Mangalarga Marchador
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| Mangalarga Marchador | ||
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 Júpiter Quitumba. National Champion, Brazil 2002 |
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| Country of origin: | Brazil | |
The Mangalarga Marchador is a breed of horse. There are over 350,000 registered Mangalarga Marchador horses in Brazil and others registered in countries outside its Brazilian homeland. As an Iberian breed, descending from the Andalusian horse stallions of Portugal and Barb mares, they have carriage, beauty and intelligence, a warm personality and are easily trained for almost any discipline. The Marchador horses are known for having a smooth stable walk, canter and gallop as well as a natural diagonal (batida) or lateral (picada) four beat gait with a brief moment of triple hoof support. Their endurance, versatility out on the range, trail and pleasure riding as well as the ability to be trained in dressage or jumping, makes the Mangalarga Marchador a versatile breed of horse
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[edit] History
[edit] The beginning
Francisco Gabriel Junqueira (Baron of Alfenas) decided to start a breeding study mixing his Royal Alter stallions with the common horse stock currently in his farm. The common stock was a mix of Barb horses (mostly) and other breeds that came to Brazil by the time of its colonization. The result of the Alter x colonial horse cross mix was a smooth-gaited beautiful horse. The Baron called these horses Sublimes.
Francisco Junqueira sold some of the Sublimes to his friend, who had a farm in Paty do Alferes in Rio de Janeiro state. The farm name was Mangalarga, and his owner used the Sublime horses to go to the Imperial capital, the Rio de Janeiro City. In Rio, people noticed the smooth-gaited attractive looking Sublimes and started to call them Mangalargas.
There is a consensus among breeders and researchers about the history of the Baron of Alfenas, such as divulged in many publications since Imperial times. Up to 1910 most of the ranchers involved in the development of the breed (especially the members of the Junqueira family) followed his recommendations of evolution with the fixation of the marching gait, rusticity, resistance and good temper.
[edit] The breed Split
In 1934 the Mangalarga Breeders Association was created. The founders had very clear and even obvious motivations, such as to define the directions of the breeding efforts, the function and the use of the horses, the desired characteristics of individuals in their functional and morphologic aspects, and a very clear definition of the intended gait. Those facts are very well documented, officially or otherwise, in constitution writs, stories told by ranchers of those times and even novels about the breed.
The founders of that association had already used other breeds to achieve their objectives since they moved from Minas Gerais to São Paulo state. They had made use of many trotting breeds (Arabs, Anglo-Arabian, English Thoroughbred, Morgan, Lusitan, Trakehner, American Saddlebred, American Trotter), and traction horses (Hackney) - with special attention to the use of the latter as a means of fixing the elevated movement. Theses mixes were made as a tentative to morphologically adapt the original Mangalarga to the "paulista" topography and culture.
Because of this situation there was an increase in the differences between breeders that wanted to maintain the original objectives and those that defended the miscegenation. The Mangalarga Breeders Association closed its Stud Books in 1943, about 9 years after its foundation.
So a group of breeders that disagreed from the objectives of the 1934 Association (Mangalarga) met in 1948 to found the Association (Mangalarga Marchador) that became today's ABCCMM.
In order to unite political force to create a new Stud Book, the breeders counted on the political prestige and technical expertise of professor Geraldo Carneiro. Dr. Geraldo, veterinarian and zootechnist, was a friend and neighbor of the governor of Minas Gerais and future president of Brazil, Juscelino Kubitschek. His contacts and skills permitted him to preserve the original Marchador Horse, by means of founding a new association. With sufficient backing, there was a meeting called by a group of breeders in Hotel Gloria, in the city of Caxambu. Among those present was Dr. Joaquim Fernandes Braga, superintendent of the Animal Production Department of the state of Minas Gerais, Secretary of Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Labor. There were also graduated personnel from the same Secretary and from the federal Ministry of Agriculture, making clear the interest and focus demonstrated by higher authorities. In this preliminary reunion the Writs of Intention were signed by public workers, technicians and breeders, in total 22 persons.
