lipica stud farm (kobilarna lipica)

Visited in September 2014 whilst on way from Austria to Venice, made a specific detour to make visit. Totally enjoyed our short but fabulous visit. Paid for the tour, guide was friendly and knew his stuff about the history and the horses. Everywhere was clean and well kept, horses looked fantastic and content. Only able to stay for a couple of hours but got to see a short afternoon show, having seen the Spanish riding school in Vienna the previous day this was for me much better- allowed to take pictures, felt much more part of the demonstration- Vienna is very much 'theatre' special in its own way. Saw some mares and foals out grazing, drove past a lot more on the way into the stud, also a couple of stallions in the stables and more horses used for carriages in their stalls. Having watched 'The White Horses' every school holiday many years ago this fulfilled a lifetime dream- walking in Julka's footsteps. Definately worth a visit even if not horsey, my non horsey other half enjoyed his time there.

We visited mid September 2014 and took the English tour, unhurried and full of information about the breeding of the Lipizzaner horses. The tour included a walk of the grounds and paddocks where the mares and foals stayed, as well as the stables and coach house museum. The half day tour was rounded off by seeing some of the horses in training in the arena. This was not a show, but an example of a training exercise with commentary on the moves and the experience of the various horses and details on how they should be trained. This tour is a horse lovers delight.

We arrived mid-morning on a beautiful Saturday in early October. We were pleasantly surprised there were few visitors, however it was unclear as to where to go or whether they were even open. We finally found the office and learned of tours, etc. We took the English tour which made the whole experience very worthwhile. We were able to ask lots of questions - almost had a private tour.

We enjoy our visit at Lipica stud farm. If you love horses it is a must. We took the english guided tour and we payed 10 euros entrance fee.

Booked the tour and was collected from the cruise ship, had a guide for the stud, recommend you do this. The Lady we had awesome, nothing was to much trouble and she had a wicked sense of humour. The history of the place was well explained and we were not rushed round the place. As it was the end of the season we did not get to see the horses working. That was the only thing missing. A hotel is also on site so when we return we may stay the night.

Excellent tour for any horse loving person.Really close up & personal with the horses.lovely place,peaceful ,spacious & clean.

The Lipica horse farm is where the famous Lipizzaner horses originally came from. If you love your peace and quiet, do not start a discussion with a Slovenian why the Austrians are getting all the praise and money for the horses, which were originally bred on Slovenian ground (the reason is of course that this dates back to the times of the Habsburg empire when Slovenia was part of Austria).The farm is situated in a calm rural setting, and from the moment you arrive, you get the feeling that this is a very nice place for an animal. Cats are roaming arounds, dogs are barking, and horses are being led around.The experience is less posh and formal than the one at Piber, the official Austrian Lipizzaner stud farm, or the Spanische Hofreitschule, the performance venue of the dancing white horses. Still, you will enjoy the friendly atmosphere a lot.

In Lipica Stud Farm we would like to thank Ms. Miiaka for her review and her visit to Lipica. We would also like to explain some details about our stud farm, mostly about the renovation project we started in September 2014. With this one million euro worth project we will be able to welcome our visitors even more warmly and kindly in the renovated historical centre of our stud farm. According to this we informed the tourist agencies that during the renovation it will not be possible to visit the Lipikum museum. A notice for individual visitors was published on our web site and FB page, so we believe we did our best to inform them. We also decided to start the renovation in the second half of September, after the peak of the tourist season, enabling also the conclusion of the work before winter.We hope Ms. Miiaka will give us another opportunity to present her Lipica Stud Farm, also because many organised groups of tourists visit Lipica every year - most of them contented and pleased with our tourist offer.We hope also the future impression of Ms. Miiaka will be the same. We will be glad, if she decided to visit Lipica on one of the days when also the presentation of the Lipica Classical Riding School or »Experience the Lipizzaner horse programme« can be seen. In this ways it will be easier to get to know the Lipizzaners better and enrich the visit with an additional experience. Information about our timetables and opening hours can be found on our web page.Additional or »bonus« presentations of the Lipica Classical Riding School have to be booked in advance. We believe that a group that booked only the guided tour to the stud farm can’t expect to be offered also an additional »bonus« presentation, without prior agreement and booking.We would also like to explain that we are – according to our breeding plan - committed to enabling the best possible living conditions for our herd of broodmares. This is why they spend a lot of time in the pastures and less time in the stables. We hope our visitors see them already on their way to Lipica, while driving from the direction of Sežana or Lokev, as this remains one of the scenes that delight and entice again and again.

Our tour guide was the director of the stud. He was like a walking encyclopaedia on the lipizzaner history. All the mares and foals looked relaxed and well cared for. The barns were clean and some were being renovated. It was like stepping back in time....a wonderful experience.

Make sure you take the tour of the stuf - and if you are English-speaking - make sure you get "Veronika" - a great guide with a sense of humour. Your tour ticket incldues a performance in the riding hall. For €40, extra - you can a get a 1-hour carriage ride around the estate. What a beautiful setting in which to raise these beautiful horses!

You must come and visit this place even if you are not a horse lover, for sure you will become one. Take the tour and listen to the history of Lipizzaner horses and just watch them as they graceful roam around. Worth visiting and after have some tea or coffee at the restaurant and the amazing cakes and other deserts, love the food in Slovenia. http://www.travelwithachallenge.com/Slovenia-Lipizzaner-Horse-Vacation.htm

Despite not being a big horse-lover, I enjoyed my visit. The grounds are nice in themselves, our guide mentioned that they plant a new linden tree (Slovenia's national tree) every time a foal is born. Although the guide who took us around the stables rambled a bit and it wasn't that easy to follow what he was saying (I think his name was Boris), it was nice to get up close to the horses. The show was really enjoyable. One thing people should bear in mind: although it's tempting to applaud, it freaks the horses out so resist the temptation!

If you like horses go. We went because I do. My husband is not so keen but still found it interesting. Time your visit for a day and time when there is a performance. You must join a guided tour (several languages available) of the farm and stables which is very informative and includes a visit to an excellent little museum. We then went to the performance and then had a carriage ride through the grounds. Nice park with café and souvenir shop which is good if you have to wait.

If you like horses, then this is a must. The visit to the stud farm gives you the opportunity to learn the history and what happens today and see the horses up close, including the foals. You also get to see a 45 dressage display, which, at times is almost tear jerking it is so beautiful. There is an interesting museum which not only tells you about the Lippizzaners but also more about horses in general. You can also go for a horse drawn carriage ride.

We ended up here escaping bad weather in Bled. I wished we'd planned ahead because many of the most interesting experiences are available only once in a day or on particular days of the week. In our case we joined a tour of the museum and stables which was mildly interesting but did not justify the trip even for horse mad offspring. If that, or a carriage ride is all that is available, I think you would be better off parking the car on one of the approach roads and watching the herds grazing in the beautiful grasslands that surround the stables.