}}, {{langx|cs|Lipicán}}, {{langx|de|Lipizzaner}}, {{langx|hu|Lipicai}}, {{langx|it|Lipizzano}}, {{langx|sr|Lipicaner}}, {{langx|sl|Lipicanec}}) is a European [[horse breed|breed]] of [[riding horse]] developed in the [[Habsburg Empire]] in the sixteenth century. It is of [[Baroque horse|Baroque]] type, and is powerful, slow to mature and long-lived; the coat is usually [[gray (horse)|gray]]. 

The name of the breed derives from that of the village of [[Lipica, Sežana|Lipica]] ({{langx|it|Lipizza}}), which was part of the [[Habsburg empire]] at the time the breed was developed, now in [[Slovenia]], one of the earliest stud farms established; the [[stud farm]] there is still active. The breed has been endangered numerous times by warfare sweeping Europe, including during the [[War of the First Coalition]], [[World War I]], and [[World War II]]. The rescue of the Lipizzans during World War II by US troops was made famous by the [[Disney]] movie ''[[Miracle of the White Stallions]]''. 

The Lipizzaner is closely associated with the [[Spanish Riding School]] of [[Vienna]], Austria, where the horses demonstrate the ''[[Classical dressage#The school jumps|haute école]]'' or "high school" movements of [[classical dressage]], including the highly controlled, stylized jumps and other movements known as the "[[airs above the ground]]". These horses are mostly bred at the [[Piber Federal Stud]], near [[Graz, Austria]], and are trained using traditional methods of [[classical dressage]] that date back hundreds of years.

Eight [[stallion]]s are recognized as the classic [[foundation bloodstock]] of the breed, all foaled in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. All modern Lipizzans trace their bloodlines to these eight stallions, and all breeding stallions have included in their name the name of the foundation sire of their bloodline. Also classic [[mare]] lines are known, with up to 35 recognized by various [[breed registry|breed registries]]. The majority of horses are registered through the member organizations of the Lipizzan International Federation, which covers almost 11,000 horses in 19 countries and at 9 state studs in Europe. Most Lipizzans reside in Europe, with smaller numbers in the Americas, South Africa, and Australia.

Lipizzan horse breeding traditions are recognized by [[UNESCO]] and inscribed on the [[Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].

==Characteristics==

[[File:Lipizzaner DSC02443.jpg|thumb|Young Lipizzan stallion midway through the graying process]]
Most adult Lipizzans measure between {{Convert|14.2–15.2|hands|cm inch|abbr=out}}.<ref name="LIPORG"/> However, horses bred to be closer to the original carriage-horse type are taller, approaching {{Convert|16.1|hands|cm inch|abbr=out}}.<ref name=Ed111>Edwards, ''The Encyclopedia of the Horse'', p.111.</ref> Lipizzans have a long head, with a straight or slightly convex profile. The jaw is deep, the ears small, the eyes large and expressive, and the nostrils flared. They have a neck that is sturdy, yet arched and [[withers]] that are low, muscular, and broad. They are a [[Baroque horse]], with a wide, deep chest, broad [[Rump (animal)|croup]], and muscular shoulder. The tail is carried high and well set. The legs are well-muscled and strong, with broad joints and well-defined tendons. The feet tend to be small, but are tough.<ref name=Bong>Bongianni, ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Horses and Ponies'', Entry 37.</ref>

Lipizzan horses tend to mature slowly. However, they live and are active longer than many other breeds, with horses performing the difficult exercises of the Spanish Riding School well into their 20s and living into their 30s.<ref name=Ed111/>

===Color===

[[File:Mare & Foal 3 (7361664544).jpg|thumb|Mare and dark foal]]
Aside from the rare solid-colored horse (usually [[bay (color)|bay]] or [[black (horse)|black]]), most Lipizzans are [[Gray (horse)|gray]]. Like all gray horses, they have black skin, dark eyes, and as adult horses, a white hair coat. Gray horses, including Lipizzans, are born with a pigmented coat—in Lipizzans, [[foal]]s are usually bay or black—and become lighter each year as the graying process takes place, with the process being complete between 6 and 10 years of age. Lipizzans are not actually true [[white (horse)|white]] horses, but this is a common misconception.<ref name="LIPORG"/> A white horse is born white and has unpigmented skin.<ref name=UCD>{{cite web|url=http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/coatcolor.php|title=Introduction to Coat Color Genetics|work=Veterinary Genetics Laboratory|publisher= [[University of California, Davis]] |access-date=2008-09-19}}</ref>

