Lipica Things to Do

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Lipizzaner originates from Slovene Karst horse which was later refined with other breeds.
In the year 1580 3 Spanish stallions were brougth to Lipica,they had Berber, Pyrenees and Arab origin.

Lipizzaner breed has built its exceptional reputation due to its characteristics which include: elegance, docility, endurance and a moderate nature.

Today, the Lipizzaner is bred in six national stud farms: Piber in Austria, Ðakovo in Croatia, Fara Sabina in Italy, Szilvasvarad in Hungary, Simbata de Jos in Romania, Topolcianky in Slovakia and Karadjordjevo in Serbia.

There are about 4.000 Lipiizzaners in the world, 700 in Slovenia. In Lipica stud farmthey take care for cca. 350 horses.

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Lipica is a cradle of Lipizzaner horses from all over the world , founded in 1580.
From then on Lipica stud farm is breeding purebred Lippizaner horses,from last century they also have their own classical riding school.

Guided tours are as shown below:

January
10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00
February
10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00
March
10.00(*), 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00(*)
April
9.00(*), 10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00(**), 17.00, 18.00(*)
May
9.00(*), 10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00(**), 17.00, 18.00(*)
June
9.00(*), 10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00(**), 17.00, 18.00(*)
July
9.00, 10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00(**), 17.00, 18.00
August
9.00, 10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00(**), 17.00, 18.00
September
9.00(*), 10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00(**), 17.00, 18.00(*)
October
9.00(*), 10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00, 16.00(**), 17.00, 18.00(*)
November
10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00
December
10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00

* Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only.
** With the Classical riding school presentation at 15.00 hrs, the tour to the stud farm is scheduled at 14.00 hrs or at 16.00 hrs.
*** Except Easter Monday and 25th June.

Performances of classical riding school are from April to October on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday at 15.00. Bold

Extra performances on public holidays at 15.00:
1 January, Easter Sunday and Monday, 1 and 2 May, 25 June, 15 August, 30 December.

Remark: With the Classical riding school presentation at 15.00 hrs, the tour to the stud farm is scheduled at 14.00 hrs or at 16.00 hrs.
Extra performances of the classical riding school are available by prior arrangement.

Training sessions of the classical riding school

Visits to training sessions of the classical riding school
From April to October, every day, except Monday: 10.00 - 12.00 hrs.

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Tours of the stud farm can be taken in a variety of languages and there are oppertunities to see the horses dance. Our timing was completely out so I couldn't comment on whether it is worth watching the "shows".

The Lipizana horses are beautiful. Starting life brown and then turning white as they mature. This is no longer the only Lipizana breeding farm in the world - but obviously the first and most famous.

The horses that were out in paddocks were all very gentle and came to see us for a fuss.
The horses that were in stables were the "show" horses and they were exhausted. They are obviously worked very hard and the routines are very tiring. Thus much said all horses appeared to be very well taken care of.

There is a room (or there was when we were there) that has been turned into a gallery for paintings of the Lipizana horses. Our guide enthused over the gallery but my children were bored senseless and I preferred to spend the time with the horses.

The Chapel of St. Anthony of Padua is a pretty little chapel that is located on the grounds of the Lipica horse farm and is visited as part of the horse farm tour. The chapel was built in the 1600s and then remodeled in the 1800s. It features a beautiful frescoed ceiling.

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Every hour, there is a tour offered of the stables where the Lippizaner horses are bred and raised. In addition to the two primary sets of stables, the tour also includes the farm's chapel. The tour is offered in several different languages, with separate tour groups for each language.

If you are a horse fan, you should visit Lipica. I admit that for me it wasn't that exciting... Anyway, the white horses are beautiful. You get a guided tour in which you hear everything you want know (and them some more...) about horses in general and the history of the Lipica horses. The horses were raised and trained here and then sent to Vienna, back in the times when Slovenia was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. But there are still horses and training going in here. There are presentations of the riding school between April and October (consult the WEB site for specific days and hours).

This is just to let you know that today (8th July) I discovered, reading some travel articles, that the wonderful horses you can see in THE CAMARQUE (SEE MY FRANCE PAGE) are descendants of pre-historic horses.

I tell you this because these white horses are born dark and become white during their 4th and 6th year of age......like the Lipica horses, although these change colour after their 1st year....

Quite some years, not to say decades! I holidayed in THE PROVENCE and yes, in my travel report, with already a bit yellowed pages, I found this postcard I must have sent someone....

Here you see the CAMARGUE horses, indeed white and dark....

How about this..

Seeing how they are trained makes you wonder how this is possible.

But in Lipica each horse has its own rider and they will form a team and stay together!

PLEASE, SEE MY VIENNA PAGES...I SAW THE LIPIZZANER HORSES IN VIENNA IN A SHOW......