The Lusitano, also known as the Pure Blood Lusitano or PSL (''Puro Sangue Lusitano''), is a
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
breed. Horses were known to be present on the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
as far back as 20,000 BC, and by 800 BC the region was renowned for its
war horses. The fame of the horses from Lusitania goes back to the Roman Age, which attributed its speed to the influence of the West wind, who was considered capable of fertilizing the mares. When the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s invaded Iberia in 711 AD, they brought
Arabian horses
The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...
with them that were crossed with the native horses, developing a horse that became useful for war,
dressage
Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...
and
bull fighting
Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations.
There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
. The Portuguese horse was named the Lusitano, after the word
Lusitania
Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and
a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusita ...
, the ancient Roman name for the region that modern Portugal occupies. There are four main breed lineages within the breed today, and characteristics differ slightly between each line.
Lusitanos can be any solid
color
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
, although they are generally
gray
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
,
bay or
chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
. Horses of the Alter Real strain are always brown. Members of the breed are of
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
type, with convex facial profiles, heavy muscling, intelligent and willing natures, with agile and elevated movement. Originally bred for war, dressage and bullfighting, Lusitanos are still used today in the latter two. They have competed in several
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
and
World Equestrian Games
The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...
as part of the Portuguese and Spanish dressage teams. They have also made a showing in
driving
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and bicycles. Permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met and drivers are required to fol ...
competitions, with a Belgian team of Lusitanos winning multiple international titles.
History
Horses were known to humans on what is now the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
as far back as 25,000 to 20,000 BC, as shown by cave paintings in the area.
[ Among the local wild horses originally used by humans were the probable ancestors of the modern Lusitano, as studies comparing ancient and modern horse DNA indicate that the modern "Lusitano C" group contains maternal lineages also present in wild Iberian horses from the Early ]Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
period. These ancient horses were used for war, with clear evidence of their use by Phoenicians around 1100 BC and Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
around 600 BC.[ It is believed that these invaders also brought horses with them, contributing outside blood to the ancestry of the modern Iberian breeds.][ By 800 BC, the alliance known as ]Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BCE. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strab ...
had been formed by the Iberians and Celts, and from this point on the horses bred in this area were renowned as war horses. Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
, writing around 370 BC, admired the advanced horsemanship and riding techniques used by Iberian horsemen in war, made possible in part by their agile horses. Legend claimed that mare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
s of the area were sired by the wind (hence their amazing swiftness, passed onto their foal
A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal i ...
s), and one modern hypothesis suggests that the bond between Iberian humans and horses was the initial inspiration for the centaur
A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.
Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...
,[ which was believed to come from the area of the ]Tagus River
The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...
. Later invasions into the area by Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
and Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
resulted in these civilizations establishing stud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, documentation o ...
s that bred cavalry horses for the Roman army from local stock.
When the Umayyad Muslims invaded the Iberian peninsula in 711 AD, their invasion brought Barb horses, which were crossed with native Iberian horses. The cross between these two breeds produced a war horse superior even to the original Iberian horse, and it was this new type that the Conquistadors
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
introduced to the Americas. Called the Iberian war horse, this ancestor of the Lusitano was used both on the battlefield and in major riding academies throughout Europe. Bullfight
Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations.
There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
ing on horseback and displays of high school dressage were common entertainment for the Portuguese gentry.[
]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 closely related modern Andalusian horse, compared to the Barb
Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to:
People
* Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
* Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves
* The Barbs, a band
Places
* Barb, ...
horse of North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, present convincing evidence that Barbs and Iberian 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 each direction, were crossbred with each other, and thus each influenced the other's maternal bloodlines.[ While Portuguese historian Ruy d'Andrade hypothesized that the ancient ]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 mark ...
breed was an ancestor of the Southern Iberian breeds, including the Lusitano, genetic studies using 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 ...
