| The western-most Iberian country of mainland Europe, | | | | With prehistoric roots, the Portuguese Garrano has it |
| Portugal, is home to a handful of thoroughbreds that | | | | roots from the Iberian pony native to the northern |
| have become famous the world over. These are the | | | | mountainous regions of the country. Cave rock |
| Lusitano, Sorraia and Garrano Portuguese horse | | | | drawings in caves of Altamira and La Pasiega depict |
| breeds. Each has a unique breeding history that | | | | the ancestral Garrano origins used mainly as the main |
| essentially had their roots in the Iberian plains long | | | | means for agriculture and transport needs of the early |
| before recorded history. | | | | Portuguese. |
| The Lusitano Breed | | | | Its subsequent breeding with foreign breed introduced |
| The most famous Portuguese horse is the Lusitano, | | | | over centuries of domination from various conquering |
| named after Lusitania which the conquering Romans | | | | peoples has produced other Portuguese horse breeds |
| called Portugal in the first century BC. Modern | | | | that now include the modern Garrano. Its straight head |
| Portuguese equestrian sports have been known to | | | | profile and short legs won't give it equestrian qualities |
| use the Lusitano horse exclusively for years. It is | | | | but they continue to be used in large rural farm |
| believed to have had its roots in a number of cross | | | | communities. |
| breeding between the local Berber pony and the | | | | The Sorraia Breed |
| Arabian horse that entered the country during the | | | | In 1945, Dr Ruy D'Andrade discovered a unique horse |
| various waves of Carthaginian, Roman, Germanic and | | | | that thrived in the valley where the Sorraia River flows |
| Arab Moorish conquests of the Iberian Peninsula. | | | | through after getting merged from the Sor and Raia |
| But it was not until 1942 when veterinarians from the | | | | tributaries in the same northern regions of the country |
| government's National Stud officially christened the | | | | where the Garrano also roamed freely. |
| specific horse breed at the Portuguese School of | | | | He aptly named it the Sorraia horse as one of the |
| Equestrian Art as Lusitano, did the name finally entered | | | | native Portuguese horse breeds of modern times. Like |
| the Portuguese Stud Book first published in 1889. | | | | the Garrano, there have been rock engravings dating |
| There have been other similar breeds found in Spain | | | | back to the Ice Age that reveal a prehistoric ancestral |
| and in 1962, an agreement between Spanish and local | | | | horse species resembling the character of the Sorraia |
| breeders was reached on the specific traits that would | | | | horse. These are the least populous of the three |
| distinguish the Portuguese Lusitano and Spain's | | | | breeds and are likewise used more for agricultural and |
| Espanhol breeds. | | | | transport needs of the rural communities. |
| The Garrano Breed | | | | |