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37-593: The Piber Federal Stud ( Bundesgestüt Piber ) is a stud farm dedicated to the breeding of Lipizzan horses, located at the village of Piber, near the town of Köflach in western Styria , Austria . It was founded in 1798, began breeding Lipizzan horses in 1920, and today is the primary breeding farm that produces the stallions used by the Spanish Riding School , where the best stallions of each generation bred at Piber are brought for training and later public performance. One of Piber’s major objectives

74-498: A foal every year into her twenties, though not all breeders will breed a mare every year. In addition, many mares are kept for riding and so are not bred annually, as a mare in late pregnancy or nursing a foal is not able to perform at as athletic a standard as one who is neither pregnant nor lactating . In addition, some mares become anxious when separated from their foals, even temporarily, and thus are difficult to manage under saddle until their foals are weaned . The formation of

111-455: A herd and spend their first three summers on alpine pastures. Meticulous records are kept on every horse from the moment of their birth to the completion of their training. The Piber Federal Stud is the only location containing foundation bloodstock from all 15 classically recognized mare families. The facility includes stables for stallions, but also extensive grazing and pastures. At the age of four, selected stallions come to Vienna, while

148-413: A mare occurs roughly every 19–22 days and occurs from early spring into autumn. As the days shorten, most mares enter an anestrus period during the winter and thus do not cycle in this period. The reproductive cycle in a mare is controlled by the photoperiod (length of the day), the cycle first triggered when the days begin to lengthen. As the days shorten, the mare returns to the anestrus period when she

185-414: A month to be sure that pregnancy has occurred. However, with the invention of artificial insemination and the ability to ship semen, combined with the availability of DNA testing for parentage verification, many breed registries allow semen to be shipped from the stud farm to the location of the female animal, thus reducing or eliminating the need for animals to travel. A stud manager or "stud master"

222-544: A setback to its population when a viral epidemic hit the Piber Stud in 1983. Forty horses and eight percent of the expected foal crop were lost. Since then, the population at the stud has increased, with 100 mares at the stud as of 1994 and a foal crop of 56 born in 1993. In 1994, the pregnancy rate increased from 27% to 82% as the result of a new veterinary center . In 2001, the Spanish Riding School and

259-818: A small percentage compete against male horses. However, a few fillies and mares have won classic horse races against colts, including the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the Kentucky Derby , the Preakness Stakes , the Belmont Stakes , the Melbourne Cup and the Breeders' Cup Classic . Mares are used as dairy animals in some cultures, especially by the nomads and formerly nomadic peoples of Central Asia . Fermented mare's milk , known as kumis ,

296-420: A staff of 52, and hosts approximately 60,000 visitors a year. The Piber stud and Piber castle are marketed together as tourist attractions. Visitors can watch training sessions with the horses in the riding arena, visit the stables, and take part in special programs for children. There are also cultural and musical events in the castle courtyard, which has excellent acoustics. Carriage rides are available, and

333-536: A summer retreat for the stallions of the school. Although it was commonly thought the stallions of the school went to Piber for the summer, only the few used in a particular breeding season are taken to Piber. The summer retreat for most stallions of the school was elsewhere. For many years, they went to the Lainzer Tiergarten , where the horses were kept in the stables of the Hermesvilla . Since 2005,

370-565: Is "to uphold a substantial part of Austria’s cultural heritage and to preserve one of the best and most beautiful horse breeds in its original form." Piber Castle was formerly the Abbey of St. Lambrecht. The stud was created 1798 for the purpose of breeding military horses . In 1867, it came under the governance of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Ministry for Agriculture. In 1915, at the beginning of World War I ,

407-492: Is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock . The word " stud " comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the development of a stud book . Male animals made available for breeding to outside female animals are said to be "standing at stud", or at "stud service", referencing

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444-472: Is an individual responsible for an employer's breeding stock. The term is usually used for individuals working with dogs or horses . It is usually applied regardless of gender. The stud manager typically suggests desired matings to the owner, and arranges for the same, whether in-house or by contract with animals standing at stud, approves and arranges matings to the owner's animals at stud requested by outsiders, and keeps all records, including notifying

481-848: Is most famous for its Principal and State Studs, which have been instrumental in the shaping of the German riding horses and several breeds of German cold bloods. The Hanoverian is associated with the State Stud of Celle , the Rhinelander and Westphalian with the State Stud of Warendorf , the Brandenburger with the Principal Stud of Neustadt an der Dosse, and so on. Other European state studs include: The German city of " Stuttgart " gets its name from stud farms. Around

