Criollo (horse)
| Criollo | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Important data | |
| Origin: | South America, 16th century |
| Main breeding area: | South America, Caribbean |
| Distribution: | widespread in South America |
| Stick measure : | 142-152 cm |
| Colors : | all |
| Main application area: | Riding horse, shepherd horse, patrol horse, expedition horse, western riding |
The Criollo is a horse breed that originated in Argentina , which is then properly called Criollo definitivo and is looked after by the respective breeding associations of the countries as such; as well as a horse type or loft native to South America and the Caribbean, which should actually always be referred to as Criollo mestizo or Mestizo in order to distinguish it from the “pure-bred” or “registered” pedigree horse. The difference is that the “Definitivo” usually has to have four registered, pure-bred ancestral lines; the mestizo, on the other hand, is an unregistered utility horse of mostly mixed origins. The name Criollo primarily means “European born in South America; Creole"; Mestizo means mestizo, i.e. mixed breed. However, different breeds of horses have emerged due to environmental re-breeding, which differ somewhat. Criollo-type horse breeds are found in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, the Caribbean, and Venezuela. The breeding associations of the major breeding nations are united in the supranational organization FICCC; Federacion Internacional de Criadores de Caballos Criollos. The regulated stud breeding was carried out by the veterinarian Dr. Emilio Solanet founded his estancia near Buenos Aires when he noticed around 1900 that the high-quality land plot that had been widespread up until then was beginning to disappear. He had long been crossed with European races, especially English thoroughbred, Percheron and, more rarely, Arabs and Hackney. Solanet bought a basic stock of original criollos in the Indian area and started a real breed with them.
Background information on horse evaluation and breeding can be found under: Exterior , interior and horse breeding .
Exterior
The Criollo is a compact, medium-sized horse of great variety. It has a medium-sized, wedge-shaped head with a straight to slightly convex profile, friendly eyes and powerful gaiters. His neck today is of medium width; In the past, the typical necks were set higher and stronger, and often significantly shorter. The neck changes into a rather flat but strong withers, which in turn ends in a long but stable back. The strong, broad, deep chest is typical and gives the organs a lot of space. He has a relatively straight back line with often long kidneys, a round, well-muscled croup with a deep tail and a short tail. He is characterized by a very stable foundation, strong pasterns of medium length at most and medium-sized, hard hooves. In fact, the steel-hard legs and hooves are a typical feature and indispensable in extremely tough working life. The best horses are around 140 to 148 cm high; larger and sometimes smaller ones occur; the gauchos had a saying: "Admire the great, but ride the small". Very large animals are often less popular among the pure work riders, but they are often preferred by European buyers / breeders (reasons include: tall Europeans; better marketable in the USA and Europe; athletic advantage in some disciplines; size is confused with breeding progress, etc. ). All colors appear - the gaucho supposedly knows around 600 individual color names. Today gray and yellow, (colored) browns and foxes, pin-haired grays (cabeza de moro) and foxes (rosillo) are typical; also very colorful Overo piebalds; real black horses and gray horses are rather rare. Bad browns and duns used to be very common. The corridors are practical and not extremely expansive, but endurance and surefootedness are outstanding.
interior
The Criollo is one of the toughest and toughest horses in the world. Even in extreme climatic conditions, it can get by with little forage (pasture) and can withstand heat and cold. He is very persistent and is subjected to a very tough performance test (Marcha) in his home country South America. Within 14 days (with a day of rest) 750 km are covered under the rider with a standard weight of around 90 kg, whereby concentrated feed may not be fed, i.e. the horses are only released to pasture after the stage. This not only proves endurance, but also the ability to regenerate. Before the Marcha, every horse has to spend a month on the pasture, without special training, etc. Many criollos have a good cow-sense, plus a lot of courage and reaction on cattle; They not only cut, but also physically push or throw cattle against fences or into gates, etc. Some typical competitions also require this, such as Paleteada (two riders lead a cattle clamped between them over 140 meters at a gallop) or Mangera (one rider cuts in Cattle from a group of three and then pushes them violently against a high fence). As a rule, criollos are very calm, fearless horses that like to join people and are then easy to train. They do not tend to shy away or run away, enjoy doing any work that comes up and are seldom difficult in character. A friendly demeanor and a pleasant temperament as well as good health and easy food are typical of the breed.
