Horses in Slovenia
The mechanized agriculture led to a marked decline in the number of horses, followed by an increase in the 21st century, to a herd of around 20 000 head in the 2000s.
The horse, and the Lipizzan in particular, features prominently in Slovenian literature and in local traditions inherited from Slavic mythology.
[1] Equine remains dating back to the Hallstatt culture have been found in Dolenjska, in the south-east of the current country, putting in evidence the symbolic role of horses associated with male power in late prehistory.
[2] In some archaeological sites on Slovenian territory have been found 28 iron bridle bits dating from the early Middle Ages, as well as stirrups and spurs.
[6] Slovenia has also had mounted police units since 1920, which take part in various law enforcement missions, patrolling streets and parks.
There is also a small Slovenian fast-food chain selling horse meat specialties, particularly burgers in Ljubljana.
[17] Most horse breeding in Slovenia takes place at small stables, where brood mares are brought to be impregnated by licensed stallions.
The Lipizzan stallions present at Lipica belong to the breed's six traditional lineages, with mares representing 16 families.
[33] In 2004, around 1 000 Haflingers were bred in Slovenia,[33] with the number expected to fall to 550 by 2021, following a decline in the herd over several years.
[6] Studbook management and horse selection are handled by the National Breeding Service, attached to the Veterinary Faculty, with financial support from the Slovenian Ministry of Agriculture.
[6] According to analyses carried out in 2005, the Slovenian Arabian horse herd is free from the mutation responsible for severe combined immunodeficiency.
[49] According to mythologist and folklorist Monika Kropej, Slovenia's mythopoeia heritage, which gives the horse a prominent place in its songs and rituals, suggests an ancient cosmogonic role for this animal at solstice time, probably in connection with Perun, God of thunder and ruler of cosmic forces.
[50] Kropej points out that the winter and summer solstices, the beginning of spring and autumn, are all marked by the image of the horse in Slovenian heritage.
[51] The Slovenian half-horse tradition has similar roots to the legends concerning centaurs; it is mainly preserved in Styria, Upper Carniola and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
St. John's Eve is announced by Kresnik, who was born with horse hooves and often wears the image of this animal.
[52] The legend of Beli konj ("the white horse") tells of treasures hidden in the valley between Triglav and Vršac.
[53] According to this legend, an old hunter and a shepherd are climbing a mountain in search of treasure, when thunder rings out: a white horse stands where they want to dig.
To find the treasure, the white horse must be killed with the first bullet, when the first ray of light strikes its mane.
He is mortally wounded by a human being, but a miraculous flower of life springs from his blood, reviving him and restoring his vital force.
[54] Carnival, during which horse masks are often seen, heralds the arrival of spring, and St. George, riding a white mare, defeats a dragon, combined driving winter out of the country.
[55] In his role as dragon-slayer, St. George replaced Gromovnik (thundermaker), the God of thunder in Slavic mythology.
Slovenian legends also have it that King Herod ordered St. Stephen to be captured and tied to a beech tree in the middle of a green forest, where a wild white horse was to tear him to pieces.
[59] During the Advent of St. Nicholas Day, as described by Jože Vršnik, the Saint rides into the houses on a white horse.
[60] White Carniolan Christmas carols tell of a black stallion on which sits a boy wearing a silver cap or sash.
[63] In his introduction to the poem, Boris A. Novak describes it as one of Kocbek's most typical works, as well as an "exalted ode" that deepens to "reach mythological dimensions" and "make the Lipizzan a sacred animal".
[64] In this play, the Lipizzans go to the European Court of Human Rights and demand justice because their habitat is shrinking, they suffer from commercial tourism, are mistreated and become a mere means of generating profit.
[64] According to Kaučič's analysis, Novak "inscribes in his play a severe criticism of Slovenian policy towards Lipizzans", including the complete commercialization of Lipica and the exploitation of the horses for tourism and profit.
[65] Kaučič brings this piece closer to ecocriticism, in that it carries the voice of the Lipizzans themselves, as free entities worthy of decent treatment.
[66] In 2006, Slovenian poet Miklavž Komelj published the poem series Hippidrom, which also carries an anti-speciesist, ecocritical message.
[68] In his book, Dutch journalist Frank Westerman describes the outraged reaction of Austrian tourists when they discovered this representation of the Lipizzan on Slovenian coins.