Until the eighteenth century, Lipizzans had other coat colors, including [[dun (color)|dun]], bay, [[Chestnut (coat)|chestnut]], black, [[piebald]], and [[skewbald]].<ref name="LIPORG"/><!--source cited does not support "blue [[Roan (color)|roan]] and [[Leopard complex|leopard]]--> However, gray is a [[dominant gene]].<ref name=UCD/> Gray was the color preferred by the royal family, so the color was emphasized in breeding practices. Thus, in a small breed population when the color was [[selective breeding|deliberately selected]] as a desirable feature, it came to be the color of the overwhelming majority of Lipizzan horses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/lipizzan/index.htm |title=Lipizzaner |publisher=Oklahoma State University |work=Breeds of Livestock |access-date=2008-09-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924151156/http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/lipizzan/index.htm |archive-date=2008-09-24 }}</ref> However, it is a long-standing tradition for the Spanish Riding School to have at least one bay<!--source also says "or black"--> Lipizzan stallion in residence, and this tradition is continued through the present day.<ref>Swinney, ''Horse Breeds of the World'', p.52.</ref>

==History==

[[File:Maestoso Basowizza & Oberbereiter Hausberger.jpg|thumb|upright|Lipizzan stallion, [[Schönbrunn Palace]]]]
The ancestors of the Lipizzan can be traced to around 800 AD.<ref name=Equiworld>{{cite web|url=http://www.equiworld.net/uk/horsecare/Breeds/lipizzaner/index.htm|title=The Lipizzaner|access-date=2008-09-17|publisher=Equiworld |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080430120418/http://www.equiworld.net/uk/horsecare/Breeds/lipizzaner/index.htm |archive-date = 2008-04-30}}</ref> The earliest predecessors of the Lipizzan originated in the seventh century when [[Barb horse]]s were brought into Spain by the [[Moors]] and crossed on native Spanish stock. The result was the [[Andalusian horse]] and other [[Iberian horse]] breeds.<ref name=Dent>Jankovich, ''They Rode Into Europe'', p. 77</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Andalusian |url=http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/andalusian/index.htm |work=Breeds of Livestock |publisher=Oklahoma State University |access-date=2008-11-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410090106/http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/andalusian/index.htm |archive-date=2009-04-10 }}</ref>

By the sixteenth century, when the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]]s ruled both Spain and Austria, a powerful but agile horse was desired both for military uses and for use in the fashionable and rapidly growing riding schools for the nobility of central Europe. Therefore, in 1562, the Habsburg Emperor [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximillian II]] brought the Spanish Andalusian horse to Austria and founded the court stud at [[Kladruby nad Labem|Kladrub]]. In 1580, his brother, [[Charles II of Austria|Archduke Charles II]], ruler of [[Inner Austria]], established a similar stud at Lipizza (now [[Lipica, Sežana|Lipica]]), located in modern-day Slovenia, from which the breed obtained its name.<ref name="LIPORG">{{cite web|url=http://www.lipizzan.org/aboutlipizzans.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008215945/http://www.lipizzan.org/aboutlipizzans.html |archive-date=8 October 2006 |title=Lipizzan Origins|access-date=2008-09-17|publisher=Lipizzan Association of North America}}</ref><ref name=Dent/> When the stud farm was established, Lipizza was located within the municipal limits of [[Trieste]], an autonomous city under Habsburg sovereignty. The name of the village itself derives from the Slovene word ''lipa'', meaning "[[Tilia|linden tree]]."<ref>{{cite book|author=Snoj, Marko|year=2009 |title=Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen|publisher=Modrijan and Založba ZRC|pages=234–235}}</ref>

Spanish, Barb, and Arabian stock were crossed at Lipizza, and succeeding generations were crossed with the now-extinct [[Neapolitan horse|Neapolitan]] breed from Italy and other Baroque horses of Spanish descent obtained from Germany and Denmark.<ref name=Hofgestut>Das K.K. Hofgestüt zu Lippiza 1580–1880, Wien 1880</ref>  While breeding stock was exchanged between the two studs, Kladrub specialized in producing heavy carriage horses, while riding and light carriage horses came from the Lipizza stud.<ref name="LIPORG"/>

Beginning in 1920, the [[Piber Federal Stud]], near [[Graz, Austria]], became the main stud for the horses used in Vienna. Breeding became very selective, allowing only stallions that had proved themselves at the Riding School to stand at stud, and breeding only mares that had passed rigorous performance testing.<ref name="PIBER">{{cite web|url=http://www.piber.com/index.php?id=283|title=The Lipizzan Horses|access-date=2008-09-17|publisher=Piber Stud|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928121149/http://www.piber.com/index.php?id=283|archive-date=2007-09-28}}</ref>

===Foundation horses===

Today, eight [[foundation bloodstock|foundation]] lines for Lipizzans are recognized by various registries, which refer to them as "dynasties".<ref name=LIFStandards>{{cite web|url=http://www.lipizzan-online.com/main.asp?kat1=85&kat2=565&kat3=&vid=1|title=Breed Standards|access-date=2014-04-29|publisher=Lipizzan International Federation}}</ref> They are divided into two groups.  Six trace to classical foundation [[stallion]]s used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the Lipizza stud, and two additional lines were not used at Lipizza, but were used by other studs within the historic boundaries of the Habsburg Empire.<ref name="LIPORG"/>

