Friesian horses are often used today for dressage competition and pleasure riding. Friesian and Friesian-mixed horses can do well in dressage competition due the breed's strong intellect, appearance, power, and body control.

The Friesian also remains popular as a carriage horse, as it is a powerful horse and its high-stepping action is eye-catching. It is particularly popular in competitions that require the driving of a team, partly because of its movement and disposition, and partly because it is easy to match teams of black horses.

Due to its striking appearance and mild temperament, the Friesian has become popular in the film industry. The breed owes much of its current popularity to the appearance of a Friesian stallion in the 1985 film, Ladyhawke which ignited a worldwide interest in these horses. Films such as Eragon, The Mask of Zorro, Alexander, and 300 have also featured Friesian horses. Though they are of dramatic appearance, sometimes their use in dramatizations of actual historical events is of dubious accuracy, given that the breed as it is known today only came into being within the last 400 to 600 years.