The Salernitano is an
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
Italian
breed of horse. It originates from the
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
of the
Sele river, in the
province of Salerno
The Province of Salerno ( it, Provincia di Salerno) is a province in the Campania region of Italy.
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Geography
The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Battipagli ...
in southern Italy. It was formerly used as a
military horse, but in the twentieth century became principally a
sport horse
A sport horse or sporthorse is a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term is usually applied to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving, but ...
.
History
The Salernitano originates in the
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
s of the
Sele river in the
comuni
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
of
Battipaglia
Battipaglia () is a municipality (''comune'') in the province of Salerno, Campania, south-western Italy.
Famed as a production place of buffalo mozzarella, Battipaglia is the economic hub of the Sele plain.
History
Formerly part of the ancien ...
,
Capaccio and
Eboli, in the
province of Salerno
The Province of Salerno ( it, Provincia di Salerno) is a province in the Campania region of Italy.
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Geography
The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Battipagli ...
in
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
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in southern Italy. From the time of the
Republic of Amalfi and during the
crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
, the local horses of the area were influenced by Oriental blood. Under the
Bourbons
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...
there were influences from
Spanish horse
This is a list of the list of horse breeds, breeds of horse native to the Iberian peninsula, and considered in Portugal and Spain to have originated wholly or partly in those countries. Inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is ...
s and again from the Orient. From the early years of the nineteenth century,
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 ...
and – to a lesser extent –
Hackney blood was used to improve military aptitudes. From the 1920s the Salernitano began to be used as a
sport horse
A sport horse or sporthorse is a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term is usually applied to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving, but ...
, in
flat racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
,
over jumps and in
show-jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ...
. After the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
there was little demand for cavalry horses, and the breed was used mostly for sports. The Campania regional administration started a
conservation programme for the breed in the 1970s. In 1990 the total number was estimated at 100. In 2007 the
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
recorded the
conservation status
The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservatio ...
of the breed as "endangered".
The Salernitano was formerly registered together with the
Persano
Serre is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.
History
The town is medieval and was founded at the end of the 10th century.
Geography
Serre is a hilltown located in northern Cilento. Its ...
, which originates from much the same area and shares some of the same history. In 2015, the two breeds were recognised as separate by the
Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture.
Characteristics
The usual coat colour is
bay;
chestnut,
grey
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 ...
and
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 ...
are also accepted.
Use
The Salernitano is suitable for use as a
riding horse
A riding horse or a saddle horse is a horse used by mounted horse riders for recreation or transportation.
It is unclear exactly when horses were first ridden because early domestication did not create noticeable physical changes in the hors ...
, as a
harness horse
Driving, when applied to horses, ponies, mules, or donkeys, is a broad term for hitching equines to a wagon, carriage, cart, sleigh, or other horse-drawn vehicle by means of a harness and working them in this way. It encompasses a wide ran ...
, for
equestrian touring and
horse-trekking, and for
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
, particularly
show-jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ...
.
References
Association for Salernitano and Persano horses Salernitano Horses
{{Horse breeds of Italy
Horse breeds
Horse breeds originating in Italy