The six "classical dynasties"<ref name=dynasties/> are:
* Pluto: a gray [[Iberian horse|Spanish]] stallion from the Royal Danish Stud, foaled in 1765<ref name="LIPORG"/>
* Conversano: a black [[Neapolitan horse|Neapolitan]] stallion, foaled in 1767<ref name="LIPORG"/>
* Maestoso: a gray stallion from the [[Kladruby nad Labem|Kladrub]] stud with a Spanish dam, foaled 1773, descendants today all trace via Maestoso X, foaled in Hungary in 1819<ref name=dynasties/>
* Favory: a dun stallion from the Kladrub stud, foaled in 1779<ref name="LIPORG"/>
* Neapolitano: a bay Neapolitan stallion from the Polesine, foaled in 1790<ref name="LIPORG"/>
* [[Siglavy]]: a gray [[Arabian horse|Arabian]] stallion, originally from [[Syria]], foaled in 1810<ref name=ClassicalDressage>{{cite web|url=http://www.classicaldressage.com/lipizzans.html|title=Lipizzans|access-date=2008-09-19|publisher=Ritter Dressage|work=Classical Dressage|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119094125/http://www.classicaldressage.com/lipizzans.html|archive-date=2013-01-19}}</ref>

Two additional stallion lines are found in Croatia, Hungary, and other eastern European countries, as well as in North America.<ref name="LIPORG"/> They are accepted as equal to the six classical lines by the Lipizzan International Federation.<ref name=LIFStandards/> These are:
* Tulipan: A [[black (horse)|black]] stallion of Baroque type and Spanish pedigree foaled about 1800 from the [[Croatia]]n stud farm of [[Suhopolje|Terezovac]], owned by Count [[South African Lipizzaners#Janković-Bésán|Janković-Bésán]].<ref name=dynasties>{{cite web|url=http://www.lipizzan-online.com/main.asp?kat1=64&kat2=540&kat3=&vid=1|title=Sire Lines|access-date=2014-04-29|publisher=Lipizzan International Federation}}</ref> 
*Incitato: A stallion of Spanish lines foaled 1802, bred in [[Transylvania]] by Count Bethlen, and sold to the [[Hungary|Hungarian]] stud farm  [[Mezőhegyes]]<ref name=dynasties/>

Several other stallion lines have died out over the years, but were used in the early breeding of the horses.<ref>Dolenc, ''Lipizzaner'', p. 49</ref> In addition to the foundation stallion lines, there were 20 "classic" mare lines, 14 of which exist today.<ref>Dolenc, ''Lipizzaner'', p. 51</ref> However,  up to 35 mare lines are recognized by various Lipizzan organizations.<ref name="LIPORG"/>

Traditional naming patterns are used for both stallions and mares, required by Lipizzan [[breed registry|breed registries]]. Stallions traditionally are given two names, with the first being the line of the sire and the second being the name of the dam. For example, "Maestoso Austria" is a horse sired by Maestoso Trompeta out of a [[mare]] named Austria. The horse's sire line traces to the foundation sire Maestoso. The names of mares are chosen to be "complementary to the traditional Lipizzan line names" and are required to end in the letter "a".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lipizzan.org/rules.html|title=Rules/Evaluations|access-date=2008-09-17|publisher=Lipizzan Association of North America}}</ref>

===Spanish Riding School===
{{Main|Spanish Riding School}}
[[File:Spanische Hofreitschule3, Vienna.jpg|thumb|Lipizzans training at the [[Spanish Riding School]]]]

The Spanish Riding School uses highly trained Lipizzan stallions in public performances that demonstrate classical dressage movements and training.<ref name=Stallions>{{cite web|url=http://www.srs.at/en/tradition/the-school-stallions/ |title=The Stallions |publisher=Spanish Riding School |access-date=2012-03-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329204711/http://www.srs.at/en/tradition/the-school-stallions/ |archive-date=2012-03-29 }}</ref> In 1572, the first Spanish [[riding hall]] was built, during the [[Austrian Empire]], and is the oldest of its kind in the world.<ref>Podhajsky, ''The Complete Training of Horse and Rider'', p. 249</ref> The Spanish Riding School, though located in Vienna, Austria, takes its name from the original Spanish heritage of its horses. In 1729, [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles VI]] commissioned the building of the Winter Riding School in Vienna and in 1735, the building was completed that remains the home of the Spanish Riding School today.<ref name=History>{{cite web|url=http://www.srs.at/en/tradition/the-spanish-riding-school/ |title=The Spanish Riding School |access-date=2012-03-16 |publisher=Spanish Riding School |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318004105/http://www.srs.at/en/tradition/the-spanish-riding-school/ |archive-date=2012-03-18 }}</ref>

