Andalusian horse

Andalusian
Andalusian horse
Distinguishing features:	Strongly-built, compact, elegant, thick mane and tail
Alternative names:	Spanish Horse, Pura Raza Española
Country of origin:	Spain, Iberian Peninsula
Common nicknames:	Horse of Kings
Breed standards
IALHA:	Breed Standards
Australasia Andalusian Association:	Breed Standards
ANCCE:	Breed Standards

The Andalusian, also known as the Purebred Spanish Horse or PRE (Pura Raza Española; in English, Pure Spanish-bred), is a horse breed from the Iberian Peninsula. It is extremely similar to the closely related Lusitano breed. There are several competing registries that cover the Andalusian/PRE breed. These registries differ on their definition of the Andalusian and PRE, the purity of various strains of the breed, and the legalities of stud book ownership.

The ancestors of the Andalusian have been present on the Iberian Peninsula for thousands of years, but they became recognized as an individual breed beginning in the 15th century. Throughout its history, the Andalusian has been known for its prowess as a war horse and prized by nobles. Andalusians were restricted from exportation from Spain until the 1960s, but they have since spread throughout the world. There are currently less than 20,000 Andalusians in the world today, including around 4,500 in the United States.

Andalusians are strongly built, compact yet elegant horses with long, thick manes and tails. The most common color is gray, although they can be found in many other colors. They are known for their intelligence and docility, although they are also proud and sensitive animals. Today, Andalusians are used for many equestrian activities, including dressage, show jumping and driving. They have also been used extensively to create and improve other breeds, including the Lipizzan and the Alter Real, another Iberian horse breed. The breed is also used extensively in movies, especially historical movies and fantasy epics, and serves as the current mascot for the University of Southern California.

Naming and registration

Prior to the 15th century, all horse breeds from the Iberian peninsula were known collectively as “Iberian horses”. In the mid-1900s, the distinction was first made between the Andalusian and the Lusitano, a Portuguese horse that takes its name from the word Lusitania, an ancient Roman name for Portugal. In many areas, the Andalusian and the Lusitano are controlled by the same registries. For example, the International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association (IALHA) is the largest Andalusian registering organization in the world with over 850 members, and also registers Lusitanos.^[1] There are political conflicts within the IALHA over the business methods of the registry and the registration practices regarding the differentiation between Andalusians and Lusitanos. These conflicts have resulted in the creation of watchdog groups that protest the way that meetings are being conducted, shows are being held and awards are being given out. Members of the watchdog groups feel that board members of the IALHA are working more in their own best interest, rather than in the interest of the association, the members and their horses.^[2][3]

Andalusians being driven.

In Australasia, the Australasia Andalusian Association registers Andalusians (which the registry considers an interchangeable term for PRE), Australian Andalusians, and partbred Andalusians. They also share responsibility for the Purebred Iberian Horse (an Andalusian/Lusitano cross) with the Lusitano Association of Australasia.^[4] The Andalusian horse has also been known through history as the Iberian Saddle Horse, Iberian War Horse, Spanish Horse, Portuguese, Peninsular, Extremeno, Villanos, Zapata and Zamaranos.^[5] The Carthusian horse, also known as the Carthusian-Andalusian and the Cartujano, is a sub-type of the Andalusian, rather than a distinctive breed in itself.^[6] A common nickname for the Andalusian is the "Horse of Kings".^[7] Some sources state that the Andalusian and the Lusitano are genetically the same, and the only difference is the country in which individual horses are born.^[8]

The name Pura Raza Espanola, also known as Pure Spanish Horse or PRE, is the name by which the Spanish now refer to the horses, and in Spain, the PRE has its own studbook. In most of the world, the Andalusian and the PRE are one and the same breed.^[1] The Spanish association for PREs is the National Association of Purebred Spanish Horse Breeders of Spain (ANCCE), and it functions as the international parent association for PRE breeders. ANCCE was founded in 1972, and currently includes 22 associations and over 700 breeders worldwide. Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture recognizes ANCCE as the representing entity for PRE breeders and owners across the globe, as well as the administrator of the breed studbook.^[9] It is the position of ANCCE that the names of "Andalusian" and "Iberian Horse" are not proper terms for the PRE. The registry feels that these terms are used to describe crossbreds, lacking in purity, quality, and official documentation from the Spanish Stud Book.^[10] The United States PRE registry is separate from the IALHA, and follows the precepts of ANCCE.^[11] A second group, the Foundation for the Pure Spanish Horse, has begun a second PRE registry in Spain, called the PRE Mundial registry, to compete with ANCCE. This new registry claims that all registered horses trace back to the original stud book for PREs, maintained by the Cria Caballar for 100 years, making their registry the most authentic, purest PRE registry functioning today.^[12]

