The or Wild Horse of Roraima is a Brazilian

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

or population of feral horses of Colonial Spanish type in the state of

Roraima Roraima (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas ...

, in northern Brazil. The name derives from the or

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

terrain in that region. A conservation herd was established in Amajari by the

Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa - pt, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) is a state-owned research corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Since its inception on April 26, 1973, it ha ...

, the national organisation for agricultural research, in about 1991.

History

The Lavradeiro is of Criollo or Colonial Spanish type, descending from Iberian horses brought to the Americas by the Conquistadores Horses of this type were brought into

during the period of Portuguese colonisation in the eighteenth century. The horses were managed extensively on the unfenced savannah or ''lavrado'', and a substantial feral population established itself. The horses became hardy and well-adapted to the difficult climate and poor grazing of the area. Until about 1980 this population numbered some head, but by the end of the decade numbers had fallen to no more than , largely as a result of hunting. A conservation herd of some fifty horses was established by the Empresa Brasileña de Investigación Agropecuaria, the national organisation for agricultural research, at the Fazenda Resolução in Amajari in about 1991. The feral population is at risk of extinction, the principal threats being hunting and uncontrolled cross-breeding with horses of other breeds. Its conservation status was listed by the FAO in 2007 as 'endangered/maintained'; in 2023 it was listed as 'unknown'. The only population data reported to DAD-IS is for 1992, when there were of the horses, including breeding mares and

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; total numbers in 2010 are variously reported to have been either or fewer than . Germplasm is conserved under the supervision of Embrapa in Roraima.

Characteristics

Average height at the withers is about ; it is about for mares and approximately for males. Average thoracic circumference is . The coat is generally bay, chestnut, iron grey or roan. The back is short, the croup sloping. The mane and tail are thick, the ears are small. The horses show some resistance to

equine infectious anaemia Equine infectious anemia or equine infectious anaemia (EIA), also known by horsemen as swamp fever, is a horse disease caused by a retrovirus (''Equine infectious anemia virus'') and transmitted by bloodsucking insects. The virus (''EIAV'') is en ...

and are well adapted to their biotope. Their blood proteins and random amplification of polymorphic DNA markers have been studied.

History

Characteristics

References

Further reading