===Wartime preservation===

The Lipizzans endured several wartime relocations throughout their history, each of which saved the breed from extinction. The first was in March 1797 during the [[War of the First Coalition]], when the horses were evacuated from Lipica. During the journey, 16 mares gave birth to foals. In November 1797, the horses returned to Lipica, but the stables were in ruins. They were rebuilt, but in 1805, the horses were evacuated again when [[Napoleon]] invaded Austria. They were being taken care of in [[Đakovo Stud]]. They remained away from the [[stud farm|stud]] for two years, returning the 1st of April 1807, but then, following the [[Treaty of Schönbrunn]] in 1809, the horses were evacuated three more times during the unsettled period that followed, resulting in the loss of many horses and the destruction of the written [[breed registry|studbooks]] that documented [[pedigree chart|bloodlines]] of horses prior to 1700. The horses finally returned to Lipica for good in 1815, where they remained for the rest of the nineteenth century.<ref name=LIFHistory>{{cite web|url=http://www.lif.eu.com/|title=Lipizzan Horse History|publisher=Lipizzan International Federation|access-date=2008-11-19|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710203644/http://www.lif.eu.com/|archive-date=2011-07-10}}</ref>

The first evacuation of the twentieth century occurred in 1915 when the horses were evacuated from Lipica due to World War I and placed at Laxenburg and Kladrub.<ref name="USLR">{{cite web|url= http://www.uslr.org/LipizzanBreedHistory.htm|title=Lipizzan Breed History |publisher=United States Lipizzan Registry|access-date=2008-12-06}}</ref> Following the war, the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]] was broken up, with Lipica becoming part of Italy. Thus, the animals were divided between several different studs in the new postwar nations of Austria, Italy, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia. The nation of Austria kept the stallions of the Spanish Riding School and some [[horse breeding|breeding stock]].<ref name="USLR"/> By 1920, the Austrian breeding stock was consolidated at Piber.<ref name="PIBER2">{{cite web|url=http://www.piber.com/en/tradition/history/|title=History|access-date=2011-12-08|publisher=Piber Stud|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929041358/http://www.piber.com/en/tradition/history/|archive-date=2011-09-29}}</ref>

During World War II, the high command of [[Nazi Germany]] transferred most of Europe's Lipizzan breeding stock to [[Hostouň (Domažlice District)|Hostau]], Czechoslovakia.<ref name="USLR"/> The breeding stock was taken from Piber in 1942,<ref name="PIBER2"/> and additional mares and foals from other European nations arrived in 1943.<ref name="USLR"/> The stallions of the Spanish Riding School were evacuated to [[Sankt Martin im Innkreis|St. Martins]], Austria, from Vienna in January 1945, when bombing raids neared the city and the head of the Spanish Riding School, Colonel [[Alois Podhajsky]], feared the horses were in danger.<ref name=SI/> By spring of 1945, the horses at Hostau were threatened by the advancing Soviet army, which might have slaughtered the animals for [[horse meat]] had it captured the facility.<ref name=SI>{{cite magazine|title=Operation Cowboy|url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1007241/index.htm|author=Davis, Susan|date=16 October 1995|magazine=Sports Illustrated|access-date=2008-12-08|archive-date=2009-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211212753/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1007241/index.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The rescue of the Lipizzans by the United States Army, made famous by the Disney movie ''[[Miracle of the White Stallions]]'', occurred in two parts: The [[Third United States Army]], under the command of General [[George S. Patton]], was near St. Martins in the spring of 1945 and learned that the Lipizzan stallions were in the area.<ref name=EQ>{{cite journal|title=The 2005 Lipizzaner Tour of the Spanish Riding School|author=Sosby, Brian|journal=Equestrian|date=October 2005|access-date=2008-11-24| url=http://www.usef.org/_staffIframes/pressbox/images/magazine/pdf/6dfc4245ac3b9df1210bce4ed7554fa8.pdf}}</ref><ref>Letts, Elizabeth. 2016. ''The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis.</ref> Patton himself was a horseman, and like Podhajsky, had competed in the [[Equestrian at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]].<ref name=EQ/> On 7 May 1945, Podhajsky put on an exhibition of the Spanish Riding School stallions for Patton and Undersecretary of War [[Robert P. Patterson]], and at its conclusion requested that Patton take the horses under his protection.<ref name="Patton Papers">Patton, ''The Patton Papers'', p. 697</ref>