518-487: Is not sexually receptive. Anestrus prevents the mare from conceiving in the winter months, as that would result in her foaling during the harshest part of the year, a time when it would be most difficult for the foal to survive. However, for most competitive purposes, foals are given an official "birthday" of January 1 (August 1 in the Southern Hemisphere ), and many breeders want foals to be born as early in

555-426: Is one owned by the government. The first state studs were ordered by Louis XIV of France in 1665. The purpose of the state studs was to make high-quality horses available to local breeders and farmers to accelerate the evolution of local horses. Stud farms which kept a herd of mares in addition to stallions were dubbed "Principal" Studs. State-owned stallions were made accessible with low or no stud fees . Germany

592-567: Is the national drink of Kyrgyzstan . Some mares, usually of draft horse breeding, are kept in North America for the production of their urine. Pregnant mares' urine is the source of the active ingredient in the hormonal drug Premarin (derived from Pre gnant ma res' u rin e). Until the invention of castration , and even later where there was less cultural acceptance of castration, mares were less difficult to manage than stallions and thus preferred for most ordinary work. Historically,

629-633: The Bedouin nomads of the Arabian Peninsula preferred mares on their raids, because stallions would nicker to the opposing camps' horses, whereas mares would be quiet. However, other cultures preferred male horses over mares either due to a desire for more aggressive behavior in a fighting animal, or to not be inconvenienced with a loss of work ability due to a mare's pregnancy, parturition and lactation . The word mare , meaning "female horse", took several forms before A.D. 900. In Old English

666-668: The Lipizzan horses from the Court Stud at Lipica (today located in Slovenia ) were evacuated and placed at Laxenburg and Kladrub. Following the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up, with Lipica becoming part of Italy . Thus, the animals were divided up between several different studs in the new postwar nations of Austria, Italy, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslovia. The nation of Austria kept

703-484: The Piber Federal Stud were spun off from government support and together became a public company. though the owner is still the federal government of Austria. In 2003, the province of Styria held an Exhibition entitled "The Mythical Horse." This resulted in extensive investments in the stud's infrastructure and allowed the stud to become a venue for holding both equestrian and cultural events. The facility has

740-511: The animals for horsemeat had it captured the facility. However, the Third Army's United States Second Cavalry , a tank unit under the command of Colonel Charles Reed , had discovered the horses at Hostau, where there were also 400 Allied prisoners of war, and had occupied it on April 28, 1945. "Operation Cowboy," as the rescue was known, resulted in the recovery of 1,200 horses, including 375 Lipizzans, General George S. Patton learned of

777-493: The appropriate animal registries . In a European large or formal household the "Stud Master" or manager may be a permanent title and position; in this case this individual is often responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the stables and kennels as well. Most large stud farms have a full-time individual assigned to stallion management, but many stud managers have either a part-time or contractual arrangement or their duties as stud manager may be incorporated with those of

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814-509: The baroque buildings on the ground are available for concerts, festivals and weddings. The Piber Federal Stud is 555 hectares in size. Approximately 250 horses are kept there, including 70 broodmares . Two stallions from the Spanish Riding School are brought to Piber each breeding season. Only stallions from the Spanish Riding School are used as breeding stallions, and all six classic stallion bloodline families are used. Approximately 40 foals per year are born at Piber. Young horses grow up in

851-481: The bond between a mare and her foal "occurs during the first few hours post-partum , but that of the foal to the mare takes place over a period of days". Mares are considered easier to handle than stallions . Some equestrians consider mares to be more difficult to handle than geldings. The results of a study by the Sydney School of Veterinary Science suggested that women riders have gendered assumptions about

888-868: The form was mīere , mere or mȳre , the feminine forms for mearh (horse). The Old German form of the word was Mähre . Similarly, in Irish and Gaelic , the word was marc , in Welsh , march , in Cornish "margh", and in Breton marc'h . The word is "said to be of Gaulish origin." It is said by some writers to derive from Proto-Germanic * marhijō ("female horse"), from Proto-Germanic marhaz ("horse"), from Proto-Indo-European * markos ("horse"). The word has no known cognates beyond Germanic and Celtic . However, an interesting hypothesis links these Indo-European words to Mongolian морь (mori, horse). In addition,

925-483: The herd will move and to where. The herd stallion usually brings up the rear and acts as a defender of the herd against predators and other stallions. Mares are used in every equestrian sport and usually compete equally with stallions and geldings in most events, though some competitions may offer classes open only to one sex of horse or another, particularly in breeding or "in-hand" conformation classes. In horse racing , mares and fillies have their own races and only

