Mangalarga
Marchador Horses
Breed History:
The most popular and widespread horse in Brazil is the Mangalarga
Marchador, which developed in 1740. Joao Francisco of Portugal settled
in Brazil at the hacienda Campo Alegre, where the Marchador horses
began to emerge. Francisco adopted the surname Junqueira to designate
his native city. One of his twelve children, Gabriel Francisco
Junqueira, the Baron of Alfenas, is credited with the expansion and
development of the breed. His friend, Dom Pedro I (1798-1834), Emperor
of Brazil and son of Joao IV of Portugal, gave him an Alter Real
stallion named Sublime.
The stallion Sublime was the descendant of two horses brought from the
breeding farm Coudelaria Alter do Chao in Portugal by Dom Joao VI
during the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula by Napoleonic troops. In
Brazil, Sublime was crossed with mares of the hacienda Campo Alegre:
Spanish Jennets, Criollos and Andalusians. Most of the Spanish horses
used at the hacienda in launching the breed were the famous Spanish
Jennet, known to be a fast, smooth ambler. The offspring of Sublime
produced horses with the characteristics of the present-day Mangalarga
Marchador horse: docility and smooth gaits, with a cadenced rhythmic
gait called the marcha.
Breed
Description:
The Mangalarga Marchador averages between 14.2 and 16 hands in height
and weighs between 850 and 1100 lbs. Although grays are dominate,
chestnut, black, bay, buckskin, palomino and paint horses are also
present.
The Mangalarga Marchador is very versatile. As with many Spanish breeds
they are good cattle horses. They are known for setting the Guinness
Book of World Records endurance ride of 8,694 miles in 1994. A perfect
trail horse, they could also excel in other disciplines that require
agility, stamina, speed and a sound mind.
Training of this breed is facilitated by its intelligence, and uses for
the breed are unlimited. In work with cattle, in sports, in Brazilian
functional trials, or in cross-country horsemanship, the Marchador is
outstanding and is obtaining excellent results in comparison to other
breeds. This breed is extremely docile and is commonly mounted by
children.
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