photo : Piber Federal Stud
Whether you’re an equus addict or not, September brings a festival of fun and frolics with members of the horse family in Styria that everyone can enjoy. Köflach and Piber Castle are the scenic settings for several days of celebration, as this year’s colts return from their summer sojourn.
Equus – the Horse Family
Animals with medium to large bodies, long heads, necks and manes are all members of the horse family (Latin : equus, from which we get equestrian). Wild and domesticated horses, donkeys and zebras are all related. Other characteristics they share are slender legs and hairy tails. Their eyes tend to be set well back on their heads, giving them a wide-angle view of the world, without losing their binocular vision.
Horses are only one of two mammals in the world that perspire profusely to help them cool down. They are well adapted for living on open plains, mountains or deserts, where their cooling system allows them to run for longer without overheating!
Man and Beast
photo : Piber Federal Stud
Apart from their sweat system, horses share other common characteristics with mankind. They are sociable creatures who tend to live in groups (herds) with the head of the household nominally being the male, whilst the mare controls the household budget (food, water resources and such like). It’s perhaps not surprising (well, not to me anyway!) that the main role of the man – er, male horse – is to control mating opportunities in his family.
And here is where his human counterpart might get a bit jealous – at least if he’s in the western world. A horse family typically consists of the male and his other (better) half, plus several more females with whom he has his wicked way. He hoofs out the other males to live in boy bands (groups of young male horses, who presumably haven’t yet found their favourite female friends) then he can sew his wild oats, so to speak!
Another interesting thing about the commonalities between man and beast – or rather, lady and mare – is the reproductive activity of both. Mares tend to only have one foal at a time, though like women may sometimes have multiple births. And many mares have foals on an annual basis. It isn’t that long ago that a similar pattern existed in our own societies (still does in some parts of the world!). But for the invention of modern medicine and other devices, it probably still would.
photo : Piber Federal Stud
Like modern-day mums, mares wean their offspring from between 4 and 13 months. Those living in the wild tending to feed their foals for much longer than their domesticated counterparts. Again, we see this in the world of women. City dwellers, working mothers and women from so called developed countries, tend to get their babies onto the bottle and hunks of bread (well, rusks at least) much earlier than their cousins in third world countries.
Where women and mares differ significantly, however, is in relation to the reproductive cycle. Whilst women are all over the place in terms of ovulation and gestation, horses are much more orderly in their behaviour. Their cycle is controlled by the photoperiod (length of the day), so that they only ovulate when days start to lengthen, thereby preventing conception in the winter. Their gestation period is 11 months and if foals were born at the harshest time of year – the deepest darkest days of winter – they would stand less chance of survival.
An interesting thought occurs – I wonder if horses suffer PMT?
That could make for interesting times in the horsey households!
Lipizzaner Horses
Unlike most mares, the Lipizzaner at Piber Federal Stud in Steiermark don’t give birth in the spring months. January saw the first foals arriving in the Austrian winter wonderland. It’s probably fair to say their domesticated life-style could have a bearing on this behaviour, as might the tender loving care bestowed upon them by the super staff at the stud.
But like all good mothers, the Lipizzaner mares saw their sons take to the wide open spaces of the high mountain pastures to play during their summer in the sun. Boy bands out on the hills before they have to knuckle down and sew their wild oats, no doubt!
And now it’s time to celebrate their coming home in September.
September Celebrations at Köflach and Piber Castle
A very kind lady at Piber has furnished the following:
Dear Linda!
Thanks a lot for your inquiry!
I can give you following information’s about our events in autumn 2012.
8. September : Homecoming of the colts from their summer season
From the beginning of June until the beginning of September the young Lipizzaner colts enjoy their supper sojourn in the mountains at a sea height of 1.500 meters.
The day of coming home is celebrated by many visitors! More than 40 stallions will be welcomed at about 1:30 pm in the city of Köflach!
22. September: Autumn Parade
Enjoy the world of the Lipizzaner horses with performances of our riding and driving department as well as performances of the horses from the world famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
Beginning: 1:30 pm
Entrance fee:
Adult: Euro 18,00
Senior: Euro 16,00
Child: Euro 10,00
22. September: „Lipizzanerkulinarium & Autumn Parade“
At our „2nd Lipizzanerkulinarium” in the castle of Piber you will have the opportunity to lavish and enjoy culinary delicacies prepared by renowned styrian masterchefs and top winegrowers in an elaborate ambiance in our decorated courtyard, after visiting the autumn parade, where the world famous stallions from the Spanish Horse Riding School in Vienna will be presented and also perform.
Entrance fee: € 130,- per person and € 1.300,- for a table for 10 persons
All this is a welcome contribution towards preserving our cultural heritage in Piber.
Autumn Parade: 13:30 hrs
Lipizzanerkulinarium: 17:00 hrs
Dress code: traditional styrian dress (Dirndl & Lederhose)
Unfortunately I must inform you, that we don´t have a shop near Piber where you can rent a traditional styrian dress.
Enclosed you can find some pictures from our events.
If you need further information’s´ don´t hesitate to contact me.
Thank you very much.
Best Regards.
Sascha Koszednar
Sekretariat – Marketing & Tourismus
Not quite from the horse’s mouth, but near enough!
And best of all, super Sascha has sent some superb scenes from their late summer events for us all to enjoy.
I’ve just had another thought – where do the female foals go in summer?
I’ll ask Sascha…
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