Meanwhile, the Third Army's [[2nd Cavalry Regiment (United States)|United States Second Cavalry]], a [[tank]] unit under the command of Colonel [[Charles Reed (colonel)|Charles Reed]], had discovered the horses at Hostau, where 400 Allied prisoners of war were also being kept, and had occupied it on 28 April 1945. "[[Operation Cowboy]]", as the rescue was known, resulted in the recovery of 1,200 horses, including 375 Lipizzans.<ref name=SI/> Patton learned of the raid, and arranged for Podhajsky to fly to Hostau.<ref>Hirshson, ''General Patton'', p. 635</ref> On 12 May, US soldiers began riding, trucking, and herding the horses {{Convert|35|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} across the border into [[Bad Kötzting|Kotztinz]], Germany.<ref name=SI/> The Lipizzans were eventually settled in temporary quarters in [[Bad Wimsbach-Neydharting|Wimsbach]], until the breeding stock returned to Piber in 1952,<ref name="PIBER2"/> and the stallions returned to the Spanish Riding School in 1955.<ref name="Piber3">{{cite web|url=http://www.srs.at/en/tradition/the-history/ |title=The History |access-date=2011-12-08 |publisher=Spanish Riding School |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105140136/http://www.srs.at/en/tradition/the-history/ |archive-date=2011-01-05 }}</ref> In 2005, the Spanish Riding School celebrated the 60th anniversary of Patton's rescue by touring the United States.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_May_5/ai_n13672464 |title=After 15 Year Absence Legendary Lipizzaner Stallions of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna Set Return for U.S. Tour |journal=Business Wire |date=2005-05-05 |access-date=2008-09-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211233017/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_May_5/ai_n13672464 |archive-date=2009-02-11 }}</ref>
[[File:ErgelaLipik1.jpg|thumb|[[Lipik Stud]], [[Croatia]]]]
During the [[Croatian War of Independence]], from 1991 to 1995, the horses at the [[Lipik]] [[Lipik Stud|stable]] in [[Croatia]] were taken by the Serbs to [[Novi Sad]], [[Serbia]]. The horses remained there until 2007,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://globus.jutarnji.hr/zivot/i-lipicance-ubijaju-zar-ne | language = hr | newspaper = [[Globus (weekly)|Globus]] | title = Pomor u zajednici bijelih griva – I Lipicance ubijaju, zar ne? | author = Boris Orešić | date = 2010-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101130727/http://globus.jutarnji.hr/zivot/i-lipicance-ubijaju-zar-ne|archive-date=2011-01-01}}</ref> when calls began to be made for them to be returned to their country of origin. In October 2007, 60 horses were returned to Croatia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lipizzan.org/pressreleases/bosnia_serbian_lipizzans.html|title=Croatian Lipizzaners Return Home|publisher=Lipizzan Association of North America|access-date=2014-04-29}}</ref>

===Modern breed===

The Lipizzan breed suffered a setback to its population when a viral epidemic hit the Piber Stud in 1983. Forty horses and 8% of the expected foal crop were lost. Since then, the population at the stud has increased.  By 1994, 100 mares were at the stud farm and a foal crop of 56 was born in 1993. In 1994, the rate of successful pregnancy and birth of foals increased from 27 to 82%; the result of a new [[veterinarian|veterinary center]].<ref name=Ed129>Edwards, ''The Encyclopedia of the Horse'', p. 129</ref> In 1996, a study funded by the [[European Union]] [[Indo-Copernicus Project]] assessed 586 Lipizzan horses from eight stud farms in Europe, with the goal of developing a "scientifically based description of the Lipizzan horse".<ref name=Kelly/> A study of the [[mtDNA|mitochondrial DNA]] (mtDNA) was performed on 212 of the animals, and those studied were found to contain 37 of the 39 known mtDNA [[haplotype]]s known in modern horses, meaning that they show a high degree of [[genetic diversity]]. This had been expected, as it was known that the mare families of the Lipizzan included a large number of different breeds, including Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and other European breeds.<ref name=Kelly>{{cite journal|url=http://www.uslipizzan.org/files/ml-mtdna-genetics-article.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427000314/http://www.uslipizzan.org/files/ml-mtdna-genetics-article.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-04-27 |title=Mitochondrial DNA Genetics of Lipizzans |author1=Kelly, Jeff |author2=Kelly-Simmons, Lisa |name-list-style=amp |journal=USLF News |date=Winter 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=History of Lipizzan horse maternal lines as revealed by mtDNA analysis|journal=Genet. Sel. Evol.|volume=34|date=2002|pages=635–648|author1=Kavar, Tatjana |author2=Brem, Gottfried |author3=Habe, Franc |author4=Sölkner, Johann |author5=Dovč, Peter |pmc=2705438|pmid=12427390|doi=10.1051/gse:2002028|issue=5}}</ref>

[[File:Lipica.jpg|thumb|[[Lipica Stud Farm]], [[Slovenia]]]]
The Lipizzan International Federation (LIF) is the international governing organization for the breed, composed of many national and private organizations representing the Lipizzan. The organizations work together under the banner of the LIF to promote the breed and maintain standards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lipizzan-online.com/main.asp?kat1=85&kat2=603&kat3=&vid=1|title=Gründung|language=de|publisher=Lipizzan International Federation|access-date=2014-04-26}}</ref> As of 2012,  almost 11,000 Lipizzans were registered with the LIF; residing with private breeders in 19 countries and at nine [[state stud]]s in Europe. The largest number are in Europe, with almost 9,000 registered horses, followed by the Americas, with just over 1,700, then Africa and Australia with around 100 horses each. The nine state studs that are part of the LIF represent almost one-quarter of the horses in Europe. [[Sâmbăta de Jos]], in Romania, has the greatest number of horses, with 400, followed by Piber in Austria (360), Lipica in Slovenia (358), [[Szilvásvárad]] in Hungary (262), [[Monterotondo Marittimo|Monterotondo]] in Italy (230), [[Đakovo Stud|Đakovo]]-[[Lipik Stud|Lipik]] in Croatia (220), and [[Topoľčianky]] in Slovakia (200). The other two studs are smaller, with stud Vučijak in Bosnia near [[Prnjavor, Bosnia and Herzegovina|Prnjavor]] having 130 horses<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Maksimović |first=Dragan |date=11 December 2022 |title=Čiji su Lipicaneri? |url=https://www.dw.com/hr/%C4%8Diji-su-lipicaneri/a-64061113 |website=www.dw.com}}</ref> and [[Karađorđevo estate|Karađorđevo]] in Serbia having just 30.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lipizzan-online.com/main.asp?kat1=64&kat2=543&kat3=&vid=1|title=Purebred Lipizzans Registered by Members of Lipizzan International Federation|date=October 2012|publisher=Lipizzan International Federation|access-date=2014-04-28|author=Manz, Christian G.M.}}</ref> Educational programs have been developed to promote the breed and foster adherence to traditional breeding objectives.<ref name="LIPORG"/>

