A breed of
horse originating in
Austria. The breed was started in
1580 when
Habsburg Archduke Charles II imported Spanish horses and crossbred them with native
Karst horses. The name Lipizzaner comes from their original stud farm in
Lipic,
Slovenia; the German name for Lipic is
Lipizza.
Lipizzaners are noted for being short and stocky, white, slow maturing and long lived. A lipizzaner doesn't reach maturity until 3 years, but typically lives into its thirties.
The are also known to generally be extremely graceful, easy to handle, and not easily startled. They excel in dressage, but are also considered good for all aspects of riding.
There are currently (as of 2001) about 3000 purebred Lipizzaners in existance, plus a growing number of crossbreeds. Crossbreeding has grown popular to give other breeds the Lipizzaner intelligence, temperament, and soundness.