Survival of the Strongest – Austrian Norikers

Survival of the Strongest – Austrian Norikers

Goauche on paper
34 x 29cm
FOR SALE

I took a photograph of these horses at Neuschawanstein Castle in Bavaria and I just had to paint them. Later I found out that they are a small Austrian Draft Horse called a Noriker. They are an impressively strong breed with very muscular neck, chest and shoulders, not very tall but apparantly ideally suited for pulling heavy loads in mountainous areas. An interesting fact is when a Noriker stallion is nominated for stud service, it must successfully complete a test of its strength and speed before it is able to cover a mare. It must pull a heavy load, as well as, walk 500 meters in a specified length of time. Survival of the strongest in practice