Because of the status of Lipizzans as the only breed of horse developed in Slovenia, via the [[Lipica Stud Farm]] that is now located within its borders, Lipizzans are recognized in Slovenia as a national animal. For example, a pair of Lipizzans is featured on the 20-cent [[Slovenian euro coins]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://networkeurope.radio.cz/feature/slovenia-banks-on-the-euro|publisher=Network Europe|title=Slovenia Banks on the Euro|author=Manske, Michael|access-date=2008-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503214638/http://networkeurope.radio.cz/feature/slovenia-banks-on-the-euro|archive-date=2008-05-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> Mounted regiments of [[Carabinieri]] police in Italy also employ the Lipizzan as one of their mounts.<ref>[http://www.carabinieri.it/Internet/Arma/Curiosita/Non+tutti+sanno+che/R/10+R.htm Lipizzan horses used by Mounted Carabinieri Regiments]</ref> In October 2008, during a visit to Slovenia, a Lipizzan at Lipica, named 085 Favory Canissa XXII, was given to [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] of the United Kingdom. She decided to leave the animal in the care of the stud farm.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-10-22-2561594197_x.htm|title=Slovenia Gives Britain's Queen a Lipizzaner Horse|access-date=2011-12-08|last=Vukic |first=Snjezana | work = [[USA Today]] | agency= Associated Press |date=2008-10-22}}</ref>

==== Heritage of humanity list ====

On the initiative of Slovenian Ministry of Culture, the tradition of breeding and maintaining a purebred Lipizzaner is recognized by [[UNESCO]] and inscribed on the [[Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]] as ''Lipizzan horse breeding traditions'' since 2022.<ref name="ich.unesco.org">{{cite web |title=UNESCO - Lipizzan horse breeding traditions |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/lipizzan-horse-breeding-traditions-01687 |website=ich.unesco.org |access-date=4 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Inscriptions include state parties [[Austria]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Croatia]], [[Hungary]], [[Italy]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]] and Slovenia.<ref name="unesco.at">{{cite web |last1=UNESCO-Commission |first1=Austrian |title=Knowledge concerning the breeding of Lipizzan horses |url=https://www.unesco.at/en/culture/intangible-cultural-heritage/national-inventory/news-1/article/knowledge-concerning-the-breeding-of-lipizzan-horses |website=Austrian UNESCO-Commission |access-date=4 November 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="euronews">{{cite web |title=Hold your horses! Lipizzan breed given UN protected heritage status |url=https://www.euronews.com/culture/2022/11/29/hold-your-horses-lipizzan-breed-could-join-un-protected-heritage-list |website=euronews |language=en |date=29 November 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

==Training and uses==

[[File:Lipizzaner Brdo 20080610 2.jpg|thumb|Lipizzans in Slovenia]]
The traditional [[horse training]] methods for Lipizzans were developed at the Spanish Riding School and are based on the principles of classical dressage, which in turn traces to the [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] writer [[Xenophon]], whose works were rediscovered in the sixteenth century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/xenophon-forefather-dressage|title=Xenophon, Forefather Of Dressage|author=Gibbon, Abby|date=29 September 2011|publisher=Chronicle of the Horse|access-date=2014-04-22}}</ref> His thoughts on development of horses' mental attitude and psyche are still considered applicable today. Other writers who strongly influenced the training methods of the Spanish Riding School include [[Federico Grisone]], the founder of the first riding academy in Naples, who lived during the sixteenth century, and [[Antoine de Pluvinel]] and [[François Robichon de la Guérinière]], two Frenchmen from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The methods for training the Lipizzan stallions at the Spanish Riding School were passed down via an [[oral tradition]] until Field Marshal Franz Holbein and Johann Meixner, Senior Rider at the School, published the initial guidelines for the training of horse and rider at the school in 1898. In the mid-twentieth century, [[Alois Podhajsky]] wrote a number of works that serve as textbooks for many dressage riders today.<ref name=History/><ref name=ClasEq>{{cite web|url=http://www.spanische-hofreitschule.com/index.php?id=329|title=Classical Equitation|publisher=Spanish Riding School|access-date=2009-01-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522133309/http://www.spanische-hofreitschule.com/index.php?id=329|archive-date=2006-05-22}}</ref>

