Piber Federal Stud
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The Piber Federal Stud (''Bundesgestüt Piber'') is a
stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry 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 ...
dedicated to the breeding of
Lipizzan The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner ( hr, Lipicanac, cz, Lipicán, hu, Lipicai, it, Lipizzano, sr, Lipicaner, sl, Lipicanec), is a European horse breed, breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroqu ...
horses, located at the village of Piber, near the town of
Köflach Köflach is a small city in the district of Voitsberg in the Austrian state of Styria, at the foot of the Stubalpe mountain. The town has a federal stud in the village of Piber that supplies the Lipizzaner horses to the famous Spanish Riding Sch ...
in western
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. It was founded in 1798, began breeding Lipizzan horses in 1920, and today is the primary breeding farm that produces the
stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...
s used by the
Spanish Riding School The Spanish Riding School (german: Spanische Hofreitschule) is an Austrian institution dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses, based in Vienna, Austria, whose performances in the Hofburg are a ...
, where the best stallions of each generation bred at Piber are brought for training and later public performance."WELCOME TO PIBER" ''Bundesgestüt Piber'' Web site, accessed April 10, 2010
/ref> One of Piber’s major objectives is "to uphold a substantial part of Austria’s cultural heritage and to preserve one of the best and most beautiful
horse breed A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a l ...
s in its original form."


History

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."History."
''Bundesgestüt Piber'' Web site, accessed April 10, 2010
In 1915, at the beginning of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, the Lipizzan horses from the Court Stud at
Lipica Lipica may refer to several places: Poland * Lipica, Poland, a village in the Province of Warmia-Masuria Serbia * Lipica (Tutin), a village in the Municipality of Tutin Slovenia * Lipica (border crossing), a border crossing near Lipica ...
(today located in
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
) were evacuated and placed at Laxenburg and Kladrub. Following the war, the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
was broken up, with Lipica becoming part of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. 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 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the high command of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
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 the animals for
horsemeat Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Eurasia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3 million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early existen ...
had it captured the facility. However, the Third Army's United States Second Cavalry, a
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful ...
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 George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
learned of the raid, and arranged for the director of the Spanish Riding School,
Alois Podhajsky Alois Podhajsky (24 February 1898 – 23 May 1973) was the director of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria as well as an Olympic medal-winner in dressage, riding instructor, and writer. He competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics a ...
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 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.Edwards, ''The Encyclopedia of the Horse'', p. 129


Today

In 2001, the Spanish Riding School and 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 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 the baroque buildings on the ground are available for concerts, festivals and weddings."Visitor Information" ''Bundesgestüt Piber'' Web site, accessed April 10, 2010


Breeding program

The Piber Federal Stud is 555 hectares in size. Approximately 250 horses are kept there, including 70
broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
s. Two stallions from the Spanish Riding School are brought to Piber each breeding season."Federal Piber: Facts and Figures." ''Bundesgestüt Piber'' accessed September 12, 2010
Only stallions from the Spanish Riding School are used as breeding stallions, and all six classic stallion bloodline families are used. Approximately 40
foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foa ...
s per year are born at Piber. Young horses grow up in 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."Horses for sale" ''Bundesgestüt Piber'' Web site, accessed April 10, 2010
The Piber Federal Stud is the only location containing
foundation bloodstock Foundation bloodstock or foundation stock refers to animals that are the progenitors, or foundation, of a breed or of a given bloodline within such. Many modern breeds can be traced to specific, named foundation animals, but a group of animals ma ...
from all 15 classically recognized
mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...
families. The facility includes
stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
s for stallions, but also extensive grazing and pastures. At the age of four, selected stallions come to Vienna, while the others are sold. After several years of training in Vienna, the stallions chosen for breeding purposes come back to Piber. To avoid
inbreeding Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders a ...
, 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."ADOPTING AT SPANISCHE HOFREITSCHULE - BUNDESGESTÜT PIBER" ''Bundesgestüt Piber'' Web site, accessed April 10, 2010


Future trends

The Spanish Riding School also has facilities for 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 The Lainzer Tiergarten is a 24.50 km² (6,054- acre) wildlife preserve in the southwest corner of Vienna, Austria, 80% of it being covered in woodland. It dates back to 1561, when Ferdinand I created it as a fenced-in hunting ground for h ...
, where the horses were kept in the stables of the
Hermesvilla Hermesvilla is a palace in the Lainzer Tiergarten in Vienna, a former hunting area for the Habsburg nobility. Emperor Franz Joseph I gave it to his wife Empress Elisabeth (nicknamed "Sisi"), and he called it the "castle of dreams.“ The name o ...
. Since 2005, the school stallions spend their summer in
Heldenberg Heldenberg is a small municipality in the district of Hollabrunn in Lower Austria, Austria, about 50 km north-west of Vienna. It is most notable for the Heldenberg Memorial. Geography The municipality was created in the 1970s as an adminis ...
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."SUMMER RESIDENCE AND TRAINING FACILITY IN HELDENBERG: AN OUTLOOK ON THE FUTURE" Spanish Riding School web site, accessed September 22, 2011.


References

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