The Iberian horse is a designation given to a number of
horse breeds native to the
Iberian peninsula. At present, some breeds are officially recognized by the
FAO,
['FAO breed list']
accessed March 15, 2012, cites 3 Portuguese and 20 spanish breeds while other horses believed to be native to the peninsula are not. Likewise, some modern breeds are understood from
mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...
to be descended from historic
landraces, while others have origins outside the Iberian peninsula.
The remaining FAO-recognized breeds are of well-known foreign blood, or are recently developed breeds.
History
Cave paintings show that horses have been present on the
Iberian Peninsula as far back as 20,000 to 25,000 BCE.
Iberian horses are thought to be among the oldest types of
domesticated horses. DNA studies indicate certain breeds have ancestry that can be traced to wild horses that lived about 6200BCE, in the
Early Iberian Neolithic period.
There is a past hypothesis that the
Sorraia
The Sorraia is a rare breed of horse indigenous to the portion of the Iberian peninsula, in the Sorraia River basin, in Portugal. The Sorraia is known for its primitive features, including a convex profile and dun coloring with primitive marki ...
may have been an ancestor of several modern breeds, and it is possible as their
haplotype
A haplotype ( haploid genotype) is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent.
Many organisms contain genetic material ( DNA) which is inherited from two parents. Normally these organisms have their DNA or ...
is found throughout the Iberian horse population, though it is not as frequently found as other mDNA lineages. Thus current evidence suggests they are not as closely related as once thought. However, the problem is that the Sorraia has endured a major
genetic bottleneck since ancient times,
[ and only two DNA founder lineages remain, so it is not possible to determine if certain haplotypes in various breeds descend from other lines now extinct in the Sorraia.][
Roman writers mention in Hispania war horses, wild horses, "tieldones" and small "asturcones'" in the north.
Two distinct phenotypes of Iberian horse were identified in early research: so-called "Celtic" ponies, centered in the Cantabrian Range in the north, and the horses of the south, represented today by the Andalusian and Carthusian, Lusitano, ]Marismeño
The Marismeño is a rare breed of horse indigenous to the marshes of the Guadalquivir River, from which it takes its name. It is now found particularly in the Doñana National Park, which lies mostly in the province of Huelva, in Andalusia, ...
and related breeds, many of which have a Baroque horse phenotype. The northern breeds include the Garrano, Pottok, and Asturcon, all of which are considered endangered breeds.[
Throughout history, Iberian horses have been influenced by many different peoples and cultures who occupied Spain, including the Celts, the Carthaginians, the Romans, various Germanic tribes and the Arabs. The Iberian horse was identified as a talented war horse as early as 450 BCE.] Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...
studies of the modern horses of the Iberian peninsula and Barb horse of North Africa present convincing evidence that horses crossed the Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...
in both directions and crossbred. It is not possible to determine which of these strains is the older one, and both trace to the Roman era, far earlier than the Muslim conquest of Spain that is commonly assumed to mark the beginning of such crossbreeding.[
At one time, the northern Celtic horses were though to have ancestry related to the ]Exmoor pony
The Exmoor pony is one of the mountain and moorland pony breeds native to the British Isles. Some still roam as semi-feral livestock on Exmoor, a large area of moorland in Devon and Somerset in southwest England. The Exmoor has been give ...
of the British Isles, but subsequent Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...
studies revealed that the populations are not closely related until there was some documented admixture between Exmoors and Celtic horses in the early-to-mid 20th century. If anything, the Iberian breeds are characterized by a "consistent absence of geographical structure".[
When the Spanish reached the Americas in the late 15th century, they brought various horses of Iberian ancestry with them. Their descendants have been designated as the Colonial Spanish Horse and have contributed significantly to a number of horse breeds in both North and South America.
In modern times, ]stallion
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...
s from outside breeds were crossed on local breeds, such as the Exmoor pony stallions brought to the area,[ or for example, the heavy Burguete and Jaca Navarra breeds crossed on foreign stallions to create a bigger animal more useful for the horsemeat industry.
In Spain and Portugal, the 1980s marked the start of efforts to bring back several of the Northern Iberian breeds from extinction, some of which were down to a few dozen individuals. The Cartusian strain of Pure Spanish (Andalusian) horse was also endangered, with a breeding population of about 150 animals.][ In 2005, a distinctive primitive, feral breed was identified inside Doñana National Park, the Retuerta horse (Caballo de las retuertas).][The Retuertas horse; the "missing link" in the iberoamerican horse breed origin?, Vega-Plà et al 2005, available a]
eeap.org
[(A. Rodero et al, 2008) needs full cite]
See also
* List of Iberian horse breeds
* Sable Island horse
References
External links
Report on DNA of Spanish horses
Info on Jaca Navarra
(Spanish)
Google translation
{{Iberian horses
Types of horse
Iberian Peninsula