Category Archives: Historic Notes

The Friesian Sjees

Perhaps one of the most iconic symbols of the Friesian’s proud driving heritage is the traditional two-wheeled Dutch sjees. The sjees (pronounced “shay-z” as in the French ‘chaise’ – meaning chair), became popular in mid eighteenth century Friesland as a gig wealthy landowners and their wives would drive out on Sundays and special occasions usually with a single or pair of Friesian horses.

In Fryske Sjees
Photo copyright David van Mill

The vehicle itself consists of two large 14-spoked wheels measuring almost 5 feet high and a small, ornate body suspended high above the ground by leather straps or thoroughbraces. The body is often decorated in the rococo style of King Louis XV and may display amazingly fine and detailed paintings on its carved panels.

Driven in a traditional manner, the carriage will seat a lady and gentleman side by side in traditional Dutch costume from the mid 1800’s. The man sits on the left and wears knickerbockers, tall socks, buckled shoes and a top hat, while the woman wears a white lace bonnet, white apron, and a dress complimenting the turnout. The horse typically wears a breastcollar and is driven with white reins.

In the 18th Century, the sjees was used behind the Friesian in trotting races at village festivals, in which drivers competed for the ‘Golden Whip’, before competition moved on to faster and lighter sulkies.

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The Black Brigade

The Black Brigade etching

This is an excerpt from a 1971 reprint of The Horse-World of London (1893) By W.J. Gordon, originally published in 1893. The book contains information about all classes of the London equine, from the coal ponies, to the stately carriage horses, to the brewsters horses, to the queen’s stables. Although never using their current name, the funeral horses described in the following excerpt are with little doubt what we now know as the Friesian. The descriptions of both appearance and temperament are suprisingly similar to how they are described by adoring owners today. Also it is noted that compared to the harsh working and living conditions other horses in the book endured, the funeral horses are surprisingly well cared for and doted upon.

Update: Google now offers the entirety of this book online for viewing. You can see it, including the excerpt below, at The Horse-world of London.

“A good many of the coal horses are blacks and dark bays, and by some people they are known as “the black brigade”; but the real black brigade of London’s trade are the horses used for funerals.

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Antique Friesian Postcards

Alva 113  

Here are three photos which will surely be of interest. They are from the wonderful book: Carriages of the Past;Victorian postcards of the collection of Mario Broekhuis. Published in 1998 by Wim Knijnenburg Produkties. The first thumbnail is of Alva 113 Preferant, yes, that is 113, a very early photo of an Approved Friesian stallion. He is the fifth of six approved sons by De Regent 32 Preferant, son of Prins Hendrik 24. Of the six sons, he is the only to produce approved sons of his own, two, Oom 119 and Stefanus 124.
The next two photos are also of Friesians, shown in front of the traditional Frisian sjees. Unfortunately, these photos are in a high resolution so that the text beneath them can be read, so the enlarged version may take some time for them to load properly.

Portrait of Pieter Schout on Horseback

Portrait of Pieter Schout on Horseback
‘Portrait of Pieter Schout on Horseback’, Thomas de Keyser, 1660

I ran across this while flipping through a book of artwork on Amsterdam’s Rikjsmuseum. Imagine my suprise to turn the page and find a perfect example of a modern Friesian horse, painted in the 17th century! It seems the Friesian was bred in a more refined form, like that we see today, for quite some time, and the breed only started to get heavier at the beginning of the 20th century, when their use returned to primarily that of a draft horse. I should note that, while the painting seems to portray a Friesian perfectly, and I certainly believe it is one, the official description of the horse is a ‘black Andalusian’. I shall let you decide for yourselves.