The Galiceno is a pleasure to ride. This is a lovely dappled mare. Galiceno Horse Breeders Association
Galiceno Horse Breeders
P.O. Box 219
Godley, Texas 76044
www.galiceno.homestead.com
The Galiceno (gal-i-see-no) can best be described as the little horse with the big heart and the illustrious heritage. It takes its name from Galicia, a province in northwestern Spain, where the breed originated. From its earliest times, the region of Galicia was famed throughout Europe for its smooth gaited horses. The modern Galiceno horse is still distinguished by the same swift running walk that was so prized centuries ago. As if it understands its proud heritage, the Galiceno works with the same dignity characteristic of its ancestors.
In the United States, the Galiceno horse is another example of the Spanish legacy. Once the servant of proud conquistadors who brought it to Mexico, the Galiceno now satisfies the most avid rider in the United States. It has been asked to perform myriad tasks and has adapted to each with an innate intelligence, demonstrating the worth that was so valued throughout history. The Galiceno is a joy for pleasure riding and is equally at home as an outstanding working and contest horse.
Although small in stature (less than 14 hands) when compared to the average American horse, the Galiceno is extremely hardy with an abundance of natural courage and stamina. It is nothing for this horse to carry an adult for a day’s ride and still be less spent than many larger horses. Its gaits are easy and generally the rider is also less tired at the day’s end. With its structural makeup and way of going, it is no wonder that this little horse is becoming more popular every day. It is an ideal mount.
History
Hundreds of years prior to the sailing of the conquistadors, Spanish shepherds used to drive their flocks into the hills while mounted on their favorite breed of horse, the Andalusian. This aristocratic breed originally was a warhorse and the preferred mount of the soldiery. When the shepherds rode their Andalusians up into the hills, they released the horses at night and the stallions often bred with the small, wild mountain Garrano ponies.
Wandering Sorraia stallions from the lower swamplands of the Iberian Peninsula further complicated the cross of Andalusians with the Garrano ponies by contributing their blood as well. Both the Garrano and Sorraia were gaited breeds, meaning that they showed the smooth, rapid, forward Spanish gait once referred to as a running walk.
As a result of the blend of Sorraia, Andalusian, and Garrano heritages, a gaited equine indigenous to the Iberian Peninsula was created—the Galicia mountain ponies. They were unique to that region, exhibiting a more refined head, body, and movement than other wild ponies. They were captured in the mountains of the Galicia area of Spain and were called Galicenos after that region.
The small gaited horses the Spaniards brought to the Caribbean islands were likely to have been descendants of Galicenos. When Hernan Cortez invaded Mexico in 1519, he brought several small framed horses from Cuba, now believed to be Galicenos. It is very probable that these proud, beautiful animals were among the first sixteen horses to land on the mainland of the New World. Cortez brought them to work the mines of Mexico and to carry the wounded and dead from the fields of battle.
Galiceno horses continued to be among those brought by conquistadors from the Caribbean islands to North America in the sixteenth century. Reference to the smaller framed horses is in the original documents relating to the conquistadors. The horses primarily had solid colors and a rapid, smooth forward gait characteristic of Spanish horses that belied their heritage.
The conquistadors eventually released them into the mountainous regions of Mexico’s interior, where they remained wild and relatively isolated for several hundred years. There are references to smaller Mexican ponies that resembled the Barb in much of the literature of the time, and now are presumed to have been the Galicenos.
It is impossible to know how much variation occurred in the lines of these original Galicenos, just as it is impossible to determine the entire lineage of mustangs or other horse breeds of that era; records of horse bloodlines were rarely kept back then. Several facts, however, seem to be in agreement concerning the Galiceno: it originated in the mountains of the Galicia region of Spain; it is a small horse with a distinct, smooth, rapid, forward movement unique to Spanish breeds; and the combination of its genetic background is Sorraia, Andalusian, Garrano, and possibly the Barb of Africa. (The inherited foundation from these breeds is currently being studied.)
Occasionally, Galicenos were captured by various groups during the movement into the American frontier during the 1700s and 1800s, or brought in by Spanish missionaries, and many were released in the prairies during conflicts or were lost by their owners. These Galicenos became one of the original Indian ponies, with many references to them, in combination with mustangs, in 1800s literature, detailing plains horses of the developing West.
A Galiceno stallion shows good width between the eyes and has Galiceno substance. Galiceno Horse Breeders Association
Although these small herds of Spanish horses became the ancestors of thousands of mustangs that thrived on the plains of the Southwest, the purebred Galiceno remained for centuries in the coastal regions of Mexico, undoubtedly used on ranches, and prized by the natives for its riding ease, courage, endurance, and functional size.
