The Sanfratellano (or Razza di San Fratello) is an Italian light

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 that originated in

San Fratello San Fratello (Gallo-Italic: San Frareau, Sicilian: ''Santu Frateddu'', Greek and Latin: ''Apollonia'', Medieval Latin ''Castrum S. Philadelphi''), formerly San Filadelfo, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. They are a hardy breed that is used for riding, packing, and light draft work.

History

The San Fratellano comes from

, in the Nebrodi mountains in the

province of Messina Messina (, ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Messina. It was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Messina. Geography Territory It had an area of , which amounts to 12.6 percent o ...

in Sicily. The horses developed and were bred in a native habitat that resulted in a strong, powerful type known for their endurance. A Lombard princess,

Adelaide del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto (Adelasia, Azalaïs) ( – 16 April 1118) was countess of Sicily as the third spouse of Roger I of Sicily, and Queen consort of Jerusalem by marriage to Baldwin I of Jerusalem. She served as regent of Sicily during the minor ...

, married Roger I of Sicily, a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

noble, in the 11th century AD. Sicily was ruled by Norman warlords at the time, and Princess Adelaide del Vasto brought to Sicily her retinue, including a number of knights and their horses. To this day the people of San Fratello speak a Lombard dialect, different from the Sicilian language of surrounding areas. The San Fratellano horse is said to have descended from the horses of the Lombard knights. The breed has received infusions of Anglo-Arab, Spanish Anglo-Arab,

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

and Nonius blood, and has remained quite true to type. It resembles its fellow Italian breed, the Maremmano. Breeding stock is carefully selected for propagation, and most colts are trained young as pack horses.

Breed characteristics

The San Fratellano usually stands between , and weighs between They are always

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 ...

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

in color. They are muscular, well-built horses that are hardy and easy to care for. There are approximately 5,000 horses of this breed (including 1,800 broodmares), making it one of the most numerous indigenous breeds in Italy.

References

External links

Sanfratellano stallion
YouTube
Six Sanfratellano stallions at Fiera Cavalli, 2010
YouTube {{Horse breeds of Italy Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Italy