Buying a Friesian in Australia: What to Look For
When you go to buy a Friesian, check five things in this order: the papers, the conformation, the health, the temperament and training against your own riding, and whether the horse loads and travels safely.
Learn what good conformation looks like or take someone who knows. Get a full vet check including blood tests and, if necessary, x-rays of feet and fetlocks. Watch the horse caught, saddled and ridden outside an arena, and ride it yourself if it is under saddle. Then ask the owner to float load it and go for a short drive with them. Everything below is the detail behind those five.
Registration and papers
Buying a purebred Friesian
A purebred Friesian is registered with the Australian Friesian Horse Society, which is the Australian arm of the Dutch studbook, the KFPS in the Netherlands. Ask to see a registration certificate. An ethical Friesian breeder with correct breeding records will have the foal’s birth recorded in the studbook within two weeks of birth and will have the foal registered by six months of age.
Buying a Friesian Warmblood
A Friesian Warmblood is registered with the Australian Friesian Warmblood Horse Society. To register one, the owner has to be a financial member and has to include a valid breeding certificate from the Friesian side of the horse’s bloodline.
Sight the Certificate of Registration and make sure the ownership shown on it is current. If the horse is not registered, you should sight the registration of the mare, which should show current ownership, and the breeding certificate from the stallion owner. That certificate should include the date of conception, whether natural or by artificial insemination, the date the pregnancy was confirmed, and the registration details of the mare, particularly if she is 25% or more Friesian, so the horse can be registered with the correct percentage. Ask to see photographs of the foal with the mare before weaning as proof. Buyers will need copies of both the mare’s registration and the breeding certificate to register an unregistered horse.
Buying a Friesian Warmblood
There are plenty of black horses out there that can be posed as having Friesian in them. Ask for proof. Before the transfer of ownership on either a purebred or a Warmblood, the purchaser must be a member of the relevant society.
Keurings and what a result actually tells you
A keuring is a breed inspection. Officials come out from the Netherlands every two years and horses are assessed against the studbook standard, roughly 60% on the quality of movement and 40% on conformation, using a linear scoresheet. Horses can be awarded a premium, first being best, second very good, third the most common, and some horses receive none. Above that sit predicates like Ster, Crown and Model, each with its own age, height and testing requirements.
A keuring result is useful because it is an independent judgement against the breed standard rather than the seller’s opinion. What it does not tell you is whether the horse suits you, how it behaves away from home, or how it is to live with. Plenty of sound, correct, lovely horses have never been presented at one. We are presenting our stallion Morpheus at the April 2027 keuring and we will publish the result whatever it is. Our keuring explainer goes through the gradings in plain English.
Conformation and movement
Know what basic good conformation looks like so you can make a real assessment of the horse. Poor conformation affects a horse’s ability to have a long and robust life and may affect its long term riding ability. Horses with poor conformation should not be bred from because they will likely pass those traits on. If you are not confident, take someone with you who understands correct horse conformation. This is not the moment to be polite about your own knowledge.
Health
Get a full vet check done, including blood tests, so you know the horse you are buying is healthy and has no underlying conditions. If necessary, have x-rays taken of the feet and fetlocks. If you are buying a stallion, also test for the sexually transmitted diseases Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Once tested, the stallion owner must agree not to do any live coverage of mares until the purchase decision is made, and if a sale is agreed, the stallion must not be used for live coverage by the seller afterwards.
Mares that are purchased with the intention to breed, should have a full breeding workup done by a vet. This will tell the condition of the uterus and if the mare is cycling. Testing for STDs should occur as this will affect the mare’s ability to do live cover and a general health blood test is also recommended.
The vet check is at your cost as the purchaser, and it is excellent insurance for the horse’s overall health. Do it before money changes hands, not after, and ask for the results in writing from the vet.
Temperament, and matching the horse to the rider
Friesians have a wonderfully kind and lovable temperament and want to be in your pocket, but every horse is its own animal and a good temperament does not make a green four year old the right horse for a nervous or inexperienced rider. If the horse is under saddle, ask the owner to ride it outside of an arena, out in a paddock. Watch its manners as it is caught, saddled and mounted. Does it walk, trot and canter out freely and behave calmly and safely?
You should ride the horse too, so take a helmet and boots to the inspection. The owner should be happy for all of this, though they may ask you to start in a yard or an arena so they can see how you go with the horse they are selling. That is their right and it is a good sign, not a bad one.
