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Lipica
and Lipizzaner
Horse
A unique,
proud and dignified beauty in motion
Along the
border between Italy and Slovenia, in the
vicinity of Sezana and Trieste, lies the Horse
Stud Lipica, a green oasis in the middle of
the Karst. It was founded in the year 1580 by
the Austrian Archduke Karl, who was at that
time the regent of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola,
Istria and Triest. He was told by
horse-breeding experts that the Karst region
was the most suitable area for a stud farm. As
the stud farm grew apace, shortage of hay
began to be a problem. This they solved by
buying a neighbouring estate, and in the first
half of the 18th century the Prestranek estate
as well. During the Napoleonic Wars the stud
farm was forced to move three times to
Hungary, and during World War I it relocated
to a site near Vienna. It remained property of
the Court of Vienna until 1918. 
History
Lipica
experienced in its history good and successful
periods as well as hard times. In war-times
the herd of Lipica horses had to flee from
Lipica, seeking refuge in other countries. But
it always returned from the exile, more or
less decimated, yet still succeeding to
weather the difficulties and to recover.
During the WW I, the Lipizzan herd had to move
for the fourth time - to Vienna and Bohemia;
after the end of this war the herd came under
Italian authority. However, a part of the
elite horses remained in the present-day
Austrian and Czech territory; that was the
beginning of Lipizzaner horse breeding in the
stud farm of Kladruby.
The stud of
Lipica was not spared in the WW II, either;
the Germans took the majority of horses and
returned only a small number of them after the
conquest by the American army under General
Paton. A part of the horses were taken as far
as to America. The allies returned but eleven
horses to Lipica; other horses were delivered
to the Spanish Riding Academy in Vienna, and
before that, to Italy. Nevertheless, the home
stud farm of these noble horses, experienced a
revival by bringing the breeding stock from
other studs.
Distinguished
appearance
 The Lipizzan horse is a special breed: of
medium growth, a deep and broad horse. Its
height is some 160 cm measured by cord, and
has got the shape of a lying rectangular. Its
lively eyes give an intelligent look. The ears
are well positioned, a long and muscular neck
is set high, as well as the tail which is
thick and nicely supported by the horse. The
mane and the tail are of thick, silky mane.
The legs are strong, muscular, the joints are
well-marked and broad. Moving on the Karst
ground makes the hooves very hard indeed, but
rather small for the size of the horse, and
well shaped. The stride is high and gracious,
energetic and unique, proud and dignified,
which made the Lipizzan horse excel as a
parade horse over other breeds, and for the
Riding Academy. All the beauty of the Lipizzan
is seen in motion: its grace lies in the
harmony of movements. Its imposing bearing and
the famous stride made it famous world-wide.
This breed is known as extremely solid and
late mature horses: they are fully developed
with at the age of seven, and can live up to
the age of thirty and be still useful for
work. A particular feature of them is that
they are not born white but bay, black or
grey. It is only later, usually between the
sixth and tenth year, that they turn white,
gradually over grey. There are also dark
coloured Lipizzan horses.
An important
measure in the selection work is the
qualification test of the breeding stock. Ever
since the stallions had to prove that their
good traits, work capacity, obedience,
suppleness and endurance under saddle and in
span were passed on their descendants. Only
those stallions which were four years in
training ("school") and met the
requirements of the breed, could become
breeding stallions in the Lipica stud. This
demanding test over hundreds of years made the
Lipizzan horses strengthen their excellent
qualities, such as good nature, reliability,
the elegance of gaits - a reliable and really
imposing stride, and good learning capacity.
Steady,
study and speedy
 One of the oldest breeds in the world, the
horses of the Karst, were known for their
steadiness and speed, which was known as early
as in Roman times. These Karst horses that
were used by the local people to carry goods
to the port, or deliver the goods from ships
in Trieste and Venice, were over the centuries
crossbred with other breeds; these breeds were
not expected to have a dominant influence on
the indigenous Karst horse, except the Arab
horses. However, the stallions of these other
breeds gave their names to the six lines of
horses that have been preserved up to the
present time in the Lipica stud. In the year
1580 the first stallions were imported from
Spain, and soon other followed, among them the
white Andalusian stallion. However, mares of
other breeds were not imported in the
beginning, this supports the belief that only
the breeding of Karst horses was intended, and
they were to be improved with other breeds.
Thus, the famous lines were bred: the Kladruby
line - named after the stallions from the then
Bohemia - Favory and Maestoso; the Naples line
- Conversano and Napolitano, the Danish line -
Pluto, and the Arab line - Siglavy.
The mares
are bred in 16 strains ("family
line"), as follows: Sardinia, Spadiglia,
Argentina, Africa, Almerina, Presciana,
Englanderua, Europa, Stornella, Famosa,
Deflorata, Gidrana, Djerbin, Mercurio,
Theodorasta and Rebecca. These names refer to
their ancestresses.
Names and
designation
Lipizzaner
horses get their names by a traditional
system. The stallion names consist of two
names, and mares only have one name. For
example, a colt's name Maestoso Bonadea XI
comes from its syre (Maestoso) and mare (Bonadea
XI). In case of a filly, she would be called
Bonadea XII; i.e. the 12th filly in line of
ancestress. Each stud farm gives its horses
its designation. When the horse is a year old
the letter "L" is branded onto its
left cheek designating it a Lipica
thoroughbred born on the stud farm. A current
number from the Register is put on the left
side of the seat (under the saddle).
Today,
Lipica is a unique cultural heritage, and a
tourist and recreational centre. As well as
breeding the horses, Lipica also teaches and
maintains the tradition of classical riding,
following the principles of the Spanish Riding
School in Vienna, as well as dressage and
coach-drawing.
Text: Mag.
Milan Božič, Dr Vet Med
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| Vilenica
The
Vilenica Cave, which lies near the village of Lokev
in the far west of
Slovenia, reputedly has the longest tradition of
speleological
tourism in Europe. As early as 1633 Count Petazzi,
the local landowner, conferred the cave upon the
local parish which managed it as a resource and
opened it up to visitors. Until the middle of 19th
century Vilenica had the reputation of being the
largest most beautiful and most frequented cave in
the central Karst.
Long
forlorn, passed over
in favour of even
larger
caves in the region,
Vilenica's fortunes
were revived in 1963 when the local Sežana Caving
Club began taking an interest in it. The club's
members renovated its galleries in their leisure
time and installed electric lighting.
The
cave, which in bygone centuries triggered the
imagination of visitors, is believed by locals to be
the home of good fairies and this is how Vilenica
got its name ("vile" is the Slovene word
for fairies). "Vilenica" is also the name
of an international literary award, presented
annually within its cavernous Dance Hall.
Today the cave is fully illuminated and some 450
metres of the more than 1.3km of galleries are open
to the public. A guided tour lasts about an hour.
INFORMATION AND VISITS:
JAMARSKO DRUŠTVO SEŽANA
(SEŽANA CAVING CLUB)
Partizanska 61,
SI-6210 Sežana
Slovenia
Tel: +386-5-7344-259
E-mail: vilenica@siol.net
VISITS: every Sunday
from May, 1st to September, 30th at 10:00, 15:00 and
17:00
from October, 1st to April, 30th at 15:00
Organised groups may visit by prior arrangement.
Tel:+386-51-648-711.
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