show that the Sorraia is part of a genetic cluster that is largely separated from most Iberian breeds. One maternal lineage is shared with the Lusitano, however, Sorraia lineages in Iberian breeds are relatively recent, dating to the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, making the Sorraia an unlikely prehistoric ancestor of the Lusitano.[
Prior to modern times, horse breeds throughout Europe were known primarily by the name of the region where they were bred.][Bennett, ''Conquerors'', p. 158] The Lusitano takes its name from Lusitania,[ an ancient Roman name for the region that today is Portugal. A very similar horse, the Spanish Andalusian, originally described the horses of distinct quality that came from ]Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
in Spain.[Bennett, ''Conquerors'', p. 159] Some sources state that the Andalusian and the Lusitano are genetically the same breed, and the only difference is the country in which individual horses are born. The Lusitano is also known as the Portuguese, Peninsular, National or Betico-lusitano horse.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, horses moved continually between Spain and Portugal, and horses from the studs of Andalusia were used to improve the Portuguese cavalry. Portugal's successful restoration war against Spain (1640–1668) was in part based on mounted troops riding war horses of Spanish blood. During the reign of Philip III of Portugal
Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...
(also Philip IV of Spain), Portuguese horse breeding reached its lowest point. The Spanish passed laws to halt the country's production of cavalry horses, and what stud farms did exist were run in secrecy with horses smuggled or stolen from Spain. These secret farms, however, provided the base for the modern Lusitano. In 1662, when Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...
married Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, ...
of Portugal, the royal dowry included Portugal's Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
and Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
garrisons. These garrisons included large groups of Portuguese cavalry, mounted on Iberian horses.
Prior to the 1960s, the Iberian-type horse was called the Andalusian in both Portugal and Spain. In 1966, the Lusitano name was adopted by Portugal after a studbook separation by the two countries.[Edwards, ''The Encyclopedia of the Horse'', p. 107] The revolutions of Portugal's African colonies resulted in the near economic collapse of Portugal. The landed class attracted political agitators, estates were vacated, and stud farms were broken up and their horses sold to Spain. However, the best lines were saved through the efforts of breeders, and breeding soon increased. Today, Lusitanos are bred mainly in Portugal and Brazil, but maintain a presence in many other countries throughout the world, including Australia, the United States, Great Britain, South Africa, and other European countries. Crossbred
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
horses of partial Lusitano blood are popular, especially when crossed with Andalusian, Arabian
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
or Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
blood.
Strains and sub-types
The Portuguese stud book recognizes six horses (five 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 and one mare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
) that are called the "heads of lineage". These six horses are the foundation horses of the three main breed lineages: Andrade, Veiga and Coudelaria Nacional (Portuguese State Stud). Although each line meets breed standards, they differ from each other in individual characteristics. The six foundation horses are:
*Agareno, a 1931 Veiga stallion, out of Bagocha, by Lidador
*Primorosa, a 1927 Dominquez Hermanos stallion, out of Primorosa II, by Presumido
*Destinado, a 1930 Dominquez Hermanos stallion, out of Destinada, by Alegre II
*Marialva II, a 1930 Antonio Fontes Pereira de Melo stallion, out of Campina, by Marialva
*Regedor, a 1923 Alter Real stallion, out of Gavina, by Gavioto
*Hucharia, a 1943 Coudelaria Nacional mare, out of Viscaina, by Cartujano
Alter Real
The Alter Real is a strain of the Lusitano which is bred only at the Alter Real State Stud in Portugal. The stud was founded in 1748 by the Portuguese royal family
The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which reigned in ...
to provide horses for the national riding academy and royal use. The Portuguese School of Equestrian Art
The Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre (''Portuguese School of Equestrian Art'') is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the preservation of the equestrian arts, in the Portuguese tradition. It is one of the "Big Four", the most prestigious clas ...
(Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre) uses these horses exclusively in their performances. The strain was developed from 300 Iberian mares imported from Spain in 1747. When Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
invaded Spain in the early 19th century, the Alter Real strain deteriorated due to the introduction of Arabian
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
, Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
, Spanish-Norman and Hanoverian blood. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries the strain was re-established with the further introduction of Spanish blood.
In the early 20th century, with the 1910 revolution that ended the monarchy, the Alter Real strain faced extinction, as records were burned, stallions were gelded and the stud discontinued. Ruy d'Andrade, a specialist in Iberian horse breeds, saved two stallions and several mares, and was able to re-establish the strain, turning his herd over to the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture in 1942, when the stud was reopened.[Hendricks, ''International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds'', p. 14] The Portuguese state has maintained ownership of the stud, and continues to produce horses for use in high school dressage.
