It is a filly! In the Lipizzaner Stud Farm of Piber, the first foal of 2016 saw the light of day.
A mixture of the smell of hay, great pleasure and pride is in the air when Stud Manager Harald Neukam enters from the biting cold into the traditional warm stable of the Stud Farm of Piber. He has a very special reason to enter the stable, for he visits the new offspring: the first filly of 2016. “We are very proud”, he tells us, “on Saturday, at 11.10 pm, the first foal, a filly, saw the light of the day. We are very glad that she is perfectly healthy, just as her mother Rimava.” She was born a few days earlier than expected, however, birth went without complications and mother and child are in good health.
The filly does not have a name yet – it will be named when it is 6 months old, this is the time when all foals in Piber are separated from their mothers. It will be a traditional name from the stud family Rava, where she derives from. This filly is the 5th foal of the ten-year old mare Rimava; her father is Neapolitano Allegra, a 22-year old school stallion at the Spanish Riding School. Lipizzaner foals are usually black when they are born; sometimes they are even grey or bay. Between the ages of four to ten, they get their typical white colour.
Elisabeth Gürtler and Erwin Klissenbauer, CEO and COO of the Spanish Riding School and the Stud Farm of Piber, where the first who sent their warm birthday wishes to the filly: “We are very glad to see our first offspring of the year. We are going to visit her as soon as possible. We are also very excited to get to know the other foals, which will be born within the next weeks and months.” They are looking forward especially to the first male foal, too – as the first female and the first male foal will get a renowned godparent for the first time.
The filly is looking forward to visitors. Additionally, foal-experience days will take place on March 10, 17, 24 and 31 starting at 2.00 pm
The filly is also looking forward to visitors from outside: everyone can come and see the filly in the framework of the daily guided tours. On the foal experience days on March 10, 17, 24 and 31, you can especially enjoy the foals and their friends, as you can visit the foal kindergarten, where the youngest Lipizzaners run around freely with their mothers. Additionally, you will be given a special guided tour to this topic (by the way, dear journalists, you are very welcome to visit us on those experience days, too!).
Should anyone – be it a private person or a company – wish to build a personal relationship with one of our foals – there is the possibility to become a foal sponsor: That means that you get an overview of the bloodline and information on a regular basis about the sponsor foal as well as season tickets for guided tours through the Stud Farm.
The horse’s youth: growing up in the stud farm of Piber, at the alpine meadows of Prentlalm and Stubalm
Did you know that the Lipizzaner is the oldest cultural horse breed in Europe? In the stud farm of Piber, the centuries-old knowledge is conserved in order to breed the Lipizzaners for the exercises which made them famous – especially owing to the Spanish Riding School. During their time at the Stud Farm, where they grow and develop, they are being watched and taken care of by our very skilled grooms and horse experts. From their first year of life on, our horses are allowed to spend the summer months at alpine meadows in heights of 1,500 meters – the fillies go to the Prentlalm and the colts to the Stubalm. This is a very special part of the life of every Lipizzaner horse: due to the very steep and stony slopes of the meadows, all of the horses develop the required stamina, sure footedness, fitness and strength they need for their future training. When the tests for the mares’ performance start (at the age of three to four), the horses are introduced to bridles, the long line and harness, so that they gain confidence in their new tasks. The physical training on the long line and later in harness is supposed to directly improve their fitness.
Lipizzaner Stud Farm of Piber – Spanish Riding School Vienna: a unique circle
After a training of about 10 years, the best stallions from Piber will be presented in the exercises of the High School at the Spanish Riding School – and will be brought to Piber each year to cover our mares. The cooperation of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna and the Stud farm of Piber is based on a unique circle: in this system, the Lipizzaners are allowed to enjoy their well-earned retirement after finishing their career at the Spanish Riding School, at the stud farm of Piber (or at our Training Center Heldenberg in Lower Austria).
Horses for horse lovers from all around the world
The classically bred Lipizzaner from Piber does not only exist at the Stud Farm of Piber or at the Spanish Riding School, but there are also Lipizzaner lovers – and owners from all around the world – who have their own Lipizzaners. Every horse-lover can acquire a one-to three-year old riding or carriage horse, or a breeding horse of all classical mare families or sire bloodlines from Piber.
More information on the Lipizzaner stud farm of Piber as well as on the foal- experience cays, foal sponsorships and on how to acquire a horse, you will find on the following sites:
Lipizzaner stud farm of Piber: http://www.srs.at/en_US/start-piber-en/
Programme of the Lipizzaner stud farm of Piber: http://www.srs.at/en_US/spielplan-piber-en/
Foal sponsorships: http://www.srs.at/en_US/patenschaften-en/
Horse sell: http://www.srs.at/en_US/pferdeverkauf-1-en/
Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/spanischehofreitschule.bundesgestutpiber
Photos:
Credit: Spanish Riding School / Stud Farm of Piber – Ines Hubinger
