What is a “keuring”?
“Keuring” is the Dutch word for “judging” or “evaluation” of Friesian horses in North America by FPS judges from The Netherlands. The Dutch officials come to North America in teams once a year to evaluate the horses gathered in a central location throughout the various regions. Friesian horses are generally presented to FPS representatives at least twice in their lives. The first time, as foals, they are evaluated for entry into the Foal Book. At this time the foal is micro-chipped and a hair sample is pulled as a DNA record. If it has correct conformation and quality of movement, a foal may be awarded a “premie” or prize. A few foals will not be awarded a premie at all; most will be awarded third premie, with a few of the best selected for first and second premies. A Friesian horse is judged again when it is 3 years or older for entry into the studbook. Judging is done by grading each horse on a linear scoring form positive or negative from the Friesian breed standard for conformation