As a Breed
The Galiceno as it is known today was first imported from Mexico in 1958 by several different ranchers. It was officially recognized as a breed when the Galiceno Horse Breeders Association was founded in 1959. Since then, the breed has spread northward through the United States.
Depending upon the individual horse’s heritage, Galicenos may or may not show the smooth Spanish gait, but it is written into the breed’s standards because most of the horses originally captured in the Mexican interior in the 1950s showed this Spanish movement.
Blood typing tests of Galicenos were begun to determine the incidence of Spanish markers. A foundation Galiceno stallion, NDs Windfire, has been blood typed by the University of Kentucky to match descendants of a known stallion captured in Mexico. Brought out with an original herd of 135 horses in the mid 1950s, he was later imported to Canada. Windfire’s dam was a honey colored buckskin out of a Palomino stallion.
Windfire’s DNA shows evidence of Spanish markers, and he has the rapid smooth forward gaiting common to the breed. He is registered with the American Indian Horse Registry, currently designated in Class AA and being considered for Class O (Original), the highest-rated level, based on documentation of his sire’s origin.
Registered Galiceno mares are bred for proper coloring, conformation, and height that ranges from 12 to 13.3 hands, and to produce registered Galiceno foals, which can also be registered with the American Indian Horse Registry. Since Galicenos are rare and may be on the endangered breeds list, availability of Galiceno horses is limited.
Characteristics
There are differences between the wild Spanish Galicenos of Galicia and the Galicenos that came out of Mexico. In Spain, the coloring of the horses is more predominantly bay, whereas the ones out of Mexico have a greater variety of solid colors. Otherwise, the head shapes, sizing, body conformation and Spanish forward movement are all similar. Additionally, Galicenos have thick manes and tails on both continents.
In the United States, Galicenos are fast becoming the delight of children and grown-ups alike. They are intelligent, easily trained, and very “aware” animals. They make excellent mounts for youth and small light-framed adults, as they are extremely gentle and easy to handle. They can also be used in harness and as an everyday means of transport. Their good disposition can be counted on, making them the ideal family horse.
They are tough, hardy, tractable, intelligent, versatile, and easy keepers. Famous for their easy gaits, they perform superbly in Western Pleasure classes. Their natural head carriage and way of going make them well suited to this event with a minimum of training. They are also versatile and can make the change from Western to English Pleasure with ease. Their smooth gaits provide a performance that is pleasing to both the judge and the rider.
Despite their size, Galicenos make excellent jumping horses. They enjoy the challenge, and their inbred stamina and willingness to perform allows them to work even the most difficult course cleanly and smoothly.
Their natural ability and speed ensure their continued popularity as competition horses. They have both the speed and quickness to make timed events fun and exciting for the rider. They can run as fast as larger horses, and their size is an advantage for negotiating turns efficiently.
The Galiceno developed cow sense from its years when it was used for ranch work before it was imported to the United States. Combined with their natural agility, this makes them true competitors in cutting. Their native intelligence makes them easily trainable for this event.
Standards
The Galiceno horse has established a type that is distinguishable by many traits. It shows substance, lots of style, beauty, and rhythm. Its natural running walk sets the Galiceno apart from the pony class.
When mature, Galicenos usually stand from 12 to 13.2 hands high, with the majority falling into the 50- to 52-inch height group, and weigh between 625 and 700 pounds. All solid colors prevail, including bays, blacks, sorrels, duns, buckskins, roans, grays, chestnuts, browns, and a few palominos. Their coat is a fine shorthaired type.
The Galiceno head shows lots of character and refinement; there is good width between prominent, kind eyes. Ears are pointed, of medium size (slightly smaller in stallions), and well shaped, with the tips curved inward slightly. The jowls are medium. The neck is slightly arched, with a clear-cut throatlatch, and runs well back into moderate withers.
The body is muscled with a well sprung ribcage. Shoulders slope nicely, showing trim muscle. The chest is medium width, but very full, and the back is short and extremely straight. The croup is not level, but slopes slightly, with tail set moderately high. It is well muscled (though not Quarter Horse style), and rear legs are slightly more under the horse than that of other breeds.
Thighs and gaskins are also well muscled. Joints are strong and well shaped. Forelegs are well structured with smooth muscling. Knees are broad, sloping into the cannons. The sloping pasterns are medium long. The hooves are well proportioned, deep, and open at the heel.
The Galiceno is quick and handy on its feet. The walk is easy with long strides. The trot is well balanced. The natural running walk is very fast and ground covering, providing an easy rhythmical ride.
Credit: Galiceno Horse Breeders