Justin, Friesian Horse Who Paints

• History of the Friesian
The breed was developed in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands, where there is evidence of thousands of years of horse populations, and this breed is said to have descended from the primitive forest horse.
Ancestors of the modern Friesians were used in medieval times to carry knights to battle. In the 12th and 13th centuries, some eastern horses of crusaders were mated with Friesian stock. During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Netherlands were shortly linked with Spain, there was less demand for heavy war horses, as battle arms changed and Andalusian blood was added, lightening their weights and thereby rendering them more suitable (in terms of less food intake and waste output) for work as more urban carriage horses.
The historian Ann Hyland wrote of the Friesian breed: