Noriker

About the breed

The Noriker is a medium-heavy cold-blooded mountain horse from the Eastern Alps that has been bred in Austria for centuries; after the Pinzgau district of Salzburg, the starting point of its main breeding area, it is also called the Pinzgauer. It was developed as a work and pack horse for mountain farms, and today it is seen in harness, in the forest, pulling sleighs, in parades and under saddle. It is recognisable by its sturdy, deep build and by an unusual range of coat colours, from blacks and bays to spotted "tigers" and Mohrenkopf roans.

From Roman Noricum to the Archbishops of Salzburg

The breed takes its name from the Roman province of Noricum. The studbook of origin, kept by the Salzburg State Horse Breeding Association, states that the Noriker goes back to horse breeding that already existed in the days of that province. From the mid-16th century the Archbishops of Salzburg regulated horse breeding in their territory and so laid the foundation of today's Noriker; the archbishopric also bought the Schwaighof stud. The Austrian rare-breeds society Arche Austria names a 1688 decree by Archbishop Thun as a milestone: from then on, native mares could be covered only by the court stallions.

At the end of the 19th century the first Salzburg breeding cooperatives were founded, and with them came a studbook. According to Arche Austria, the first stud book of 1903 recorded 135 stallions and 1081 mares. English and Belgian stallions were used at first, but today the Noriker is bred pure in a closed studbook: no other breed is allowed in the pedigree of a registered breeding animal, and stallions must trace back to one of the five bloodlines Vulkan, Nero, Schaunitz, Diamant and Elmar. Pferd Austria reports 4600 registered breeding mares and 190 stallions in Austria, the largest closed Noriker breeding area in Europe.

The Noriker and the Slovenian Cold-blood

The Noriker shaped Slovenian horse breeding deeply, but the Slovenian Cold-blood is a separate breed. According to the breeding programme for the Slovenian Cold-blood (Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, and the breeders' association, 2010), the original population in western Slovenia was essentially of Noriker origin until 1918, and between 1940 and 1945 only Noriker stallions were used for breeding throughout Slovenia. In 1979, 10 Noriker mares were imported from Austria, and in 2002 another 35 came from the Czech Republic. The Noriker studbook kept from 1979 to 2002 never held more than 50 animals; because the scattered population could not be kept pure with the breeders' limited means, it was merged entirely into the Slovenian Cold-blood studbook. Noriker stallions are still used, as an exception, to refresh the blood of the Slovenian Cold-blood: since 2006 only individual, selected Noriker stallions may be entered in its studbook.

Height at the Withers, Weight and Build

The Noriker generally stands 156 to 165 cm at the withers. The studbook of origin gives an ideal height of 156 to 164 cm for mares and 160 to 165 cm for stallions aged four and over; to enter the main studbook a mare must measure at least 152 cm, while a stallion aged four or older may measure no more than 169 cm at registration. Pferd Austria gives a height of 158 to 163 cm, in line with the studbook ideal.

The studbooks set no weight. In a small PSSM study published in 2021 (Zsoldos and colleagues), 15 Noriker mares weighed 736 kg on average (± 66 kg) and 5 stallions 670 kg (± 76 kg), so, as a rough guide, an adult Noriker weighs about 600 to 800 kg. The breeding goal describes a medium-heavy, broad horse with a low centre of gravity, sure-footedness and good balance: a clean head with a kind, attentive eye, a strong neck of medium length, a sloping shoulder, a deep body, a broad, split croup and hard-wearing hooves.

Colours: from Black to Tiger and Mohrenkopf

According to Pferd Austria, the Noriker owes much of its popularity to its wide range of colours. The studbook of origin lists blacks, bays, chestnuts, blue, bay and red roans, Mohrenkopf horses, tigers and tobiano-type pintos (Plattenschecken). Roans have white hairs scattered through the coat, with darker points such as the head and legs; according to Arche Austria, breeders also call the blue roan a Mohrenkopf. A tiger carries the leopard complex spotting pattern, while a Plattenschecke has large white patches (the tobiano pattern). Arche Austria adds that chestnuts should ideally be dark with a flaxen mane and tail, and that the rarer colours often fetch high prices from enthusiasts.

Noriker, Haflinger or Slovenian Cold-blood: What Is the Difference?

A dark chestnut with a flaxen mane on an Alpine pasture may be a Noriker or a Haflinger, but they are two different breeds. The Noriker is a cold-blooded draught horse with an ideal height of 156 to 165 cm, while the Haflinger is a smaller mountain horse that, according to the Tyrolean Haflinger breeders' association, stands 140 to 155 cm and is always chestnut. The Tyrolean association rejects any relationship between the Haflinger and cold-blooded horses, but an international genomic study (Druml and colleagues, 2018) counts the Noriker among the populations involved in forming the Haflinger and found genetic admixture between the two breeds. The authors suppose that a significant share of the Haflinger's founding mares were Noriker mares, while stressing that the Noriker's contribution has not yet been adequately quantified. A Noriker can be almost any colour, including tiger or Mohrenkopf.

