Farn

•

Farn (Fax I / Monarch)

Farn was born in Holstein and descends from the Achill or 'F' line that began in 1877. Next to the Ethelbert line, it is the oldest Holsteiner stallion line. Farn himself left only a few offspring in Holstein, and his description in the official Holstein stallion book is less than glowing: 'Somewhat unharmonious stallion with a lovely head carriage. Built slightly 'down hill', good shoulder, flat back, heavily padded loin. Heavy bone, weak pasterns. Good mover.'

However he impressed the NWP committee members who purchased him, hoping his daughters would upgrade Dutch breeding - and he eventually became one of the great stallions of the Dutch Warmbloods.

At the time Farn was brought to Holland, the old agricultural horse was being transformed into the modern sporting model, but the farmers were still wary of the lighter types of Trakhener and Thoroughbred horses that were to play such a vital role - Farn with his Holsteiner heritage and substance was more their sort of horse. However the lighter stallions gained popularity and the breeders in the north lost interest in Farn.

"In the South however, the heavy stallion was recieved enthusiastically. Southern breeders had been almost overshooting their mark, when trying to generate a fine riding-horse with intensive use of Thoroughbred blood, which had resulted in loss of size, andd funny necks. They wanted to restore volume and bone. Farn broke the service records. In 1979 he was offered 236 mares. In 1978 he had been awarded the 'keur' predicate, in 1991, he was delcared 'preferent', seven years after his death. He left elelven approved sons, 123 'ster', 31 'keur', 14 'preferent' and 6 'prestatie' mares."

Farn was the sire of a number of notable international showjumpers, including Odin N, Black and White, Design and Olympus. Aside from Nimmerdor, Farn sired a number of stallion sons, including: Fanfare, Felix, Garant (ex Flipper), Safari, Wolfgang, ufarno, Amulet, Ulrich, and Uddel. By the end of his breeding career, Farn was the sire of 13 approved sons.

The valuable qualities that Farn bestowed on his descendants were power and ability, and a strong will. This will requires a skillfull trainer, for you should never offend a Farn. Handled well, they will give you their last. Giving just that little bit more is what makes Farn descendants superior, rock-hard horses, full of courage. Farn has come to the Nederlands in the early beginnings of the conversion into a riding horse breed. He had been abandoned and almost forgotten by the time that conversion began to materialize visibily. He had stayed on, however, and again offered suppost when it was needed most. He restored what has been lost on the way.

-Leading Stallions of the Netherlands 94-95