Piber Federal Stud

The Lipizzaner breed was founded in 1580 at Lipica in what is now Slovenia, and after the collapse of the empire the Austrian stud moved; since 1920 the horses for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna have been bred at Piber in western Styria. Mares and foals are kept here, the stallions are selected and sent to Vienna for training at about four, and retired school stallions come back. The particular fact everyone learns on the tour is the colour: Lipizzaner foals are born dark bay or black and lighten gradually over six to ten years to the white the breed is known for, with the occasional horse never turning, and tradition holds that one dark horse is kept in the Vienna stable. Tours cover the stables, the stud farm and the alpine pastures the young horses summer on.

History

Piber Castle once belonged to the Abbey of St. Lambrecht, and the stud was set up in 1798 to breed horses for the army, coming under the imperial ministry of agriculture in 1867. In 1915 the Lipizzaners of the court stud at Lipica were moved to Laxenburg and Kladrub, and when the empire broke up after 1918 and Lipica went to Italy, the horses were divided among the new states; Austria kept the stallions of the Spanish Riding School and some breeding stock, which was brought together at Piber by 1920 (Wikipedia, Piber Federal Stud).

Highlights

• Foals born dark - lightening to white over six to ten years.
• The breeding stock - mares and young horses of the Spanish Riding School line.
• Retired school stallions - horses returned from Vienna after their careers.
• Alpine summer pastures - where the young horses are turned out to grow up.

When to go

April to October; summer pasture visits are seasonal. Half a day.

Things to know

Guided tours only, at set times. In summer many horses are up on the alp and not in the stables. It is a working stud, not a show - performances happen in Vienna, not here.

Nearby

Köflach is next door; Graz is forty minutes east.

Key facts