About Keurings
So you are a new Friesian owner and you know nothing about keurings. Don't be worried, they are no big deal. A keuring is simply a judging, where the horse is judged on conformation and movement. The most important thing you need to know as an owner is that you can HIRE a Dutch runner to show your horse for you. Even if you are a track star, you should still hire a Dutch runner to show your horse at his best. There is a lot to it besides just being a fast runner and, frankly, if you don't know exactly what you are doing, it's dangerous.
So, as an owner, your main duty before a keuring is to make sure your horse is in good shape, not fat, not thin, but very well-muscled. If you are showing a 3 year old for Studbook entry, make sure they are fully shod because the Dutch judges won't like it if they only have front shoes on! You can trim the whiskers, the hair on the chin, and the longer hairs on the back of the legs up to the feathers (don't touch the feathers or mane!). You as a handler (you still will have to hand your horse over to the Dutch runner) should dress in all white if possible (it is a sign of respect to the judges) and your horse should wear a white bridle, as can be found on ebay, and other stores.
In Holland, the keuring circuit occurs during the summer. In the USA, the Dutch judges come over here in September to travel around the country and judge all the keurings. The exact schedule in the USA is never announced until August or so. In Holland, they usually keep foals with the mother until the keuring and then separate them after the keuring if the foals are old enough to be weaned. The foals should run alongside their mothers during the foal keuring and the Dutch judges don't like it when they see a foal alone without it's mother. But it is possible to enter a foal without it's mother, just don't be surprised if you hear some criticism.
If you buy a young Friesian, and the papers say Veulenbook (under FPS register) or you see Vb. after the name, that means the horse has not been to their adult keuring yet, so you can take them to one if you want to... (Except if they say Vb. Ster, then they have been to a keuring and received the rank of Star, so you have a Star Stallion.) Usually owners will present their Friesian at a keuring for admission to the "studbook", "marebook", or "ruinbook" (geldingbook) at age 3 or 4, but sometimes farmers in the Netherlands won't bother to do so. It may be smarter for you to wait until they are 4 or older to bring them to ensure they are fully mature!!! For entry into the studbook, marebook, or ruinbook, all you can do is make sure your horse is in good physical shape, like a well trained athlete before a track meet. The judges like to see your adult horse shod on all 4 feet for the keuring, so go ahead and have that done, even if it is only for the keuring. After you have prepared your horse the best you could, when your number is called, you will hand your horse over to a runner, and then it is just up to the Judges. After all the horses in your class go, they will call numbers out again, and you are supposed to go back in and walk your horses around the ring, in order. If you are called first, be happy, it means that you are currently in first place. But keep them walking in good form because they are still judging and they will make adjustments! The judges like to see a lot of "SPACE" in the walk... translated this means they like to see your horse take large steps, so you have to enable this as the person leading the horse. They may tell you to switch order and then you will have been moved up or down. At the very end you are lined up from first to last. Don't be surprised if your horse gets some criticism. You have to have thick skin at these keurings. Maybe your horse is better suited to dressage, and that is not what the judges are looking for in movement. If you horse doesn't make star, you can always try them again another year.
Article written by Legacy Friesians owner, Sue Zoltner.
Click here to see the article on the Stallion Keuring in Holland, which was published in "the Friesian" magazine (FHANA's publication), written by Sue Zoltner.
Approved Breeding Stallions
KFPS stallions approved for breeding (to KFPS/FHANA mares only) can be recognized by having only one Friesian name followed by a sequential number but beware; as some stallions get disapproved, they are often purchased by the FPZV German registry and continue breeding under--unfortunately--that same name (examples: Yk 339, Krist 358, & Tjesse 400). There are also registries that came about to make their own rules that copy the KFPS system with a single stallion name and a 3-digit number to make it even more confusing.
If a stallion has an elaborate name, therefore, he may be KFPS bred and "registered" with KFPS papers but not KFPS approved for breeding. The horse will not lose its KFPS paper if that was his breeding. You will notice, however, that they will not be recognized by and registered with the FHANA or be recognized by the KFPS as a breeding stallion, and the stallions will usually actually have been reregistered with the German FPZV registry that allows and promotes crossbreeding.
Offspring of such not-approved stallions from a KFPS/FHANA mare can only be registered in the B-book or not at all if KFPS heritage is not clear. It takes three generations of breeding back to an approved KFPS stallion to return to the full-value studbook registry.
There is also no registry that has as good of system as the KFPS to allow only top quality stallions to breed.
Through the years, the KFPS studbook works its way through the alphabet. The number following the breeding stallions' names started at 1 and will sequentially number through. The oldest breeding stallions are now in the upper 200s, such as Feitse 293 pref born in 1983. Most stallions currently have a 300 number with the youngest stallions in the lower 400s.
Some deceased stallions are still available through frozen semen, such as Lammert 260, Teunis 332 & Tjimme 275. It can be a bit trickier to immediately see if a stallion is deceased or if he has been disapproved on offspring, but all of that information can be found in the KFPS/FHANA information resources: website, studbook magazines, and studbook publications, as well as on the internet at large, along with why they may have been disapproved, what offspring they generally produced, and what the stallion and his offspring accomplished.
Stallions are disapproved for good reasons, although that doesn't mean that none of their offspring are good. Quality will always be rewarded on its own merit.
A disapproved stallion, such as Yk 339 and Krist 358, can be purchased by another registry or independent breeder as mentioned and continue their breeding efforts. Play close attention, therefore, what stallion you choose for your Dutch mare. To be able to breed to the best stallions--KFPS approved stallions--you need to have a Dutch registered KFPS/FHANA mare. It is therefore valuable to the mare owner interested in breeding to start out with a Dutch registered Friesian mare.
