The Friesian Horse originated in Friesland, one of twelve provinces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Holland), situated in the northwest of Europe. Friesland is an old country dating to 500 B.C., when the Friesians settled along the cost of the North Sea. They were tradesmen, seafarers, farmers and horse breeders. 
    The Friesian horse descends from the Equus robustus. During the 16th and 17th centuries, but probably also earlier, Arabian blood was introduced, especially through Andalusian horses from Spain. This has given them the high knee-action, the small head and the craning neck. Because of his temperament the Friesian horse is considered warm blooded. The Friesian horse has been kept free from influence of the English Thoroughbred. During the last two centuries it has been bred pure. Breeding horses and dealing in them was very important for the Friesians. The monks in the many monasteries in Friesland before the reformation did a lot of horse breeding. Through the centuries the Friesian Government has made many regulations in order to safeguard good breeding. Now the Dutch Horselaw of 1939 (modified) gives rules for studbook and breeding.
    From records of the past we know that the Friesian horse of old was famous. There is information from as early as 1251 and there are books in which Friesian horses were mentioned and praised from as early as the 16^th century.
    Armored knights of old found this horse very desirable, having the strength to carry great weight into battle and still maneuver quickly. Later, its suppleness and agility made the breed much sought after for use in riding schools in Paris and Spain during the 15^th and 16^th centuries. Before an elegant carriage this breed has few rivals, and throughout Europe the royal courts used them as coach horses.

 

As early as 1625 Friesian horses were being imported into what later would become the United States of America. The Dutch founded New Amsterdam in the region they discovered in 1609, but they had to abandon it to the English in 1664, when the name was changed to New York. Advertisements in the papers offer trotters of "Dutch" descent. These must have been Friesian horses. The able writer Jeanne Mellin proposes in her books The Morgan Horse (1961) and The Morgan Horse Handbook (1973) the possibility that this well-known American horse is of Friesian descent. The ability to trot fast, the heavy manes, the long rich tail and the fetlocks at the feet of the original forefather of this breed may be an indication.

The breed was totally lost in North America due to crossbreeding. Tom Hannon of Canton, Ohio did not reintroduce the horse to North America until 1974. By 1983 the popularity