There is currently a lawsuit in progress to determine the true holder of the PRE studbook. The Unión de Criadores de Caballos Españoles (UCCE) has brought a case to the highest European Union courts in Brussels, charging that the Ministry of Spain’s transfer of the PRE Libro de Origen to ANCCE is illegal, and in early 2009, the courts decided on behalf of UCCE. The Cria Caballar, a branch of the Spanish Ministry of Defense, formed the Libro de Origin, or stud book. Due to its formation by a government entity, it is against European Union law for the book to be transferred to a private entity, a law that was broken by the transfer of the book to ANCCE, a non-governmental organization. By giving ANCCE sole control of the stud book, Spain’s Ministry of Defense was acting in a discriminatory manner, according to the court. Spain must give permission to maintain a breed stud book (called a Libro Geneológico) to any international association or Spanish national association which requests it. Based on the Brussels court decision, an application has been made by the Foundation for the Pure Spanish Horse to maintain the United States studbook for the PRE.^[13]

History

A 1743 engraving of a "Spanish horse"

The Andalusian horse is a descendent of Iberian horses from Spain and Portugal, and take their name from their place of origin, the Spanish province of Andalusia. Horses, including the ancestors of the Andalusian, have been shown by cave paintings to have been present on the Iberian Peninsula as far back as 20,000 to 30,000 BC. Throughout history, the Iberian breeds have been influenced by many different people and cultures who occupied Spain, including the Celts, the Carthaginians, the Romans, various Germanic tribes and the Moors.^[1] Portuguese historian Ruy d'Andrade hypothesized that the ancient Sorraia breed was the ancestor of the Southern Iberian breeds, including the Andalusian.^[14] However, genetic studies using mitochondrial DNA show that the Sorraia forms a cluster that is largely separated from most Iberian breeds.^{[15][16][17][18]} Mitochondrial DNA studies of the modern Andalusian horse of the Iberian peninsula and Barb horse of North Africa, present convincing evidence that both breeds crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and influenced one another.^[15] By the 15th century, the Andalusian had become a distinct breed, and was being used to influence the development of other breeds and was also used as a noted war horse.^[1]

Some of the earliest written pedigrees in recorded European history were kept by Carthusian monks, who were among those who bred the Spanish Jennet, a forerunner to the Andalusian. Because they could read and write, thus kept careful records, monastics were given the responsibility for horse breeding by certain members of the nobility, particularly in Spain.^[19] Andalusian breeding studs were formed in the late 1400s in Carthusian monasteries in Terez, Seville and Cazallo.^[5] The Carthusian Andalusian is generally considered the purest Andalusian strain and has one of the oldest stud books in the world.^[6] However, even this "pure" Andalusian sub-group had Arabian and Barb blood added by the Carthusian monks charged with the protection and improvement of the breed.^[20]

A modern-day Andalusian performing dressage.

The Iberian horse breeds were known as the "royal horse of Europe" and were present at every royal court and in many riding academies, including countries such as Austria, Italy, France and Germany.^[1] Cortez used Andalusian horses in his conquest of the Americas.^[5] By 1667, the Andalusian was called "the noblest horse in the world, the most beautiful that can be. He is of great spirit and of great courage and docile; hath the proudest trot and the best action in his trot, the loftiest gallop, and is the lovingest and gentlest horse, and fittest of all for a king in his day of triumph." by the Duke of Newcastle.^[1] During the 1800s, the Andalusian breed was threatened when many horses were stolen by Napoleon’s invading army; however, one herd of Andalusians was hidden from the invaders and subsequently used to renew the breed. An epidemic seriously affected Spain’s horse population in 1832, from which only one small herd survived at a stud at the monastery in Cartuja. Andalusians only began to be exported from Spain in 1962.^[5]

