Colonial Spanish horse
Traits | |
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Distinguishing features | Small size, Spanish type, blood markers indicating origins in the Iberian Peninsula |
Colonial Spanish horse is a term for a group of
The Colonial Spanish horse, a general classification popularized by D. Philip Sponenberg, is not synonymous with the
Characteristics
Colonial Spanish horses are generally small; the usual height is around 14 hands (56 inches, 142 cm), and most vary from 13.2 to 14 hands (54 to 56 inches, 137 to 142 cm). Weight varies with height, but most are around 700 to 800 pounds (320 to 360 kg). Their heads vary somewhat between long, finely made to shorter and deeper, generally having straight to concave (rarely slightly convex) foreheads and a nose that is straight or slightly convex. The muzzle is usually very fine, and from the side the upper lip is usually longer than the lower, although the teeth meet evenly. Nostrils are usually small and crescent shaped. They typically have narrow but deep chests, with the front legs leaving the body fairly close together. When viewed from the front, the front legs join the chest in an "A" shape rather than straight across as in most other modern breeds that have wider chests. The withers are usually sharp instead of low and meaty. The croup is sloped, and the tail is characteristically set low on the body. From the rear view they are usually "rafter hipped" meaning the muscling of the hip tapers up so the backbone is the highest point. Hooves are small and upright rather than flat.[4]
History in the Americas
Horses first returned to the Americas with the conquistadors, beginning with Columbus, who imported horses from Spain to the West Indies on his second voyage in 1493.[5] Domesticated horses came to the mainland with the arrival of Cortés in 1519.[6] By 1525, Cortés had imported enough horses to create a nucleus of horse-breeding in Mexico.[7] Horses arrived in South America beginning in 1531, and by 1538 there were horses in Florida. From these origins, horses spread throughout the Americas. By one estimate there were at least 10,000 free-roaming horses in Mexico by 1553.[2]
In 2010, the Colonial Spanish mustang was voted the official state horse of North Carolina.[8]
Modern horses
Many
While some bands of modern
Colonial Spanish horses include numerous strains, which may be feral populations or standardized breeds:
- Banker horse (eastern US; Corolla and Shackleford Islands)[1][14]
- Carolina Marsh Tacky[1][14]
- Florida Cracker Horse[1][14][3]
- Baca-Chica[1][3]
- Belsky horse[1]
- Havapai (Grand Canyon Strain) [1]
- Spanish Mustang.[1]
- Santa Cruz Island horse[1][3]
- Wilbur-Cruce Mission horse[1][3]
- Populations of mustangsconsidered to be Colonial Spanish strains:
- Tribal Horses
- Chickasaw horse[1]
- Chincoteague pony (Assateague horse) – dubious, but widely asserted
- Gila Bend mustang[15][dubious ]
A number of breeds in Latin America with Iberian DNA markers are of Spanish type and origin.
Notes
- ^ Those identified are the Baca-Chica, Banker Horse, Choctaw, Florida Cracker, Marsh Tacky, Santa Cruz, and Wilbur-Cruce.[3]
- ^ Cothran may have found Spanish markers in other herds listed by the BLM as having been determined by "genetic analysis" to be similar to Iberian breeds. However, when Cothran left Kentucky for Texas A&M University, he began using microsatellite DNA analysis to determine genetic diversity of feral herds rather than blood typing, but the DNA analysis was less accurate in determining ancestry.[12]
- ^ This include the Argentine Criollo, Brazilian Criollo, Campolina, Chilean Criollo, Chilote, Mangalarga, Mangalarga Marchador, Pantaneiro, Paso Fino, Peruvian Paso, and Venezuelan Spanish.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Sponenberg, D. Philip. "North American Colonial Spanish Horse Update July 2011".
- ^ PMID 16489143.
- ^ a b c d e f g The Livestock Conservancy
- ^ a b c "Colonial Spanish Horse". The Livestock Conservancy. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
- ^ Bennett, p. 14
- ^ Bennett, p. 193
- ^ Bennett, p. 205
- ^ "Outer Banks Wild Horses".
- ISBN 978-0-309-26494-5
- ^ Sponenberg, D. Philip. History, Blood Typing and "Just Looking": Evaluating Spanish Horses (Report).
- ISBN 978-0-309-29162-0
- ^ ISBN 978-0-309-26494-5
- ^ "The Extinct Horses of Great Abaco Island May Live Again". atlasobscura.com. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ PMID 22221025.
- ISBN 9780547526133.
Sources
- Bennett, Deb (1998). Conquerors : the roots of New World horsemanship (1st ed.). Solvang, Calif.: Amigo Publications. ISBN 0-9658533-0-6.
- National Research Council (2013). Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward (Report). Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press.
- The Livestock Conservancy. "Conservation Priority". The Livestock Conservancy. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
- Sponenberg, D. Philip. "North American Colonial Spanish Horse Update July 2011". Center for America's First Horse. Retrieved December 3, 2017.