Criollo
Introduction: If you have any comments or suggestions, please click here.
Names: Criollo.
Origin: South American pony/horse with Barb, Andalusian and Spanish blood. Usually connected with Argentina. Comes in various shapes and forms across the continent, under different names.
Breeding: A fairly direct descendant of the old Andalusians from Spain, or the similar Portuguese Alters, and fundamentally that same Mustang which is so nearly lost to the United States. Breeding area and studs: Argentine pampas, half-wild herds. Descended from the horses imported by Don Pedro de Mendoza in 1535 from Andalusia. Numerous but little-planned crosses over the years.
Description:
Action: Long steady movements, covering ground in all three gaits; considerable galloping ability.
Body: Muscular hindquarters. Powerful neck. Not very long semi-oblique shoulders. Short and deep back. Not much barrel. Sloping quarters.
Color: Dun, roan, brown, skewbald, black, or bay. All colours--spotted, skewbald or dun common.
Head: Large, heavy, poor, often with Roman nose.
Hooves: Iron hard.
Legs: Well-placed and strong.
Size: 14-15 hands. 14.2 to 15.2 hands.
Temperament: Good. Tranquil and easily taught.
Features: Survives well in poor conditions. Pampas pony living half-wild. Very frugal, tough, enduring. Great resistance to illness.
Uses: Good jumper, cow pony and polo pony.
Accomplishments: In 1933, Professor Tschiffely obtained two horses, Mancha and Gato, from a Patagonian Indian chief, and rode and led them, in turn, over the 10,000 miles from Buenos Aires to Washington. They traveled over mountain ranges, across deserts and through rivers. They endured extremes of heat and cold and ate anything from rotten hay to the leaves of the Pindo palm. Neither horse was ever sick and both lived to a ripe old age, proving beyond doubt that the Criollo is a very strong horse.
Curiosities: Basically, the majority of South American horses are variations of the Criollo.
Profiles: Mancha and Gato - Two Argentine Criollos who demonstrated just what a wonderful breed this is.
Conclusion: