Lipica

Thursday, May 11, 2017
Long ago I saw a peformance of the the beautiful Lipizzaner stalions and, since then, have been facinated by them. The Lipica Stud farm, where they bred and train these amazing horses is near Piran, and we were able to catch a training class as well as tour the stables. The interactive museum explained the linage of the bred, the stud book and the naming process - sire and dame. Born dark, but having gray skin, most Lipizzaners loose their color by the time they are 5 and only 10% will have the athletic ability and personality to perform.

The dark, month old foals froliced in the pastures with their moms........

..... while the 4 and 5 year old stallions went to school.

During the training class, we were asked to clap - and the horses in the ring shied away. This was all part of the training for the stallions who may perform until they are 20, then retire to this beautiful stud farm for a life of leisure.

We were lucky to see the stallion, Kanizo (085 Favory Canissa XXII), gifted to Queen Elizabeth, going out for exercise.