Day: March 8, 2020

SUFFOLK PUNCH HEIGHT: 16.1–17 hands ORIGIN OF SUFFOLK PUNCH: Suffolk, England SPECIAL QUALITIES: Extremely rare. In England fewer than 100 horses. World population of fewer than 3,500 BEST SUITED FOR: Farming and logging The Suffolk Punch is perhaps the oldest draft breed in England. It originated on the farms of East Anglia, a peninsula surrounded by the North Sea on the east, south, and north and by the Fens — large swampy marshes—to the west. Because of the geographical isolation, local horses were hardly influenced by outside breeds. The farmers of Suffolk independently developed several unique breeds of livestock, including the famous Suffolk sheep, all ideally suited to their particular way of life. Camden’s Britannia dates the Suffolk Horse from 1506, but the breed was likely present and well defined before it was ever described in print, and it has changed very little since then. Some historians think the Vikings brought the ancient Jutland horse, which resembles the present-day Suffolk Punch,

Andalusian Horse History Named after the Spanish region of Andalusia, the Andalusian shares a bloodline with Iberian horses, which appear in cave paintings as old as 20,000 to 30,000 BCE. Throughout the years, the Andalusian and other Iberian breeds heavily influenced the native Spanish and other cultures inhabiting the region including the Romans and Celts. It is thought by some that the Andalusian was the first “warmblood” developed in Europe, which combines the mild temperament of heavy work horses such as the Clydesdale with the refinement of saddle horses such asthe Arabian. Although the Andalusian has ancient bloodlines, the current breed is the work of a select few breeders during the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, most Andalusians (about 66 percent) exist in Spain, with only 8,500 registered in the United States. The spanish horse, the horse of Andalusia. the star of the spectacle “Como bailan los caballos andaluces” (How the Andalusian Horses Dance), registered in the Stud Book of the Breed as Purebred Spanish Horse,