Freiberger Horse

Freiberger or Franche-Montagnes is a mountain horse that comes from the Jura mountains in western Switzerland. Together with the Swiss Warmblood they are bred by the Federal Stud Avenches, west of Bern. Like Einsiedl the breeding is based on Norman horses, but all horses from the Avenchesstuteriet brand have a stud symbol, a shield with the Swiss cross. Freiberger are used mostly as Franches but also as a riding horse.

History

Freiberger is a relatively new breed developed in the late 1800s by crossing the heavier horses that lived around the Jura Mountains and the Ardennes with lighter sport horses, mainly English thoroughbred and Arabian horses, but the biggest influence was from domestic horses Norman descent.

Two different types of the breed were developed, a heavier horse with more mass and a lighter horse, but there was little difference in the two different horses, although the lighter type became more sought after when equestrians were a growing interest. Almost all Freiberger goes back to the same stallion. The colt was named Valliant, born 1891, who was the grandson of an imported English hunter horse called Leo I who had ancestors from the English driving speed Norfolk trotter.

Valliant also had the influence of Norman cob, which has the same pedigree as the domestic horses that was first used at Freibergers development. The horses were used by a lot of peasants in the mountains as well as the Swiss army. It was not until after World War I, that they attempted a new line of race, based on the Norman stallion Urus, who became an important part in developing Freibergers after Valliant influence.

But farmers have since been very careful with any kind of breeding in order to maintain the Freiberger character. Freiberger bred up at the State Stud Avenches were bred under strictly controlled conditions. The two types were crossed to a single uniform type.

Attributes

Freiberger is approximately 150-155cm at the shoulders and can be any color, i.e. all colors except Pinto and brindle. The most common is brown and chestnut. The mountain horses are very sure-footed, calm and friendly. The horse is also very active and requires daily exercise.

The breed is characterized by his head which is quite small and looks like a pony’s head. The rear end is fairly strong, and the horses have great width between the hips but the legs are well developed and the horse can jump well because of its strong rear. Freiberger are also known as Franche-Montagnes in some parts of Europe and is a better known name than Freiberg.