The first Andalusians were imported to Australia in 1971, and in 1973 an association was formed for the registration of these Andalusians and their pure- and part-bred offspring. Strict quarantine guidelines prohibited the importation of new Andalusian blood to Australia for many years, but since 1999, regulations have been relaxed and over half a dozen new horses have been imported.^[21] Today, all United States Andalusians can be traced directly to the Andalusian stud books in Portugal and Spain. There are less than 20,000 Andalusians present in the world today. In the United States, there are around 4,500, and the IALHA registers around 400 new foals every year in the US, making the Andalusian one of the rarest breeds in the United States.^[22]

Breed Characteristics

A head-shot of a bay Andalusian horse.

Andalusian horses generally stand 15.2 and 16.2 hands (62 to 66 inches, 157 to 168 cm) high. They are at the same time elegant and strongly built. Members of the breed have heads of medium length, with a straight or slightly convex profile.^[1] Ultra convex and concave profiles are discouraged in the breed, and are penalized in breed shows.^[23] Necks are long and broad, running to well-defined withers; massive chests; short backs; broad, strong hind quarters and rounded croups. The breed tends to have clean legs and energetic gaits. The mane and tail are thick and long. Andalusians tend to be docile, but also proud and sensitive. When treated with respect, they are quick to learn, responsive and cooperative.^[1][5] The movement of Andalusian horses is extended, elevated, cadenced and harmonious, with a balance of roundness and forward movement. Poor elevation, irregular tempo, and excessive winging (sideways movement of the legs from the knee down) are discouraged. Andalusians are known for their agility and their ability to learn difficult moves quickly, such as advanced collection and turns on the haunches.^[23]

When the Andalusian breed was first developed, all coat colors were found, including spotted patterns.^[1] Today, around 80% are gray. Of the remaining horses, approximately 15% are bay and 5% are black, dun or palomino or chestnut.^[24] Other colors, such as buckskin, pearl, and cremello, are rare, but are recognized as allowed colors by the International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association.^[25]

Uses

An Andalusian jumping.

From the very beginning of their history, Andalusians have been used for riding and driving. They were among some of the first horses used for classical dressage, and they are still making a mark in international competition in dressage today. At the 2002 World Equestrian Games, two Andalusians were on the bronze-medal winning Spanish dressage team, a team that then went on to take the silver medal in dressage at the 2004 Summer Olympics. For much of time since the inception of the breed, they were used as ranch horses, especially suited to working with Iberian bulls, known for their aggressive temperaments. They also were, and still are, known for their use in mounted bull fighting, a favorite sport among the Spanish and Portuguese.^[26] Today, Andalusians are also used for show jumping, western pleasure and many other classes at horse shows.^[1] The current Traveler, the mascot of the University of Southern California, is an Andalusian.^[27][28]

The Andalusian was used to create many other breeds, including the Lipizzaner, Connemara, Cleveland Bay, Quarter Horse and Peruvian Paso breeds, as well as many of the German warmblood breeds.^[1] They were also a significant influence in the creation of the Alter Real, another Iberian horse breed.^[29]

The dramatic appearance of the Andalusian horse has made it a popular breed to use in film, particularly in historical and fantasy epics. Andalusians have been present in films ranging from Gladiator to Interview with a Vampire, and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life to Braveheart. The horses have also been seen in such fantasy epics as the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, King Arthur, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.^[30] In 2006, a rearing Andalusian stallion, ridden by Mexican conquistador Don Juan de Onate, was recreated as the largest bronze equine in the world. Measuring 36 feet (11 m) high, the statue currently stands in El Paso, Texas.^[31]

References and footnotes

External links

• International Andalusian & Lusitano Horse Association
• United States P.R.E. Association
• The Foundation for the Pure Spanish Horse
• Members for the Preservation of the Andalusian Horse
• Australasia Andalusian Association
• National Association of Purebred Spanish Horse Breeders of Spain

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