Young bay Sorraia stallion and mares. Note the dark trim on the ears, intelligent expression, and dorsal stripe. Lucia Roda
American Heritage Horse Association
26232 Shirttail Canyon Road
PO Box 27, Pringle
South Dakota 57773-0027
www.americanheritagehorse.org
The American Sorraia Mustang is a rare type of Spanish Mustang, which is on the critical list of rare breeds. American Sorraia Mustangs contain a special genetic history: they are the proven descendants of the endangered Sorraia Horse of Portugal, showing the genetic markers and physical characteristics of their Portuguese ancestors.
The Sorraia (pronounced sore-AA´-ya) gained a reputation as the horse of Columbus and Hernando Cortés, but originally it was an unwanted horse. When Columbus bought the first horses for his voyage, he purchased Spanish bloodstock and was expecting a shipload of only those horses; however a portion of the actual shipment included Sorraia horses instead.
Sorraia horses are primitive wild horses originating in the basin of the Rio Sorraia in Portugal, which was not far from the Atlantic Ocean. Sorraia horses of Columbus’s time were much more plentiful and retained the dubious description of being wild, just as the American Sorraia Mustangs were regarded centuries later.
This young stallion has exotic Iberian facial features, desirable in Sorraia Mustangs. Lucia Roda
Sorraias ended up in the New World as a result of that con by a horse broker of the time. The tide was going out, Columbus’ ships needed to set sail right away or they would miss favorable weather. Nobody wanted to be caught at sea during hurricane season, so off they went.
What they discovered was that Sorraia horses could handle the climate of the New World in ways that other horses could not; in fact, they survived and thrived. The Mediterranean climate from which Sorraias originated was similar to Mexico or California. They were also able to endure any number of extreme climate changes—from the deserts and mountains of Peru, to the North American high deserts and prairies.
There is no dispute that the conquistadors brought many types of Iberian bloodstock with them to the New World. Conquer, convert, and expand was the nature of the Spanish empire, and it quickly became apparent that the Sorraia was suitable for the grueling tasks of these tough expeditions. They soon earned a reputation as hardy, resilient horses, eminently suitable for expansion efforts in the New World.
These tough Sorraias horses of the 1400s and 1500s were direct ancestors of the American Sorraia Mustangs of the twenty-first century. The Sorraia Horse and the American Sorraia Mustang have survived for hundreds of years, populating from southern Mexico to colonial California. Over the centuries, their endurance has been greatly valued. They were the horses of the Pony Express, the vaqueros (cowboys) of Mexico, and the Native Americans. Much of North America was built on their backs.
The Sorraia breed of Portugal eventually died out in America, but Sorraia Mustangs have continued on, living in the most remote areas of North America, which includes the Book Cliffs region of Utah as well as populations in several other small regional pockets. The fact that they have proliferated in the same kind of environment as the original Sorraia has kept them so characteristically like their Portuguese ancestors.
Sorraia colt and mares show uniformity of type and color, signs of consistent and strong genetic inheritance. Lucia Roda
Characteristics
Sorraia Mustangs are brave, loyal, and fierce. They are a family horse that will go the distance for their human partner. Longtime breeder Lucia Roda has found them to be horses that bond exceptionally well with humans. “I wonder sometimes how I ever got so lucky to have these horses,” she says. “They have become an integral part of my family for me and my children.”
Sorraia Mustangs are willing and intelligent, but “these are not push-button horses and will not abide abuse,” Roda says. “They are, however, always willing to try. They like to learn and like having a job.”
The American Sorraia Mustang is a tough, hardy horse able to excel athletically in many disciplines. There are Sorraia Mustangs competing in dressage, eventing, carriage driving, jumping, team penning, rodeo, endurance, polo, and gymkhana.
There are only about 250 living American Sorraias in the U.S. registry today. The registry tries to preserve all that the horses are and have been, while still promoting them for all they can be. The Sorraia horse of Portugal is also an endangered breed, which puts added value on the American Sorraia Mustang.
Conformation
The American Sorraia Mustang is a slim, leggy horse with a long elegant head and large, expressive deep-set eyes that do not have the bulge of pony eyes. The head profile is convex in nature and no less than straight in profile. They have medium to long ears.
The neck can be quite slim in horses that are lean, but conversely can be well crested in horses that enjoy a more fat condition. The neck tie-in is lower to the chest, like most Iberian breeds.