The principles taught at the Spanish Riding School are based on practices taught to [[cavalry]] riders to prepare their horses for warfare.<ref>Podhajsky, ''The Complete Training of Horse and Rider'', p. 24</ref>  Young stallions come to the Spanish Riding School for training when they are four years old. Full training takes an average of six years for each horse, and schooling is considered complete when they have mastered the skills required to perform the "School Quadrille".<ref name=Stallions/> There are three progressively more difficult skill sets taught to the stallions, which are:
* Forward riding, also called straight riding or the ''Remontenschule'', is the name given to the skills taught in the first year of training, where a young horse learns to be [[saddle]]d and [[bridle]]d, learns basic commands on a [[longeing|longe line]], and then is taught to be ridden, mostly in an arena in simple straight lines and turns, to teach correct responses to the [[riding aids|rider's legs and hands]] while mounted. The main goal during this time is to develop free forward movement in as natural a position as possible.<ref name=Stallions/>
* Campaign school, ''Campagneschule'' or ''Campagne'', is where the horse learns [[collection (horse)|collection]] and balance through all [[horse gait|gaits]], turns, and maneuvers. The horse learns to shorten and lengthen his stride and perform [[lateral movement]]s to the side, and is introduced to the more complex [[double bridle]]. This is the longest training phase and may take several years.<ref name=Stallions/>
* High-school dressage, the ''[[Classical dressage#The school jumps|haute école]]'' or ''Hohe Schule'',  includes riding the horse with greater collection with increased use of the hindquarters, developing increased regularity, skill, and finesse in all natural gaits.  In this period, the horse learns the most advanced movements such as the [[half-pass]], [[counter-canter]], [[flying change]], [[pirouette (dressage)|pirouette]], ''[[passage (dressage)|passage]]'', and ''[[piaffe]]''. This is also when the horse may be taught the "[[#"Airs above the ground"|airs above the ground]]."  This level emphasizes performance with a high degree of perfection.<ref name=Stallions/><ref>Podhajsky, ''The Complete Training of Horse and Rider'', pp. 25–26</ref>
Although the Piber Stud trains mares for [[driving (horse)|driving]] and [[English riding|under saddle]],<ref name=Ed129/> the Spanish Riding School exclusively uses stallions in its performances.<ref name=Stallions/>  Worldwide, the Lipizzan today competes in [[dressage]] and [[driving (horse)|driving]], as well as retaining their classic position at the Spanish Riding School.<ref name="LIPORG"/>

=="Airs above the ground"==
{{See also|Dressage#"Airs" above the ground}}
[[File:South African Lipizzaners-001.jpg|thumb|upright|Pesade performed during an open-air performance of the [[South African Lipizzaners]] from Johannesburg]]

The "airs above the ground" are the difficult "high school" dressage movements made famous by the Lipizzans.<ref>Podhajsky, ''The Complete Training of Horse and Rider'', p. 268</ref> The finished movements include:
* The levade is a position wherein the horse raises up both front legs, standing at a 30° angle entirely on its hind legs in a controlled form that requires a great deal of hindquarter strength. A less difficult but related movement is the pesade, where the horse rises up to a 45° angle.
* The courbette is a movement where the horse balances on its hind legs and then essentially "hops", jumping with the front legs off the ground and hind legs together.
* The capriole is a jump in place where the stallion leaps into the air, tucking his forelegs under himself, and kicks out with his hind legs at the top of the jump.
Other movements include:
* <!--Only training movements, not used in public performance-->The croupade and ballotade are predecessors to the capriole. In the croupade, the horse jumps with both front and hind legs remaining tucked under the body and he does not kick out. In the ballotade, the horse jumps and untucks his hind legs slightly, he does not kick out, but the soles of the hind feet are visible if viewed from the rear.
* The mezair is a series of successive levades in which the horse lowers its forefeet to the ground before rising again on hindquarters, achieving forward motion. This movement is no longer used at the Spanish Riding School.<ref>Podhajsky, ''The Complete Training of Horse and Rider'', pp. 269–274</ref>

==In popular culture==

Lipizzans have starred or played supporting roles in many movies, TV shows, books, and other media.