What mainly separates it from the Slovenian Cold-blood is the studbook and size. The Slovenian breeding programme gives an average height of 155 cm (148 to 160 cm) for Cold-blood stallions and 150 cm (146 to 158 cm) for mares, less than the Noriker ideal, and it accepts every colour except pinto (patched) horses, preferring as few white markings as possible. Chestnuts are therefore allowed and, for the Međimurje type, explicitly listed among the colours.

Temperament: Calm, Good-Natured and Willing

The breeding goal calls for a good character and a balanced temperament. Pferd Austria lists health, longevity, good nature, excellent character and a balanced temperament as the qualities for which the Noriker is especially valued. Stallion performance tests also score handling, temperament and willingness to learn, so selection takes character into account as well.

Is the Noriker Suitable for Beginners and Children?

A Noriker can be a good horse for a beginner, but only if the individual horse is calm and well schooled and the beginner works under an experienced instructor. Arche Austria writes that, despite differences between individuals, most Norikers are notably quiet, reliable riding and driving horses that also suit beginners. Anyone working with a Noriker must still respect its size: a horse weighing several hundred kilograms can accidentally tread on a foot or squeeze a person against a wall. Children around such a large horse therefore generally need adult supervision.

Uses: Driving, Forestry, Sleighs and Riding

The Noriker is first and foremost a driving and work horse that can also be ridden. The studbook of origin states that it is suited mainly to driving and pulling and is used as a carriage and farm horse for heavy draught, with suitability as a riding horse also possible. Arche Austria mentions it in forest and field work and in tourism, in front of carriages and sleighs, and rural riding groups in Salzburg, Carinthia, Upper Styria and Tyrol also compete with Norikers in dressage, show jumping and eventing. The stallion performance test shows what the breed is built for: under the Salzburg breeding programme, a stallion at the testing station must pull a sledge with a resistance of 20 % of its own body weight over 500 metres, with an ideal time of six minutes.

Feeding: Thrifty but Big

The Noriker is a thrifty horse, so its diet should be built on good hay or grazing rather than hard feed. Arche Austria describes it as undemanding and uncomplicated to feed. The DEFRA Code of Practice for the welfare of horses recommends that horses have almost constant access to forage such as grass, hay or haylage during their non-exercise hours, and continuous access to clean, fresh water. There are no universal quantities: rations should match the weight, condition and workload of the individual horse, and the DEFRA code advises monitoring body condition regularly and adjusting feeding accordingly.

Exercise, Turnout and Equine Company

A Noriker needs daily exercise and the company of other horses. The DEFRA code states that horses are herd animals that would live in relatively stable social groups in the wild and that isolating a horse from other horses can have a negative psychological impact. Arche Austria adds that Norikers, like all horses, do best in an open stable with permanent access to a paddock, and that stables must be built with their body mass in mind, because a scratching Noriker can quickly dislodge flimsily fitted walls.

Grooming: Hooves, Teeth and a Thick Mane

Grooming a Noriker is not demanding, but it needs to be regular. The thick mane and tail should be brushed out, the coat cleaned before and after work, and the hooves picked out and checked every day. The DEFRA code states that hooves should usually be trimmed or re-shod by a farrier every 4 to 8 weeks and that teeth should be inspected by a vet or qualified equine dental technician at least once a year. Plan vaccinations and parasite control with your vet; for worms, the code recommends faecal egg counts and the use of wormers only when necessary.

Health and Lifespan

No breed-specific lifespan has been published for the Noriker; the Merck Veterinary Manual gives 25 to 30 years for horses in general, depending on health, care and size. A key breed issue is the GYS1 mutation that causes type 1 polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM1), an inherited muscle disease that, according to the Merck manual, is dominantly inherited and can be diagnosed with a genetic test. In a study at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 34 % of 517 breeding Norikers and 33 % of the 2014 foal crop carried the mutation; carriers were least common among the leopard-spotted horses. The studbook of origin records the PSSM status of every registered stallion and does not register stallions with two copies of the mutation.

The tiger pattern is caused by the LP (leopard complex) gene. In horses generally, animals with two copies of the gene have congenital stationary night blindness; of the genotyped leopard-spotted Norikers, 97 % were heterozygous, carrying one copy. A horse with sweet itch (summer eczema), moon blindness, sarcoids or certain other defects does not meet the health requirements of the studbook of origin for breeding animals. Genetic testing is worth discussing with your vet and the breeder.

Who the Noriker Suits – and Who It Suits Less

The Noriker is a good choice for driving enthusiasts, farms with forestry work or calm leisure riders looking for a strong, good-natured horse, provided they can offer a spacious, solidly built stable, daily turnout and other horses for company. It suits less well anyone who wants a sport horse for demanding dressage or show jumping, or anyone without the space or equipment for such a large animal. Before buying, check the pedigree, schooling and PSSM1 status of the individual horse. It is worth keeping records of vaccinations, farrier visits, dental checks and body condition.

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