[edit] The Breed Today
With more than 350,000 horses registered, the Brazilian Mangalarga Marchador National Association (ABCCMM) is the biggest registry office of any type in Minas Gerais state of Brazil. Even though there are less than two hundred foundation Mangalarga Marchador horses in the United States, they have been featured by the Mangalarga Marchador Horse Association of America (MMHAA), on Horse Talk TV, marching in the New Year’s 2002 Tournament of Roses Parade, at Fiesta of the Spanish Horse, Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, Equine Affaire in Pomona, Southern National Exposition in Perry, Georgia, and Equitana in Lexington, Kentucky. The MMHAA was the first breed registry founded in 2000 and began importing foundation Mangalarga Marchador horses beginning 2001. Subsequently, the ABCCMM affiliate association, the US Mangalarga Marchador association (USMMA)was created in 2004. They are one of the official registries of horses born in North America, with some horses maintaining dual registration with the ABCCMM. There are breeders and owners in many states, and in 2007, the breed was introduced to Canada.
[edit] Breed Characteristics
[edit] Type
Middle sized; agile; strong and proportionate structures; vigorous and healthy; visually light expression in the appearance; fine, smooth skin; smooth, silky fur; active and docile temperament. The withers are prominent with a proportionate back. The chest is deep and the quarters are muscular. The croup is sloping and the shoulders are well conformed with sound legs and hard feet.
[edit] Height
For males ideal is of 1,52m, when there are admitted for the definite register at least 1,47m and maxim of 1,57m. For females ideal is of 1,46m, when there are admitted for the definite register at least 1,40m and maxim of 1,54m.
[edit] Head
- Shape: triangular, well outlined, middle and harmonious, wide and flat forehead;
- Profile: right-lined in the forehead and of a straight profile.
- Eyes: remote and expressive, big, prominent, dark and living creatures, fine and flexible eyelids;
- Ears: averages, movable, parallel, quite introduced, directed up, of preference with the tips lightly turned for inside;
- Throat: it sets sail and quite definite;
- Mouth: of middle opening, fine, movable and firm lips;
- Nostrils: big, quite open and flexible;
- Throat Latch: wide and skinny.
[edit] Neck
Pyramidal shape, light form in general, proportional appearance, oblique, with strong musculature, presenting balance and flexibility, with harmonious insertions, being that of the body in the superior third of the chest. When light convexity is admitted, in males, in the dorsal edge - as expression of sexual secondary character - thinning, fine and silky manes.
[edit] The Gait
The gait of the Mangalarga Marchador is fast and smooth, with a natural amble, known as a "march". with the feet moving alternately laterally and diagonally. Due to this, there are moments of triple support, or three hooves on the ground. The marcha batida is a movement when the feet are placed diagonally, while the marcha picada is when the feet are moved laterally and separately.[1] The word picada in Portuguese means "light touch", and this gait is usually the smoother of the two, due to the fact that the broken pace movement creates little vertical momentum. The picada is similar to the paso llano of the Peruvian Paso breed. The word batida means "to hit", and is similar to the trocha gait performed by the Paso Fino.[2]
On level ground, when marching at a normal pace, the horse will overstep slightly; in other words, the tracks of the hind feet will cover or slightly pass the tracks of the front feet. The marcha is said by breed aficionados to be very comfortable to ride. The breed does not trot or pace, but instead moves from the marching gait straight into a canter.[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "The Gait". US Mangalarga Marchador Association. http://usmarchador.com/marchador_gait.aspx. Retrieved on 2008-12-04.
- ^ Harris, Claudia. "The Brazilian Paso or the Mangalarga Marchador". Gaited Horse Book and Gift Catalog. http://www.gaitedhorse.com/mangalar.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-04.
3. The Fabulous Floating Horses by Barbara Weatherwax
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mangalarga Marchador |
- Mangalarga Marchador article in Portuguese
- ABCCMM - Brazilian National Association
- http://usmarchador.com - US Mangalarga Marchador Association and Registry
- http://www.gaitedhorse.com/mangalar.htm
- http://www.marchadorhorses.com
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