The 1940 film ''[[Florian (film)|Florian]]'' stars two Lipizzan stallions. It was based on a 1934 novel by [[Felix Salten]]. The wife of the film's producer owned the only Lipizzans in the US at the time the movie was made.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.lipizzan.org/merchandisepages/florianvideo.html|title=Florian|access-date=2008-09-17|publisher=Lipizzan Association of North America}}</ref> The rescue during [[World War II]] of the Lipizzan stallions is depicted in the 1963 Walt Disney movie ''[[Miracle of the White Stallions]]''. The movie was the only live-action, relatively realistic film set against a World War II backdrop that Disney has ever produced.<ref>Brode, ''From Walt to Woodstock'', p.169.</ref>

Television programs featuring the Lipizzans include ''[[The White Horses]]'', a 1965 children's television series co-produced by RTV Ljubljana (now [[RTV Slovenija]]) of Yugoslavia<ref>{{cite book|title=RTV Ljubljana|editor-last=Liška|editor-first=Miklavž |year=1988|publisher=Radiotelevision Ljubljana|location=Ljubljana|page=33}}</ref> and BR-TV of Germany, rebroadcast in the United Kingdom. It followed the adventures of a teenaged girl who visits a farm where Lipizzan horses are raised.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://televisionheaven.co.uk/reviews/the-white-horses|title=The White Horses|accessdate=2014-04-29|author=Marcus, Laurence|year=2007|publisher=Television Heaven}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |editor= Bongianni, Maurizio |title= Simon & Schuster's Guide to Horses and Ponies |publisher= Simon & Schuster, Inc. |location= New York, NY |year= 1988 |isbn= 978-0-671-66068-0 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/lish00maur }}
* {{cite book|author=Brode, Douglas|title=From Walt to Woodstock: How Disney Created the Counterculture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxdip1iKLkQC&q=miracle+of+the+white+stallions&pg=PA169|year=2004|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-70273-8}}
* {{cite book|author=Dolenc, Milan (translated by Zarco Harvat and Susan Ann Pechy)|title=Lipizzaner: The Story of the Horses of Lipica|year=1981|publisher=Mladinska Knjiga|location=Ljubljana, Yugoslavia|isbn=978-0-89893-172-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/lipizzanerstoryo0000dole}}
* {{cite book |author= Edwards, Elwyn Hartley |title= The Encyclopedia of the Horse |publisher= Dorling Kindersley |edition=1st American|location=New York, NY |year=1994|isbn=978-1-56458-614-8}}
* {{cite book|author1=Helbig, Alethea|author2=Perkins, Agnes|name-list-style=amp|title=Dictionary of American children's fiction, 1960-1984: recent books of recognized merit|series=Volume 2, Dictionary of American children's fiction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pyjt9xhNKJ4C&q=white+stallion+of+lipizza&pg=PA278|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1986|isbn=978-0-313-25233-4}}
* {{cite book| title=General Patton: A Soldier's Life|author=Hirshson, Stanley P. |publisher=HarperCollins|year=2003|isbn=978-0-06-000983-0}}
* {{cite book|title=They Rode Into Europe: The Fruitful Exchange in the Arts of Horsemanship between East and West|author=Jankovich, Miklos|translator-first=Anthony|translator-last=Dent|publisher=George G. Harrap & Co, Ltd.|location=Great Britain|year=1971|isbn=978-0-684-13304-1}}
* {{cite book|author1=Patton, George S.  |author2=Martin Blumenson |name-list-style=amp|title=The Patton Papers|publisher=Da Capo Press| year=1996|isbn= 978-0-306-80717-6}}
* {{cite book |author=Podhajsky, Alois |title=The Complete Training of Horse and Rider In the Principles of Classic Horsemanship|publisher=Doubleday |location= Garden City, NY |year=1967|oclc=501758}}
* {{cite book|title=Horse Breeds of the World|author1=Swinney, Nicola Jane|author2=Bob Langris|name-list-style=amp|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k--QG6CTpXMC&q=spanish+riding+school+tradition+horse+color&pg=PA52|publisher=Globe Pequot|year=2006|isbn=978-1-59228-990-5}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
* {{Official website|http://www.lipica.org/en/|Lipica Stud Farm official website}}
* [http://www.lipizzaner.co.uk/ Lipizzaner Society of Great Britain]
* [http://www.lipizzaner.org.uk/ Lipizzaner National Stud Book Association of Great Britain]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140429193422/http://www.lipizzan.fr/FEDERATION_FRANCAISE_DU_LIPIZZAN/LIPIZZANER_FRENCH_FEDERATION_Welcome.html Fédération Française du Lipizzan]
* [http://www.lipizzan-online.com/main.asp?VID=1&kat1=85&kat2=603&kat3= Lipizzan International Federation-LIF]
* [http://www.srs.at/en/ Spanish Riding School and Federal Stud Farm Piber]
* [http://www.lipizzan.org/ Lipizzan Association of North America]
* [http://www.lipizzaners.co.za/ South African Lipizzaners]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120403222716/http://www.piber.com/en/the-stud/ Piber Stud]
* [http://www.USLipizzan.org/ United States Lipizzan Federation-USLF]

{{Equine|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Animal breeds originating in Slovenia]]
[[Category:Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy]]
[[Category:Habsburg monarchy]]
[[Category:Horse breeds originating in Austria]]
[[Category:Horse breeds originating in Italy]]
[[Category:Horse breeds]]
[[Category:Mammals of Europe]]
[[Category:Spanish Riding School]]