Our goal is to educate the general public about Lipizzaners and to provide a gallery of beautiful Lipizzaner artwork!

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They have been called the dancing white stallions. This title isn?t merely a jest of pride; it is a well earned world-known accomplishment of grace and beauty. The Lipizzaner, also known as the Lipizzan, is one of the oldest breeds known to humankind, and descended from nine studs, including some of Arabian blood. Lipizzaners were originally bred as entertainment horses by the Hapsburg family to be used as war horses; this is where the haute e?cole (airs above the ground) comes from. The breed is trained for three special military maneuvers: the levade, the courbette, and the capriole. (I learned that there are [at least?] two others, which will be added as soon as I can get the information about them again.)

A levade is simply an extremely controlled rear where the horse must keep a forty-five degree angle with the ground. From the levade, a horse springs up and hops on his hind legs while keeping the forelegs together, performing a courbette. In battle this was used to break through infantry lines while keeping the rider safe. Lastly, the capriole is when the stallion leaps into the air and kicks out viciously with his hind legs. While also scaring away approaching footmen, the horse?s hooves would kill anyone unfortunate enough to be standing behind the team.

In modern times the Lipizzaner is used for advanced dressage, not cavalry. They are Vienna?s prized attraction at the Spanish Riding School. Tourists from all over the world flock to see the majestic stallions dance their way to brilliance.

You may recognize the breed being called both Lipizzaner and Lipizzan. Lipizzan is the American form, while Lipizzaner is the true European form.

As I find time and new information I will be updating this. If I missed anything important for now, please let me know.

 

 

Ask me a question :-)

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Which is your favorite air about the ground?

Mezair

Courbette

Capriole

Polls