It is also why we ask every buyer to come and view the horse before buying. People can and have overstated their experience, and selling a horse to someone it does not suit risks their injury and risks the horse being sold on into the wrong hands. An ethical breeder can and should say no to a sale if the level of the horse does not match the level of the rider. That protects the purchaser’s safety and the whole of life care of the horse.
Float loading, and warning signs
Ask the owner to float load the horse and go for a short drive with them. You need to know the horse can load and travel safely, and if you are buying interstate you need to know it before you commit to three days on the road.
As for warning signs: be careful of a seller who will not let you visit, will not produce papers, or wants a deposit before you have seen anything. Be careful of a price well below everything else on the market, because there is usually a hidden reason for that cheap price.
There is a wise old horseman’s saying: a good horse is not cheap, and a cheap horse is not good.
Buying interstate, and what a fair price looks like
Most Friesian buyers in Australia buy interstate, because there are small numbers of these horses spread across a large country. Speak to the breeder properly before you travel so you are not flying across the country to look at a horse that was never going to suit you. Our transport page sets out times and indicative costs by state.
On price, our Friesian price guide gives real figures for the Australian market, with the purebred and the Friesian Warmblood ranges set out separately, and explains what moves them, so you can judge any horse you are looking at, ours or anybody else’s. Understand how the transfer of ownership of a registered horse is conducted and what you need to do before the transfer of registration. Take out insurance effective from the date of purchase, because transporting a valuable horse comes with risk.
If you want to see what all of this looks like in practice, the horses we have available are on our Friesian horses for sale page, and the mares behind them are on our mares and stud page.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
Common questions
What should I look for when buying a Friesian?
Check the papers first, then the conformation, then the health, then the temperament against your own riding, then whether the horse loads and travels. For a purebred, ask to see a registration certificate. For a Friesian Warmblood, ask to see the Certificate of Registration and check that the ownership is current. Get a full vet check including blood tests. Watch the horse caught, saddled and ridden outside an arena. Ask the owner to float load it and take a short drive.
What papers should a purebred Friesian have?
A purebred Friesian should be registered with the Australian Friesian Horse Society, which is the Australian arm of the Dutch studbook, the KFPS in the Netherlands. An ethical breeder with correct breeding records will have the foal’s birth recorded in the studbook within two weeks of birth and the foal registered by six months of age.
What papers should a Friesian Warmblood have?
A Friesian Warmblood is registered with the Australian Friesian Warmblood Horse Society, and registering one requires a valid breeding certificate from the Friesian side of the bloodline, plus the certificate of registration from the mare’s side if she is identified as a Friesian Warmblood. Sight the Certificate of Registration and check the ownership is current. If the horse is not registered, ask to see the mare’s registration showing current ownership, the breeding certificate from the stallion owner, and photographs of the foal with its dam before weaning. To register a horse yourself, you will need copies of the Stallion Breeding Certificate and the mare’s Registration Certificate (both sides), to complete the AFWHS registration form correctly.
What is a keuring and does it matter when buying?
A keuring is a breed inspection run by officials from the Netherlands, held in Australia every two years, where horses are assessed on movement and conformation and can be awarded a premium and predicates such as Ster or Crown. It matters as evidence that a horse has been judged against the breed standard by someone independent. It is not the only measure of a good horse, and plenty of sound, well-bred and conformationally correct horses have never been presented.
How do I buy a Friesian interstate safely?
Speak to the breeder about what you want the horse for before you travel, then go and see the horse in person, because photographs and videos do not tell you how a horse handles. Get the vet check done before money changes hands, insure the horse effective from the date of purchase, and agree in writing on price, terms and how the transfer of registration will be handled.
What health checks should I ask for?
A full veterinary examination including blood tests, and if necessary x-rays of feet and fetlocks, to confirm the horse is healthy and has nothing underlying. For a stallion, also test for the sexually transmitted diseases Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and once tested the stallion owner must agree not to do any live coverage of mares until the purchase decision is made, and not to use the stallion for live coverage after a sale is agreed. The assessment is at your cost as the buyer, and it is excellent insurance for the horse’s overall health. Ask for the results from the vet in writing. For mares with the intention to breed, a full breeding workup should be done by a vet, plus a general blood test to check overall health.
What questions should I ask a breeder?
Ask what the horse has been fed and how it has been handled, whether it loads and travels, what it is like to catch, whether it has been ridden and by whom, what its dam and sire are like to live with, and why they are selling it. Ask to see the horse’s registration or breeding certificate. Ask if the horse has had any accidents or illnesses, and ask for the phone number of the seller’s regular equine vet and farrier so you can contact them. A breeder who is happy to answer all of that is telling you something useful.