Registration
Today, outside of Portugal and Spain, breeding, showing and registration
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts entertainment, and media Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), th ...
of both Lusitanos and Andalusians are often closely linked. One example is the Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
n Lusitano Horse Association of Australasia (LHAA), which shares responsibility for the Purebred Iberian Horse (an Andalusian/Lusitano cross) with the Australasia Andalusian Association, as well as hosting a combined National Show for the two breeds in Australia. The LHAA was formed in 2003 to register and promote the Lusitano breed in Australia and New Zealand, and in June 2005 signed an agreement with their parent organization, the Portuguese Associação Portuguesa de Criadores do Cavalo Puro Sangue Lusitano, to follow that association's rules and regulations. The LHAA maintains two studbooks (for the purebred Lusitano and the purebred Iberian) and a crossbred registry for horses with one Lusitano parent. An example of a combined registry is the International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association (IALHA).
Characteristics and uses
Lusitanos are generally gray
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
, bay or chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
,[ though they can be of any solid color, including ]black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
, buckskin and palomino
Palomino is a genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called t ...
. Only bays are bred at the Alter Real stud.[ They usually stand high, although some stand over .][ Members of the breed have narrow, but well-proportioned, heads with profiles that are slightly convex. The necks are thick and arched, leading to well defined ]withers
The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...
, shoulders that are muscular and sloping and a deep, broad chest. The horses have short, strong backs and rounded, sloped croup
Croup, also known as laryngotracheobronchitis, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms o ...
s, leading to a low-set tail. The legs are sturdy and muscled. Lusitanos are known as powerful horses, noted for their intelligence and willing nature.[ The breed's gaits are agile and elevated, but generally comfortable to ride.][ The Lusitano differs from the Andalusian through having a more sloped ]croup
Croup, also known as laryngotracheobronchitis, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms o ...
, a lower-set tail, and a more convex head profile. The mane and tail are extremely thick in both breeds.[
]
The ancestors of the Lusitano were originally used for classical dressage
Classical dressage evolved from cavalry movements and training for the battlefield, and has since developed into the competitive dressage seen today. Classical riding is the art of riding in harmony with, rather than against, the horse.
Correct ...
, driving
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and bicycles. Permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met and drivers are required to fol ...
and bullfighting
Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations.
There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
on horseback. Today, Lusitanos are seen in internationdisciplines, including high-level combined driving
Combined may refer to:
* Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event
** Super combined (skiing)
* Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event
* T ...
competition. In 1995, a four-in-hand team driven by Belgian Felix Brasseur won the FEI Driving World Cup, and took the World Championships in 1996. In 2002, there was a Lusitano on the World Equestrian Games
The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...
bronze-winning dressage team that went on to collect a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
. In 2006, the entire Portuguese dressage team rode Lusitanos at the World Equestrian Games
The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...
, as did one Spanish dressage competitor. The Belgian Brasseur took the gold medal in four-in-hand driving at the same competition with a team composed solely of Lusitanos.
They are still used for mounted bullfighting today, in a form where the bull is not killed and it is considered a disgrace to the rider if the horse is injured. Horses bred for this sport must be agile and calm, remaining in the control of the rider even when confronted by a bull. Between 1980 and 1987, Lusitanos were used for breeding Colorado Ranger
The Colorado Ranger is a horse breed from the Colorado High Plains in the United States. The breed is descended from two stallions imported from Turkey to the US state of Virginia in the late 1800s. These stallions were then bred to ranch hor ...
horses, although these crosses are no longer allowed by the breed registry.[Dutson, ''Storey's Illustrated Guide to 96 Horse Breeds of North America '', p. 102] An Alter Real stallion, taken to Brazil prior to Napoleon's invasion, was a foundation stallion of the Mangalarga Marchador breed.[
]
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
International Andalusian Lusitano Horse Association
Associação Portuguesa de Criadores do Cavalo Puro Sangue Lusitano
Lusitano Horse Association of Australasia
{{Good article
Horse breeds originating in Portugal
Horse breeds