Sorraia
| Sorraia | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Important data | |
| Origin: | Iberia |
| Main breeding area: | Portugal |
| Distribution: | very low |
| Stick measure : | around 140 cm |
| Colors : | Yellow / brown fallow and gray fallow, (rarely) dark brown |
| Main application area: | Riding, wild |
As Sorraia refers to a horse race from Portugal , the wild offspring of a small population horses, which was only discovered in 1920, should have emerged. They are also said to have been the ancestors of the American Sulfur , who were taken by Christopher Columbus on the ships to America and released in America before returning to Europe,
It is sometimes said that the Sorraia is an Iberian wild horse , although it does not differ genetically from other Iberian domestic horses.
Background information on horse evaluation and breeding can be found under: Exterior , interior and horse breeding .
Exterior
Sorraias are small or medium-sized horses. They have a narrow rams head, a slender neck, which is strong in well-fed stallions and is reminiscent of Andalusians and Lusitanos . Their body is slender, with a narrow chest, good withers, sometimes inclination towards the back of the carp, good belt depth , roof-shaped croup, flat muscles, relatively long legs with long tubes and medium-sized hooves. The slim physique is similar to that of thoroughbreds .
Sorraias are almost always fawn , either gray or yellow (brown fawn), and have a dark mouth and face. Dark browns are rare; these, as well as those with clear white markings, are excluded from breeding, as the influence of foreign blood (possibly from the Garrano or Asturcon ) is suspected. The mane and tail are typically two-colored, the dark central stripe, the extension of the eel line , is flanked on both sides by light, often almost white hair. Like all real Fallows, they have an eel line. Many have zebra crossings on their legs, not infrequently also shoulder and neck stripes. Foals often have clearly visible crosswalks on their abdomen. Allegedly, at the time of the discovery of the Sorraia horse, the zebration occurred even more clearly in adult horses than in today's Sorraias, but no evidence is known of this.
history
The Portuguese zoologist and hippologist Ruy d'Andrade founded this breed of horse after he discovered a herd of apparently wild horses near the Sorraia River. Ruy d'Andrade thought these horses were ancestors of the Andalusians and Lusitanos , which has been proven by some genetic studies, but has been refuted by others. In 1937 he started a conservation breeding program with a stock of 3 stallions and 7 mares, 1 of which was in foal by an unknown stallion. In 1948, a gray, heavily zebrated Criollo imported from Argentina was added as the last foreign blood . In 1976 3 mares (1 of them in foal by a Sorraia stallion) and 3 stallions were imported to Germany. In 2004 a stud book with a total of 564 listed individuals was published, all of which can be traced back to the founding horses.
The majority of today's Sorraias live in robust housing . The continued existence of the breed is considered to be strongly endangered by the small number, the dispersed populations, the close relationship and the resulting lack of vitality , and the recent exports of breeding animals to America for the further breeding of Spanish Mustangs. The Portuguese Horse Breeding Association looks after the Sorraias like a horse breed and not in the sense of their discoverer and sustaining Ruy d'Andrade. There is currently only one project in which Sorraias live wild and left to themselves in a reserve, the Vale de Zebro Refuge in Portugal, which is in private hands . The so-called Portuguese reserve for the conservation of the Sorraia horses consists only of a small group of animals in normal and for Portuguese conditions narrow pasture. Most of the Sorraias are owned by the d'Andrade family and some of them live semi-wild.
Sorraia breeding in Germany
In Germany there is a population of about 60 animals, which is important for the survival of the species, mainly from the breeding of the Munich hippologist and veterinarian Michael Schäfer, who died in 2001 and who has also described them in his books since 1975, and which is still through his widow today , also a veterinarian, will be continued.
