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User Login Email: Password:    » Forgot Password?  » New Member Sign Up Visitors Online: Today's Visits: Yesterday's Visits: Horses Menu Home Horses For Sale Welcome to Sorraia ! You are here: Terrific-Horses.com > Horse Breeds > Sorraia Book Search: Sorraia Description The Sorraia also known as Marismeño and is referred to as a small horse or pony standing between 12 and 14 hh. It is said that the Sorraia is a descendant of both the Asian Wild Horse and the Tarpan. The Sorraia is the last trace of the indigenous wild horse of south Iberia. This small horse is an ancestor to many horses throughout Europe and the Americas including the Andalusia and the Lusitania. The Sorraia were represented in prehistoric cave art exhibiting the classic Iberian convex profile. In 1920 Ruy D’Andrade, a Portuguese scientist, discovered these wild horses in the lowlands of the Portuguese River Sorraia and thus named them “Sorraia”. Documentation was found to show that these horses were taken to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Several of the North and South American breeds have the dun and grullo coloration and some of its physical characteristics of the Sorraia. Evidence has even shown that there may be a connection with the Sorraia and that of the American Mustangs as well as the North African Barb. The Sorraia are able to survive extremes of climate, mainly dry and hot climates. They can endure on very little forage while maintaining their health. This hardiness as well as its agility and work on horseback once made the Sorraia valuable. When captured these horses were broken and used for riding and herding the fighting bulls as well as other livestock. Today the Sorraia are nearly extinct and only a few herds are preserved in a few places in Portugal and Germany. Google Ads

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