Saved during War: How the Lipizzaner Horses Survived World War II
When we think of war, we think of people, politics, and destruction. Rarely do we think of horses — yet during World War II, one of Europe’s most treasured horse breeds stood on the brink of extinction.
This is the remarkable story of how the Lipizzaner horses were moved across borders, hidden from bombs, and ultimately saved — not only in Europe, but as far away as South Africa.
This is a story very close to my heart as the Italian part of my family originates and resides in Trieste, 15,5 km away from Lipica. Lipica is where I first rode a horse and my passion for horses was ignited…..even though at the age of 4, I rode a miniature pony and not a Lipizzaner.
The story begins in Lipica, in present-day Slovenia, where the Lipizzaner breed was founded in 1580 under the Habsburg monarchy. For centuries, these horses were bred for imperial use and classical riding, eventually becoming synonymous with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna.
Most people have a distinct picture of smallish, solid, grey horses performing high level dressage moves to the Radetzky march. They are famous for a movement called the capriole, a move that originated on the battlefield and entails the horse rearing up followed by a double barrel kick that served in decapitating the enemy, nice! This is a very difficult exercise and only performed by the Lipizzaner, as far as I know. Other Lippi specific moves include the courbette, croupade and ballotade.
By the late 1930s, Lipica lay dangerously close to future front lines.
In 1941, Axis forces occupied Yugoslavia, including Slovenia, resulting in Lipica not longer being safe.
The danger of bombing and artillery fire, confiscation for military use or starvation due to the collapse of food supplies became a reality.
The horses needed to be evacuated into safer territories. The Lipizzaners were divided and moved to multiple locations across Europe. The breeding stock was taken to the Piber Stud in Styria (Austria). The Stallions went to the Spanish riding school in Vienne (Austria). Some horses were relocated to Hostau, then German-occupied Czechoslovakia
By 1944, Hostau housed not only Lipizzaners, but also other rare European horse breeds, pregnant mares, and foals. The dispersal strategy was deliberate: never keep all the horses in one place.
Operation Cowboy (April–May 1945): The Rescue of Europe’s Great Horses
By late World War II, Nazi Germany had consolidated Europe’s finest breeding horses—including Lipizzaners, Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and warmbloods—into centralized breeding stations, of which Hostau was the most important one.
At this time Hostau housed
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Lipizzaners from the Spanish Riding School (Vienna)
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Lipizzaners from Lipica (their original stud, now Slovenia)
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Polish Arabians (many later lost at Janów Podlaski)
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Valuable broodmares, foals, and stallions
The horses were now in direct line of fire, malnourished and understandably terrified. As the Red Army advanced the danger of slaughter for food, being shot or confiscated or lost became real. The chances of Stud records and bloodlines being destroyed also became a fact.
For rare breeds like the Lipizzaner, this would have meant near-extinction.
This brought about an unlikely alliance which ultimately saved the day.
Key figures were Colonel Hubert Rudofsky (German officer in charge of the stud), Major Alois Podhajsky (Director of the Spanish Riding School (Vienna)), Colonel Charles H. Reed (US 2nd Cavalry Group) and General George S. Patton (Commander of the US Third Army, former Olympic horseman)
Podhajsky had performed a demonstration of classical dressage for Patton in 1945, hoping to win sympathy for the horses. It worked.
Patton famously believed and said:
“The finest cavalry horse in Europe must be saved.”
Operation Cowboy begins
In April 1945, despite Hostau being deep behind enemy lines, within the Soviet advance zone and still officially under German control; the US Army launched a limited tactical operation with a humanitarian goal, which was highly unusual.
The force consisted of US 2nd Cavalry Group, tanks, armored cars, and mounted reconnaissance and German soldiers temporarily fighting alongside Americans against potential SS units.
Yes — for a brief time, former enemies cooperated to save horses. The power of horses!
The rescue itself
When American troops arrived at Hostau, they found around 1,200 horses including 400 Lipizzaners many broodmares with foals at foot.
These were all under threat of the SS units nearby intended to kill the horses, the Soviet troops were only days away and all with very limited food and veterinary supplies available.
The Americans took control of the stud by driving off the SS elements and securing the area.
The Great Horse Evacuation
The most extraordinary part was still to come. The horses had to be moved west, fast.
Horses were moved in columns, on foot, some were loaded onto trucks Civilians, grooms, soldiers, and veterinarians worked together and all foals, pregnant mares, and injured horses were taken.
This was far from a neat procession: Roads were constantly bombed. Aircraft strafed moving columns and horses panicked under artillery noise.
Yet remarkably few were lost.
Outcome
The operation was an astounding success. The core Lipizzaner breeding lines and Stallions, that still form the foundation of today’s Lipizzaner families, were saved. Detailed studbooks and breeding records were also secured.
After the war the horses were temporarily housed in Germany and Austria, until eventually being returned to The Spanish riding school and Lipica.
A Lesser-Known Chapter: Lipizzaners Sent to South Africa
Less well known is that not all Lipizzaners returned to Europe.
In the years surrounding World War II, a small number of Lipizzaner horses were exported to South Africa, far from the devastation of Europe. This was done both to protect valuable bloodlines and to establish the breed in a politically and geographically safer region.
South Africa, at the time, offered distance from European conflict, suitable climate and grazing, and strong equestrian traditions.
These horses formed the foundation of what would later become the Lipizzaner Centre in Kyalami, Gauteng, established in the 1940s. The South African Lipizzaners preserved classical training traditions closely aligned with the Spanish Riding School.
To this day, South Africa remains the only country outside Europe with a permanently established Lipizzaner classical riding institution, and the horses there represent an invaluable genetic and cultural reservoir.
In a very real sense, the survival of the Lipizzaner breed became a global effort.
Why Operation Cowboy matters
Without Operation Cowboy the Spanish Riding School may not exist today and several Lipizzaner bloodlines would have been lost forever. Furthermore classical dressage as we know it would be fundamentally different.
To this day operation cowboy remains one of the largest animal rescue operations in military history.
Every Lipizzaner performing today carries, quite literally, the legacy of soldiers who crossed enemy lines, defied orders and risked their lives to save horses.....goose bump stuff!
When we watch Lipizzaners perform today, whether in Vienna or in South Africa, we are witnessing a living survival story.