The Andrades
are tall, powerful saddle horses, with rounded croup, head profile
nearly straight, very functional, with elegant gaits, excellent for
bullfighting, dressage and work.
Perhaps the
most effective description of the Andrade bloodline comes from the
breeder himself, Ruy d'Andrade:
"…they are
short strong horses, valiant with the bulls, changing from calm to
ardent if spurred and from ardent to obedient if left in peace;
fast when running and rapid on turns; with good walk, sensible to
the spurs, submissive with good mouth, endless strength in
everything."
The
selection process used by Andrade differed from that applied to
the Veiga lineage according to Alfredo Baptista Coelho who writes:
"Contrary to Manuel Veiga, [Ruy d'Andrade] started from a solid
morphological base and tried to retain the most subtle qualities."
The
Coudelaria Andrade - as we know it today - was formed with the
stallion Principe VII, from Francisco Chica Navarro (FCN). He was
a grandson and great grandson of the "chief of line" Primoroso.
|
Veiga |
|
 |
The Veiga
bloodline produced the most genuine war horse of Ancient
Lusitania. 'Veigas' are extremely functional and smaller than the
other lineages - excellent for bullfighting.
They have
the typical convex head known as the "Veiga head", flat thin legs
with prominent hocks, fantastic impulsion and proud flexible
necks.
Manuel Veiga
describes his horses as follows: "Nervous, full of gallantry, so
obedient they seem to outguess the rider's intentions; high thin
head, long free-flowing manes, elevated movements and a striking
agility challenging all threats and dangers with indomitable
courage…"
The Veiga is
a true race within the Lusitano breed and the stallions when used
on mares of any other lineage have the power to transmit to the
offspring the most typical characteristics of the Lusitanian race.
The
selection criterion was based entirely on the functional
qualities, as explained by Alfredo Baptista Coelho:
"… not the
height, nor the academic morphology, not the color, nor the form
of the head. Everything was offered by the race itself: wonderful
fine slightly convex heads today known as "Veiga head", ancient
rare colors … fine flat legs with strong hocks, flexible backs,
uncommon impulsion, beautiful malleable necks … in short, the race
offered him [Mr Veiga] a horse that makes our horse loving people
vibrate."
| Portuguese State / Coudelaria
Nacional (CN) And Alter Real (AR) |
 |
 |
The Alter
Real was founded in 1748 by the Portuguese king D. João V and has
always been active in the breeding of the famous bay horses used
by the Portuguese Riding School.
The horse
bred by the Coudelaria Nacional (CN) is of the same morphological
type as the Spanish Horse of the XVIII century. This explains why
most of the present and old lines of the CN are of Spanish origin
- mostly descendants from the "heads of lineage" Hucharia,
Primoroso and Destinado.
The
Coudelaria Nacional produces longer, stronger horses, with high
croups that are very good for dressage and driving.
The
Lusitano Breed in Modern Times
The above
description of the three basic bloodlines does not suffice as a
final taxonomy of the Lusitano horse.
Many
traditional and important breeders exist and they are producing
excellent animals, either by keeping the three basic lines or
combining them with great success. More recently the intermarriage
of Veigas and Andrades, both extremely functional horses, produced
some of the most famous stallions of the last quarter of this
century: Neptuno, Opus, Novilheiro and Trinco, all sons of Firme
(Andrade) with Veiga mothers.
