TO BUY A HORSE IN PORTUGAL

This can be done in different ways:

1) You see one or several horses on my site and decide to come to Portugal and try them out, in order to see, if the chemistry and riding are what you are looking for.

2) You see one or several horses on my site and ask me to do a thorough investigation, document it with videos and photos and send it to you. If you like one of them, we do a vetcheck, which I also film and send to you, your vet and/or insurance company. If everything is OK, you can buy the horse through an international banktransfer and have it transported to your home, at your costs, of course.

This has been done by some clients from different countries and they are happy to answer any questions you might have.

Some of them went to Sweden and became Champion of Champions:

URO from Rex and Lee Henry, Borboleta from Quinta do Gaio and Crioula from Vasco Oliveira Santos.

3) You have some specific desires and ask me to find the horse/horses corresponding to these. I give you an estimation of the costs, which is to be paid in advance. Then you either come down to try it or we can proceed as stipulated in the 2nd example.

In all three situations, you pay me for the costs of petrol, tolls and occasionally a meal or two. I' m offering the work, which demands efforts and knowledge, but it is also a great passion for the Lusitano horse, its breeders, traditions and Portugal, which I have shared with people for over 20 years.

SON OF THE WIND

Already in Roman times, the Iberian Peninsula was known for its fantastic horses, very popular with the mighty of this world. They were considered very beautiful, courageous, strong and fast. According to the legend, the mares were fertilized by the wind, hence they were called the "Sons of the Wind".

The reputation of the Iberian horse has been maintained for thousands of years. In the Middle Ages, this was the most wanted horse for its capacity in war. William the Conqueror rode these horses in the famous "Battle of Hastings" in 1066. During the following centuries, this horse was a "must" at every european court. Some of these horses were painted in famous portraits, with or without their kings. They were also used in the riding academies all over Europe, the most famous being "The School of Versailles".

The oldest riding horse in the world now enters the 21st century with the goal of reconquering the position they had under the Greek and Roman periods, when they were considered the best in the world.

The Portuguese breeders, contrary to the Spanish ones, continued to breed, maybe not for battles, but for another kind of fight, the one with the bull, why the functionality, the physical as well as the mental, always was considered as the most important quality of the horse.

The Lusitano of today, a thourroughbred as well as the English and the Arabian ones, is the result of  the efforts made by the Portuguese breeders in selection, bloodlines and renewal inside the breed.

There are four bloodlines, which are Veiga, Andrade, Coudelària Nacional and Alter Real. The size of the horses varies, but in the pattern of the breed, stipulated by APSL, the mares should be around 155 and the stallions around 160. However, the Lusitano shows a tendancy of growing bigger, which is what a lot of breeders, riders and clients like, whithout losing the characteristics, for which we love and appreciate them so much and with that, everyone agrees. There is probably going to be two kinds of breeders, the ones wanting to breed an international, bigger sporthorse and the ones wanting to breed the original, smaller bullfighting type.

Since 1965 the Lusitano has its own Stud Book which contains three parts:

Livro do Nascimento, where every newborn foal by approved parents has the right to be registered

Livro dos Adultos, where all approved stallions and mares are registered

Livro do Merito to which only specially qualified horses have access.

The Lusitano is an exclusive breed with not much more than approximately 12.000 around the world.

Brazil is the biggest country after Portugal and the others are spread in Spain, France, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Tchecoslovakia, Poland, Australia, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, South Africa, China and Thailand

and maybe some more countries.