Main Portuguese Horse Breeds
I am off to Portugal next month to photograph some Portuguese horses with Tony Stromberg. I am very excited and cannot wait. Before I go, I wanted to do some initial search on what I am about to see. When we are talking about horses in a beautiful country like Portugal, all I can imagine is a magical scene, playful stallions and terracotta backgrounds. Apparently, some of the main breeds here are so pure and so ancient that there is always a terrific demand in the world market to find the best breeds of Portuguese horses. These majestic animals have been quoted in history in many important books and by many famous authors from the Greek Poet Homer to the Carthaginian commander Hannibal. Here are some of the main breeds. Please feel free to chip in.
Lusitano – What beauty, what elegance? wow!! It is a truly breathtaking and majestic creature. The name comes from the Latin word of Lucitania, meaning Portugal. Lusitano horse usually stand between 15 and 16 hands high, and also, like the Andalusian, they are mainly grey in color. Occasionally bay.
Lusitanos are big; they are extremely muscular, with deep chest, abundant mane and tail. This breed is mainly being involved in the equestrian activities and for military reasons. The gigantic look and also its powerful nature make it ideal for such activities. This can be said to be the ideal fit for traditional dressage. This horse breed possesses great traditional values as well as owning this breed of horse is very much said to be a matter of pride for Portuguese people.
The Lusitano is a portable horse with a short back, muscular shoulders and also hindquarters, and longer, slender legs. They have an attractive thick, arching neck and a full, wavy mane and tail. The characteristics that most differentiate it from an Andalusian are the more obvious convexity of the head, the more sloping croup, and the lower set tail.
The 2nd most famous type in Portugal is the Sorraia breed of horses that are becoming extinct nowadays and there are approximately 200 horses worldwide today. This breed is very much admired for its good look as well as the primitive attributes. Apparently the name comes from Sor and Raia the two rivers, which run through Portugal and Spain.
The Sorraia breed stands between 12.2 and also 13.3 hands – small. The head is usually large, ram like, the profile convex, and the ears long. The neck is slender and long, the withers high, and the croup slightly sloping. The lower limbs are strong, with long pasterns and also well-proportioned hooves.
Sorraia usually have primitive colourings like the dun or a dun variation known as grullo. Dun coloring includes primitive markings like a black dorsal stripe, black tipped ears, horizontal striping on the legs as well as a dark muzzle area. Sorraia horses possess bi-colored manes and also tails with lighter colored hairs that fringe the outside of the longer growing black hair. Ears can be quiet long and curved inwards.
The other major type is the Garrano breed. These types of horses are usually used primarily in the equestrian games and it is regarded as one of the most powerful varieties. Additionally it is very much known for its appearance and it is mainly used for traversing. Members of the breed are often bay, brown or even dark chestnut in color, with a straight or concave facial profile, and also stand on average 12.3 hands
Still there are lots of other kinds of horses in Portugal with a lot of notable features. These are the main ones I found so far. I cannot wait till my trip next month. In the meantime please visit my webpage for some other fine art horse photos at ww.nurtucker.com
I loved your forum.Much thanks again. Really Cool. Zantow
Thanks for pointing out that Lusitanos are great for equestrian activities because of their large size and muscle. My husband and I are interested in buying a horse, and we want it to be a big horse that we can use for racing and other activities. I didn’t know that Lusitanos had those characteristics, so I’m glad you shared that info here!