In the current zoological doctrine in Germany, Sorraia horses are not wild horses, but domestic horses that have gone wild again. That is the reason why Sorraia horses in Germany are only kept in the bison enclosure Springe and not in any other zoological gardens or game enclosures. Gerhard Freutel wrote in May 2012: “ Since 1997, there has been a herd of up to 15 animals in the Springe bison enclosure. The first horses were bought in Portugal and financed by the association. The herd has developed well in breeding despite difficult conditions. The formal cooperation with the stud book, which is kept in Lisbon, is very difficult and the main reason why breeding is currently not being done in the bison enclosure. Until our temporary breeding stop in 2009, 23 foals were born in Springe. "
From the perspective of the Springe bison enclosure, the survival of the Sorraia, of which only 150 animals live worldwide, is not sustainable. First, the Sorraia often get sweet itch because their genes make them allergic to black flies. For the Sorraia, therefore, only one location is favorable where black flies do not occur. Second, there is currently no respected authority enforcing and coordinating the conservation breeding of the Sorraia as wild horses. This would be the task of the zoological gardens, which do not carry out any maintenance breeding of the Sorraia as a breed. Thirdly, there is no possibility for conservation breeders like the Wisentgehege Springe to hand over the Sorraia from their breeding to zoological gardens, which in turn are also involved in the conservation breeding of the Sorraia as wild horses. That is why the bison enclosure only has the option of giving Sorraias to private holdings that do not carry out conservation breeding. (As of March 2013)
However, since spring 2019 there has been new hope for the long-term preservation of the Sorraias. For the first time in Germany, in the nature reserve Ferbitzer Bruch on the former military training area Döberitzer Heide near Berlin, Sorrai horses are being used as part of a nature conservation-oriented grazing project of the Naturschutz-Förderverein Döberitzer Heide e. V. used. The animals used in June 2019 were made available by the breeder Sven Sczygiel. His original animals come from the breeding of Michael Schäfer. The aim of the project is the coordinated conservation breeding in connection with semi-wild keeping, which corresponds to the originality of these horses.
literature
- Schäfer, Michael: Andalusian horses. The horses of Spain and Portugal. Nymphenburger, 1984
- Schäfer, Michael: The year of the horse. Kynos, 1987
- Schäfer, Michael: The language of the horse. Way of life, behavior, forms of expression. Franckh Kosmos, 1993
- Schäfer, Michael: Handbook horse assessment. Franckh Kosmos, 2007
- Oelke, Hardy: The Sorraia Horse. A primeval horse from South Iberia is fighting for survival. In: Equivox Magazin, issue 114 ( page no longer available ) published on June 1, 2001.
Web links
- German Sorraia Foundation ( page no longer available )
- Information on Sorraia horses from Hardy Oelke
Individual evidence
- ^ American Sulfur Horse Association and Colonial Spanish horse # Modern Horses
- ↑ a b c Luis, C .; Juras, R .; Oom, MM; Cothran, EG: Genetic diversity and relationships of Portuguese and other horse breeds based on protein and microsatellite loci variation . In: Animal Genetics . tape 38 , no. 1 , February 2007, p. 20-27 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1365-2052.2006.01545.x .
- ↑ a b L. J. Royo, I. Álvarez, A. Beja-Pereira, A. Molina, I. Fernández, J. Jordana, E. Gómez, JP Gutiérrez, and F. Goyache: The Origins of Iberian Horses Assessed via Mitochondrial DNA Journal of Heredity 2005 96 (6): 663-669; doi : 10.1093 / jhered / esi116 .
- ^ Oelke, H. Archived copy ( Memento from September 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Luís, Christina, E. Gus Cothran, and Maria do Mar Oom: Inbreeding and Genetic Structure in the Endangered Sorraia Horse Breed: Implications for its Conservation and Management . In: Journal of Heredity . 98, No. 3, 2007, pp. 232-237. doi : 10.1093 / jhered / esm009 . PMID 17404326 . Retrieved December 19, 2008.
- ↑ Gerhard Freutel: The Sorraia horse introduces itself. In: Wisent-Report of the Förderverein Wisentgehege Springe, Springe, May 2012, p. 7.
- ↑ Sorraia horses - Nature Conservation Association "Döberitzer Heide" eV Accessed on July 8, 2019 (German).