Breeding history
The Criollo goes back to the Iberian horses that were brought to South America from Spain in the 16th century and later . These horses were closely related to the Berber and early Iberian horses (Sorraia; Andalusians etc.); it is doubtful, but not impossible, whether they possibly also had some Arabian blood . Many criollos from traditional breeding represent a very typical "Iberian colonial horse" that resembles high-quality Spanish Mustangs, original western breeds or - if at all comparable - the best Indian horses and clearly shows its Iberian heritage.
In the harsh climate of the pampas , a natural selection process took place over several centuries , in which only the most resilient individuals survived in the long term. In this way a particularly tough, enduring and long-lived horse was created. Estancieros , gauchos and Indians always kept and raised the best, most persistent and willing horses, because their existence ultimately depended on them. The Swiss adventurer Aimé Félix Tschiffely set a monument for this breed with his continental ride with two criollos from Argentina to the United States of America (1925–1928). His horses Mancha (from Manchado, to German: the reddish piebald), an Overo-Schecke and Gato (German: the cat), who got his name because of his noticeably smooth movements, were already 18 and 16 years old at the beginning of the trip . They are said to have descended from Indian horses. After the trip they lived extensively on the ranch of their breeder, Emilio Solanet , the founder of the Criollo studbook, until the end of their lives . Both reached an age above average for horses; Mancha was 35, Gato 40 years old.
Over time, breeding based on the Criollo began to emerge outside Argentina, leading to independent breeds: in Brazil the Crioulo, in Chile the Criollo Chileno or Corralero, on the Peruvian coast the Costeño, in the Peruvian mountains the Marocucho and in Venezuela the Llanero . In Uruguay and Paraguay, the local criollos, Criollo Uruguayo and Criollo Paraguayo, are closely related to the Brazilian crioulo and Argentine cousin. Today successful breeding horses or bloodlines are exchanged or sold internationally; Chilean criollos are particularly popular as good production sires. They are typically quite small, but very compact and agile. The main breeding countries are arguably Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil; In addition to the Marcha as a performance test, the multiple “Freno de Oro” competition is becoming more and more popular in Brazil; The qualified horses are thoroughly tested in ten competitions over three days. These competitions are similar to a Reining, the Speed Trail, Working Cowhorse, Halter / Exterior and include Mangera and Paleteada. The prestige competition Freno is considered to be particularly valuable today, but it causes a type shift towards a western horse. Due to mechanization, the criollos are losing more and more importance in ranching in the campo (pasture land); but they find their way into sport, as the recent successes of German criollos in high-class western competitions prove. The old guy is about to get lost. The most successful breeding farms today concentrate on a very fine, sporty type with a very long back and finer neck and elastic movements. Criollos definitivos are inspected and registered in a similar way to Europe and provided with papers; Brand marks are common. Mestizos and those horses that are not shown at breeding shows but "only" serve as gaucho horses do not need to be inspected; however, there is now an identification document for every pure-bred horse in South America.
At the beginning of the 1980s, many horses came to Europe by ship via Italy, which were initially sold as "Criollos". In fact, they were bought up all over South America as horses for slaughter and - in order to circumvent Italian customs regulations - imported as such. They were penned below deck and some did not survive the rigors of the transport. There were very few criollos among them, the vast majority were mestizos, ie crossbreeds without papers; the sellers of these half-breeds did good business - after all, they were offered as criollos and so-called “beginner horses / ranch horses”. The Criollo breeding in Germany may still have to struggle with this bad reputation, whereby it should be emphasized that many mestizos are good and likeable working horses. However, anyone who definitely acquires a Criollo born in Germany, Italy or Switzerland can assume that they will receive a horse that is impeccable in its behavior and is not traumatized by the ship transport. Most of the criollos bred in Germany are registered with the Bavarian Breeding Association for Small Horses and Special Horse Breeds, where a stallion and mare performance test is also offered, which is based on the Marcha and is carried out as part of a one-day field test. The breeding association for German horses, ZfdP, also looks after them in terms of breeding and issues papers, etc.