The heart girth is deep, while the chest is narrow and more A-shaped as opposed to the chest of other horses that is shaped like an “H” in front.
Hips are rafter shaped. The tail set is moderate to low and should fit smoothly into the curve of the hip. They have excellent bone, feet, and gaits. Muscling is smooth and flat without the heavy look found in some modern breeds.
The hair coat is fine, and they have little fetlock hair, even in individuals living in colder winter climates. Chestnuts are smaller or missing all together, and ergots are rarely seen.
They are uphill structured horses, which enables them to move with collection more easily than many other breeds. They keep their feet up under them at all times and are always alert to their surroundings.
Some individuals may have a four-beat lateral gait. Historically among old cowboys of the West, these mounts were called the $40 horses because they were such a smooth ride. The average horse of that time went for $10.
The colors of the horse reflect their primitive ancestry. American Sorraia Mustangs are either dun or grullo. Roans of those base colors are allowed with appropriate pedigree documentation, but red dun is not admitted at all. Excessive white markings are faulted and not allowed in breeding stock.
Most striking, however, are the primitive markings on the horses. A dorsal stripe is always present. They can have shoulder crosses, leg barring, or stripes, facial cobwebbing, and chest or rib hair stripes. Highly prized are the bi-colored mane and tail that look frosted with a lighter color.
American Sorraia Mustang stallion. Lucia Roda
Standards
The American Sorraia Mustang is registered with the American Heritage Horse Association under the umbrella organization named the Windcross Conservancy. Horses within this registry are qualified by pedigree, history, genotype, and phenotype. No horses found in the wild are accepted; therefore horses of modern herd management areas do not qualify for registration.
The Sorraia Mustang comes from the foundation blood of the Spanish Mustang. The original horses were in the majority of Sorraia-like Spanish Mustang descendants from southern Mexico, Alta in California, and what is now the Book Cliffs region of Utah.
All stallions and breeding mares are required to submit hair samples for DNA parentage testing. This is to verify parents and ancestors that would otherwise be lost with the current management of wild herd populations. Basic parentage of the horse is investigated, and then the mitochondrial DNA of the horse is searched, along with the haplotype groupings of the horse. Horses of the American Sorraia Mustang breed share haplotype groupings with their Portuguese cousins, the Sorraia. Currently, the information and populations that have been tracked are in the majority of parentage testing.
A great deal of effort is being made to document, record, and store information and stories about the very first Sorraia Mustang horses. The genealogy of the horses is tracked not only by blood, but also by the written history of its ancestors. Through science, they can be traced back to Portugal’s Sorraias and the genes or lines remaining there. Through written and some oral traditions, most can be tracked back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Interestingly, when the Sorraia Mustangs are in a wild environment, they show a continuing progression back to the wild horse of their Portuguese ancestors. The genetics remain quite dominant.
To register a Sorraia Mustang, the conformation should meet the list provided in this section, and a dorsal stripe should be present. The added bonuses of bi-coloring, leg barring, or hair stripes are prized, but the lack of dynamic leg barring, for instance, on an otherwise correct horse with registered parents would not prevent it from being registered. It would probably not make the first choice for reproduction, but a good breeding horse that produces breed type better than itself, but lacks some other desirable trait (such as dark leg coloration), is still considered a good breeding Sorraia Mustang.
Like any breed, the goal is to breed for the standard and hope to get close to the ideal by definition. The traits of the American Sorraia Mustang are as follows:
• Convex profiles: no less than straight
• No dished faces
• Long narrow face
• Smooth muscling
• Moderate to low tailset
• Rafter hip (preferable)
• Lower neck set than modern horses
• Square horse built uphill
• Sound legs and feet
• Medium round canon bones
• Good hoof wall in proportion to the horse
• Long, elegant neck with clean throatlatch
• Well laid back shoulder
• Narrow chest with deep heart girth
• Ears medium long, rimmed, tipped, and sometimes striped
• No overt jowls (as seen on Quarter Horses and some warmbloods)
• Medium to short back with well defined withers
• Bi-coloring in mane and tail (very desirable, but not required)
• Leg barring
• Dorsal stripe (necessary)
• Cobwebbing
• Hair stripes
• May have brindling
• Sooty faces and legs darker than body
• Dun or grulla colors; no red duns allowed.
• Roans of the base colors—dun or grulla—are allowed
• No overo or tobiano color patterns; no appaloosa snowflakes, blankets, or leopard spots
Credit: Lucia Roda and American Heritage Horse Association