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The Garrano and the more famous Sorraia are
both ancient breeds that are descended from the same stock and have developed
along different lines according to their habitat. The Sorraia lives is Spain
mostly between the Sor and Raia rivers, while the Garrano live is neighboring
Portugal. The Garrano, which is also called the Minho, mainly lives in the
fertile regions of Minho and Tras os Montes and has most likely been subjected
to outside infusions of blood than has the Sorraia.
There are a lot of similarities between the
primitive cave paintings of the Paleolithic era and the Garrano, which
indicate the breed's antiquity. It is generally considered that the Garrano is
one of the ancestors of both the Andalusian and the Galician. Recently the
Garrano has had fairly frequent infusions of Arabian blood, a procedure that
was implemented by the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture. This has had an
effect of greatly refining the breed, but has caused the breed to lose some of
its primitive features. The Garrano breed is strong and hardy and have quiet
temperaments. They are frequently used for riding and light farm work and have
been widely employed as pack horses in the past. They are very surefooted and
can easily travel smoothly over the difficult, steep, and densely wooded
terrain of their homeland, and as such, can perform much better in this area
than any motorized vehicle. They have also been used by the military for pack
ponies and are very useful driving horses in harness. For their size, they
exhibit a remarkable turn of speed and are used for competing in the
traditional trotting races of the region.
In appearance, the Garrano is now an
attractive pony of some quality, bearing some Arabian typical traits,
especially in the head, which is fine, pretty and often has a concave profile
although it can also sometimes be slightly heavy. They tend to have small
ears, lively, large eyes, and a long neck set on a straight shoulder. The back
is short and compact with sloping muscular hindquarters and a low-set tail.
They are deep and wide through the chest and have short, strong legs with
hard, broad joints. They also have well formed, very hard hooves. The Garrano
is mostly bay or chestnut in color and stand between 10 and 14 hh.
Check out these websites offering
information about the Garrano Pony!
http://www.tiho-hannover.de/einricht/zucht/eaap/descript/749.htm
http://www.geocities.com/aacccl/garrano.htm
http://www.geocities.com/mop07231/garrano.htm
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