962-607: The historic Claiborne Farm in Kentucky or the Darley Stud , owned by Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , which stands over fifty stallions at stud in facilities located in seven countries. Many stud farms make male animals available for breeding to outside female animals that are not owned by the stud farm. Doing so provides an outside source of revenue to a stud farm via the stud fees paid to obtain

999-716: The others are sold. After several years of training in Vienna, the stallions chosen for breeding purposes come back to Piber. To avoid inbreeding , Piber works in cooperation with other Lipizzan stud farms in Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Romania, to periodically exchange breeding stock. To help support the breeding program, Piber offers an "adoption" program where individuals and corporations can sponsor an individual animal with an annual monetary donation. The Spanish Riding School also has facilities for

1036-464: The overall farm or stable manager. Mare Mares carry their young (called foals ) for approximately 11 months from conception to birth. (Average range 320–370 days.) Usually just one young is born; twins are rare. When a domesticated mare foals, she nurses the foal for at least four to six months before it is weaned , though mares in the wild may allow a foal to nurse for up to a year. The estrous cycle , also known as "season" or "heat" of

1073-468: The raid, and arranged for the director of the Spanish Riding School, Alois Podhajsky to fly to Hostau. On May 12, American soldiers began riding, trucking and herding the horses 35 miles across the border into Kotztinz , Germany. The Lipizzans were eventually settled in temporary quarters in Wimsbach , until the breeding stock returned to Piber in 1952. Piber, and the Lipizzan breed as a whole, suffered

1110-546: The relatively high probability that they are kept at a stud farm. The word stud is often restricted to larger domesticated (especially farm) animals, such as cattle and horses . A specialized vocabulary exists for the studs of other animals, such as kennel (dog), cattery (cat) and aviary (birds). During the Middle Ages , stud farms were often managed as part of a monastery . At the time, few people apart from monks could read and write, and so they were charged with

1147-767: The responsibility of recording pedigrees . The Carthusian monks are famous for their role in breeding the Andalusian horse in Spain , while monasteries in Bavaria were responsible for the original Rottaler horse. The oldest stud farm in Europe still in existence today is the Mews of Einsiedeln Abbey (1064) in Switzerland where Einsiedler horses are bred. A state stud farm ( German : Landgestüt , French : Haras )

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1184-675: The school stallions spend their summer in Heldenberg near Vienna, in Lower Austria. This current summer stable will be expanded into a new year-round facility to provide additional capacity for training more young Lipizzaner stallions in the Haute Ecole of Classical Dressage than has been possible in the past. 47°04′50″N 15°06′01″E  /  47.08056°N 15.10028°E  / 47.08056; 15.10028 Stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry

1221-445: The services of the stud animal as well as contributing to the overall genetic diversity of the animal's offspring. At state stud farms, stud service is not only a source of income, but due to the high standards set for breeding animals, has an overall effect of improving the quality of animals throughout an area. In most cases, the owner of the female brings the animal to the stud farm for breeding, sometimes leaving her there for over

1258-493: The stallions of the Spanish Riding School and some breeding stock. By 1920, the Austrian breeding stock was consolidated at Piber. During World War II , the high command of Nazi Germany transferred most of Europe's Lipizzan breeding stock to Hostau , Czechoslovakia. The breeding stock was taken from Piber in 1942. By spring of 1945, the horses at Hostau were in danger from the advancing Soviet army, which may have slaughtered

1295-459: The suitability of mares, geldings and stallions for different disciplines and for different riders and chose different and more negative descriptors for the behavior of mares. This is despite an absence of scientific data confirming the assumptions. This may be significant for the handling and welfare of mares. In wild herds, a "boss mare" or "lead mare" leads the band to grazing, to water, and away from danger. She eats and drinks first, decides when

1332-427: The world, private individuals have breeding farms of various sizes that are dedicated to animal breeding, usually of purebred livestock. Some may have originally been founded with government assistance or sponsorship, or owned by political leaders, while others are solely the private enterprise of those who own them. Some of the largest and most impressive are those dedicated to Thoroughbred horse breeding, such as

1369-647: The year as possible. Therefore, many breeding farms begin to put mares "under lights" in late winter in order to bring them out of anestrus early and allow conception to occur in February or March. One exception to this general rule is the field of endurance riding , which requires horses to be 60 true calendar months old (5 years) before competing at longer distances. Fillies are sexually mature by age two and are sometimes bred at that age, but generally should not be bred until they have stopped growing, usually by age four or five. A healthy, well-managed mare can produce

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