Lipizzaners in Australia

The Lipizzaner (USA: Lipizzan, Croatian: Lipicanac, Czech: Lipicán, Hungarian: Lipicai, Italian: Lipizzano, Slovene: Lipicanec), is a horse breed named for the Lipizza Stud of the Habsburg monarchy. The breed is closely associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria, where the horses demonstrate the haute école or "high school" movements of classical dressage, including the highly controlled, stylized jumps and other movements known as the "airs above the ground." The horses at the Spanish Riding School are trained using traditional methods that date back hundreds of years, based on the principles of classical dressage.

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Most Lipizzaners measure between 14.2 and 15.2 hands (58 and 62 inches, 147 and 157 cm).[2] However, horses bred to be closer to the original carriage-horse type are taller, approaching 16.1 hands (65 inches, 165 cm).[3] Lipizzaners have a long head, with a straight or slightly convex profile. The jaw is deep, the ears small, the eyes large and expressive, and the nostrils flared. They have a neck that is sturdy, yet arched and withers that are low, muscular, and broad. They are a Baroque horse, with a wide, deep chest, broad croup, and muscular shoulder. The tail is carried high and well set. The legs are well-muscled and strong, with broad joints and well-defined tendons. The feet tend to be small, but are tough.[4]

Lipizzaner horses tend to mature slowly. However, they live and are active longer than many other breeds, with horses performing the difficult exercises of the Spanish Riding School well into their 20s and living into their 30s.