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When the first Spanish explorers came to the America’s, they brought with them a mix of horses. These horses were of Andalusian, Barb, and Spanish Jennet. Breeding facilities were established on the Caribbean islands to support the Conquistadors exploration of the new world. The combination of these old world breeds provided a foundation for the Peruvian horse. The Spanish Jennet gave its even temperament and smooth ambling gate, the African Barb contributed great energy, strength, and stamina, while the Andalusian imparted its excellent conformation, action, proud carriage and beauty to the new breed.
When the Spanish went to Peru they took their horses with them. The natives were petrified when they saw the great animal. They had never seen anything like them. And to them the horses’ appearance was a frightening one, mostly due to their stance. They hold their head high and have a sense of arrogance about them, they snort allot which the natives found disturbing. The Conquistadors used the natives’ fear of the horses to control them and take over Peru.
Since Peru is isolated by the Pacific to the west and the Andes to the east, it protected the breed from cross-breeding. Thus preserving the Peruvians bloodline. Their offspring were of pure blood, which helped maintain their unique features and attitudes.
The Peruvian is a truly unique breed but only during the last thirty five years or so, has it become well known in the United States. In Peru, they became the National Horse of Peru and they have been cherished and selectively bred for centuries. The owners of Peru’s large haciendas wanted horses with fast smooth gaits, so these were the ones bred most often. Through generations of doing this it has fixed these traits and the breed passes its amazing gate to all purebred foals. One of the major principles of the Peruvian breeder is that “a great Peruvian horse is born – not trained”.
This dedication to breeding only the best bloodstock resulted in the modern Peruvian Paso, which has been called the greatest triumph of selective breeding in the equine world
Peruvian horses are also bred for brio. Brio is often translated as “spirit,” but this does not capture the complexity of the term. Brio is a somewhat contradictory temperament, which combines arrogance, spirit, and the sense of always being on parade, with a willingness to please the rider. They have a zest for life and are curios about their surroundings, but they are not at all in our opinion, spooky.
A decline in the use of the Peruvian horse was seen in the southern part of Peru in the early 1900s, following the building of major highways that allowed motor travel to replace the use of the horse. Many of the major breeders in the area gave their best horses away to peasants living in the nearby quebradas (valleys). It was in one of these quebradas that breeder Gustavo de la Borda found Sol de Oro (Viejo), the horse that was to become the most important modern sire in the breed.
The Peruvian continued to flourish in the northern regions because it was still needed for transportation on the haciendas. This changed with the harsh Agrarian Reforms instituted by the government of Juan Velasco Alvarado in the late 1960s. They had a devastating effect on the Peruvian horse within Peru. Major breeding operations were broken up and breeding stock was lost. Because interest in the Peruvian horse was growing in the United States and Central America at the same time, many of the finest Peruvian horses were exported, leading to a period where it appeared the Peruvian horse would fade in its homeland.
This has not happened. The past thirty years have seen resurgence in the Peruvian horse’s fortune in his homeland. Many Peruvian aficionados believe the best horses are once again being bred in Peru. The annual National Show in Lima is a major event in Peruvian cultural life. The Peruvian horse is recognized as Patrimonio Cultural (Cultural Patrimony) of Peru.
