Although the population of the Andalusian
horse breed in the United States is very small, the Andalusian
has a reputation, image, and mystique that is enormous. Many know
of the breed, but few have direct contact with them. Andalusian
is used in many countries to denote the Iberian horse. The term
Andalusian arose from the region in southern Spain, Andalucia, in
which many noted stud farms are located.
The Andalusian horse is one of the most
ancient of horse breeds. It has lived on the Iberian Peninsula
since pre-history and is represented in cave paintings dating
back 25,000 years. In the United States, all purebred Andalusian
horses can be traced back directly to the Stud Books of Spain,
Portugal, or to a combination, or crossing, of those two stud
books.
The Andalusian is strongly built, yet
extremely elegant. The typical Andalusian stands 15.2 to 16.2
hands. His head is of medium length, slightly convex or straight
with a broad forehead and well-placed ears. The eyes are alive,
oval, and very expressive. The neck is reasonably long, broad,
yet elegant and well-crested in stallions. One of their most
notable features is their thick and abundant mane and tails. Well
defined withers precede a short back; the quarters are broad and
strong. The croup is rounded and of medium length. About 80% of
Andalusians are grey or white, 15% are bay, and 5% are black.
These horses have wonderful temperments,
being very gentle, but showing a fiery presence under saddle that
is remarkable. They love people and learn very quickly. Truly a
joy to own, it will not be long before they will be considered an
integral part of your family. Andalusians are very versatile
being used for Dressage, Jumping, Trail, Saddleseat, Western,
English, Driving and Halter. It is a true pleasure to own one!