The Lusitano is said to be the best kept secret in the horse world and having had the opportunity to experience these horses first hand, we believe it to true.
Native to the Iberian Peninsula, the Lusitano breed is renowned for its’ noble characteristics and willingness to please. Possessing a higher than average intelligence and majestic appearance, the Lusitano has long been considered a symbol of status for its owner. The breed is well known for its’ exceptional performance in all equestrian disciplines. Especially in dressage, driving, and pleasure equitation. The Lusitano’s generous temperament and ease under the saddle make it an attractive prospect for amateur and professional riders alike.
The Lusitano breed was domesticated in approximately 5,000 BC by the Lusitanian’s; a race of warriors who fought on horseback using Gineta; their own set of combat techniques. Gineta required a sophisticated degree of horsemanship and more importantly, a swift, easy to handle and reliable horse. A rider’s life depended on the abilities of the Lusitano breed. Gineta was also the precursor to modern dressage.
While not used in combat anymore, traces of the Gineta discipline can still be seen in Portugal today where bullfighting still occurs on horseback. It is said that the practice was created solely for the purpose of preparing Gineta horses for war.
The Lusitano plays an important role in the history of equitation; having survived as a pure race over centuries of political and social change in its native land. Those who breed Lusitanos take it very seriously and intend to ensure the future of these horses. “Pure Lusitano Blood breeding,” writes Alfredo Baptista Coelho in his book on the Lusitano race, “is like entering into the magic world of intuition where the breeder, driven by passion creates a horse that is the image of his dreams.”
One of the important and unique features of the Lusitano horses is that this horse breed boasts of being capable and extremely competent when it comes to dressage. To say that these horses produce disciplined and elegant movements and are proficient in pirouettes, piaffe, passage etc. Together with this quality, they are also very intelligent and rational and their prudence and sense of balance plays a significant role in establishing their value as a prominent horse breed. Moreover, the Lusitano horses have a regulated temperament and their capability to connect with human beings enables them to become great riding horses.