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The rules of any studbook are complex and the rules of Het Friesch Paarden-Stamboek (FPS) which is the parent studbook of the Friesian Horse Association of North America (FHANA) are no exception. The purpose of these complexities is to differentiate between the quality levels of horses in order to achieve our primary goal of preserving and improving the breed. To determine its quality, every foal and horse is evaluated by an FPS judge from The Netherlands based on a combination of its conformation and movement. The following is a brief description of the Friesian studbook system to enable first time or inexperienced buyers to recognize the grading of a Friesian horse from its brand markings and its registration papers.
Breeding Friesian horses within the FPS studbook system is strictly controlled. A foal can only be registered in the main studbook if its dam is in the main studbook and was bred to a studbook stallion with FPS approved breeding privileges. At the beginning of 1994 there were only nine such stallions available for live covers or artificial insemination in North America; in addition one other stallion was available in The Netherlands for artificial insemination using frozen semen. You should be cautioned against buying a Friesian colt for eventual use as a stallion since the chances of getting him approved for breeding are very small! There are very stringent requirements placed on approved stallions. If, however, you wish to pursue this possibility, please contact the FHANA at the address at the end of this text for more information.
Countries except The Netherlands
In countries except The Netherlands, there is an obvious scarcity of studbook stallions with approved breeding privileges. In order to promote breeding in these countries, there is a subsidiary registry within the studbook system called the B-Book I into which foals can be registered when the sire is a registered stallion which has been given approval by the FPS for limited breeding under specific predefined conditions. Breeding for the B-Book I was allowed in North America until the end of 1991. A horse registered in B-Book I is therefore of inherently lower value than one registered in the main studbook and a potential buyer should be aware of this fact and be able to recognize such a horse. Further explanation on how to do this will be given below.
In addition to the B-Book I, there is second subsidiary registry within the studbook system called the B-Book II. This registry is intended for all purebred Friesian horses which were bred using stallions without the approval of the FPS. The FPS strongly discourage B-Book II breeding and, within North America, any such horses born after the end of 1994 will not qualify for registration. Therefore B-Book II horses are considered the lowest valued registered horses. Fortunately B-Book II horses can be identified by their distinctive blue and blue/pastel-red laminated plastic papers as well as no neck brands on mature horses.
There is a set of rules whereby the offspring of a B-Book II mare can be registered in B-Book I if that mare is bred to a studbook stallion with approved breeding privileges. Likewise the offspring of B-Book I mares can be elevated to the main studbook after three generations of similar approved breeding. Therefore a B-Book horse may fit your budget and future requirements even though it is not of the highest quality from the FPS viewpoint. Of course the final judgment is yours as every horse is different. We hope you make a positive decision to buy a Friesian and enjoy our remarkable breed!
Although the FPS is the original studbook founded in 1879, you should be aware that there is at least one other institution in the world which registers Friesian horses. Such institutions are usually formed by a group of people who did not like the strict guidelines and breeding policies of the FPS. They create their own judges who then judge their horses to a different, and more favorable, standard than the standards of the FPS. They also give breeding privileges to stallions who could never have attained that status with the FPS. If you wish to preserve the quality of the Friesian breed, please make sure you buy only an FPS registered horse!
The table below illustrates how to identify a registered Friesian horse from its papers. Within each Registry, the top horse listed is more desirable than the second, and so forth. For example, you would expect to pay more for a model mare than a star mare, more for a star mare than a normal mare, and more for a mare or gelding than one in the Foal Book (in Dutch veulenboek), i.e. foal, yearling, or two year old. Horses in the Foal Book usually move up into the next category at the age of three; however, some owners do not bother to have them judged and a mature Foal Book horse may still be a good buy if it has the potential. There is no category for stallions who have not been approved. A male horse must either be approved, gelded, or remain in the Foal Book.
The main Studbook and B-Book I horses
From the table it is clear that it is impossible to distinguish between the main Studbook and B-Book I horses registered in 1992 or earlier based on the outward appearance of the papers. In this case you must look for a Foal Book registered stallion in the horses Pedigree. For both the white paper and laminated plastic certificates, look for a V.B., Vb or vb. (referring to veulenboek) following any sire's name (in Dutch the sire is indicated by vader or "father") on the upper branches of the ancestral tree. If any such sires appear within three generations, in the sire's or dam's line, then the horse is only registered in the B-Book I.
Good Luck with hunting for YOUR ideal Friesian horse! We can help!!!
Identification of Friesian Horse by Papers and Branding
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| 1993 and after | 1989 - 1992 | 1988 and prior | |||
| Main Studbook | Model Mare, Star Mare or Gelding, Mare or Gelding, Approved Stallion Horse younger than 3 |
FS F None |
Laminated Plastic/ Yellow Green & Yellow | Paper/White with Black & some Red Printing | |
| B-Book I | Star Mare or Gelding, Mare or Gelding, Horse younger than 3 |
F None |
Laminated Plastic/Brown & Gold | Laminated Plastic/Yellow Green & Yellow | Paper/ White with Black & some Red Printing |
| B-Book II | All horses |
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Laminated Plastic/Blue & Pastel Red | None | None |
- All FPS registered horses have a tongue tattoo (in Dutch tongnummer) on the left side of the tongue to identify a horse with its registration paper. Horses born lather then 1996 get a chipresponder, the chipnumber ist the new identify for Friesian Horses.
- Neck brands occur only on the left hand side of the neck.
- All laminated plastic papers have one side in the first of the two listed colors and the other side diagonally striped in the two colors with a large light blue-gray horse in the center.
- Foals, yearling, and two year old mares, star mares and geldings can receive premiums (in Dutch premie) when they are judged; a first premium horse is more desirable than a second which is more desirable than a third which is more desirable than no premium. In the case of multiple premiums, the most recent is the most important.
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