Studbook in the late 1960s and the influence of foreign breeds became more limited by the practice of bloodstock inspection and the implementation of a strict breed standard (as was done in Spain). In the last 20 years, only three notable imported Spanish stallions were used in the Lusitano breed, but that was in very important places: the Alter Real stud employed the stallion Judeo, the Veiga stud used the stallion Embroque and Catherine Vaisse used the stallion Allegre 30 in her Lusitano stud farm in France.
BREEDING TECHNIQUES:
LINEBREEDING AND OUTCROSSING The Iberian horse was already used in war, hunting and parade in the centuries preceding the establishment of the modern bloodlines, so the development of its unique riding qualities had already been present for centuries in the equines of the Iberian Peninsula. How did the bloodlines we know now as the Bocado, Veiga, Andrade, Alter Real and CN gain their unique identity? They were each created by the development over time of a unique phenotype that each visionary breeder was interested in. This was achieved through the repeated practice of linebreeding (repeat of same individuals in the background of the pedigree) and inbreeding (repeat of the same individuals in the forefront of the pedigree), as well as the culling of inferior horses from the genetic pool. Lusitano and PRE breeders often breed half-brother to
half-sister, father to daughter, grandson to grandmother and occasionally, when in presence of exceptional horses, full brother to full sister. This practice creates a series of complex homozygous traits that define the special type corresponding to each bloodline (becoming in effect a genotype). Because this specific selection is based on a multi-traits functionality such as dressage and bullfighting (rather than a single trait like speed in the Thoroughbred), defects that would compromise this functionality are usually eliminated. The system
Novilheiro, the most important athlete of the Lusitano breed, was a Grand Prix dressage horse with his owner JP Giacomini, an Intermediate event horse with European Champion Rachel Bayliss and a leading show jumper with Olympian John Whitaker. Novilheiro was by the Andrade stallion Firme and out of the Veiga mare Guerrita.
104 March/April 2012
based on consanguinity has been very successful in the Iberian Peninsula until the 1970s when outcrossing
Istoso, trained to Grand Prix by JP Giacomini, bred by Guilherme Borba (former director of the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art) is a Veiga Andrade (by Delfim out of Xistosa).
between bloodlines began in earnest because of the need for “refreshing the blood.” The Veiga family used the Andrade stallion Firme (himself reputed to have some Lipizzaner blood). This cross produced a series of exceptional
horses such as the stallion Nilo (who sired excellent offspring in many Portuguese farms who were later sold to Northern Europe, Spain, Brazil and Mexico), Opus (who bred bullfighting champions both in Spain and Portugal) and Novilheiro who was, as a show jumper, the most important sport horse of the Lusitano breed. I bought Novilheiro as a three-year-old, trained him
to the Grand Prix of dressage, had him participate in Intermediate eventing with my student Rachel Bayliss (1983 European Three Day Champion) and later sent him to John Whitaker with whom he was the leading show jumper of his time in England. After a jumping career spent winning in London, Dublin, Hickstead, Berlin, Spruce Meadows, Toronto, Amsterdam and many other international shows, he was bred to a few jumping mares in England and produced some remarkable babies who all distinguished themselves in the show arena. Later on, Novilheiro was returned to Portugal and became a leading sire of broodmares, dressage and bullfighting horses. Novilheiro, Opus and Nilo were the proof positive that outcrossing created a superior performance horse. Since then, outcrossing has become the system of choice to develop the modern Lusitano, while linebreeding and inbreeding remains the way to develop genetic reliability for breeders interested in creating their own unique types. In the United States, the original Andalusian studbook
was started on the basis of both Spanish and Lusitano horses and the crossing of the two bloodlines are accepted by IALHA (International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association) as producing purebreds. The Spanish blood was the overwhelming majority component. This created an opportunity for some American breeders to make use of the crossbreeding of ALL Iberian bloodlines in order to produce a superior riding horse. At my farm Baroque Farms USA, we created such an “Iberian Horse” program based on several Lusitano stallions: Hipogrifo–pure Veiga, Istoso– Andrade/Veiga, Lusiadas–Veiga/Alter Real/Andrade, Hussar
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