The ancient Camargue horses of southern France have inspired generations of artists. Camargues have been bred and used for English equestrian sports as well as serving as cowboys' mounts, but herds of these majestic white horses still roam free...
The Lipizzan was first bred in the 16th century by the Habsburg Empire that ruled Spain and Austria. The Habsburg rulers wanted to create a beautiful and trainable cavalry mount, so the Habsburg emperor, Maximillian II, brought several Iberian...
The Friesian is one of Europe’s oldest breeds and gets its name from the Friesland region in the Netherlands. The breed originated during the Middle Ages, even as far back as the 4th century.“The Friesian exemplifies strength and has...
Horses on the Iberian Peninsula, which today includes Spain and Portugal, were simply called Iberian Horses in 1578 when Portugal was annexed to Spain and all the horses on the Peninsula were considered Spanish. The traditional uses of Iberian...
The lavish and rich Baroque period is associated with late 16th to early 18th century European art and culture, and was inspired by the court of Louis XIV of France. It was a time when art and music became...
The rugged mountains and vast moors of the British Isles are more than beautiful landscapes. They are also the birthplace of nine hardy native pony breeds. The Exmoor, New Forest, Dartmoor, Welsh, Fell, Dales, Highland, Shetland and Connemara Ponies...
Near the southern coast of England in southwest Hampshire is the beautiful New Forest. Ponies were said to roam the area six decades before William the Conqueror established a royal hunting ground there in 1079. The native ponies were...
Exmoor lies on the Bristol Channel coast of Devon and Somerset in southwestern England. This is the home of the Exmoor Ponies that still roam freely on the moors.The Exmoor Pony is the oldest and purest of the native...
The hilly environment of Wales’ wild landscapes helped develop native ponies with the characteristics of today’s Welsh Pony and Cob. The Celtic people, who immigrated to the area in pre-historic times, hitched these tough native ponies to their chariots...
The Connemara developed on the coastline of the same name in western Ireland’s County Galway. There were ponies in this area for centuries, and Celtic raiders were responsible for introducing new blood. This includes the now-extinct Spanish Jennet and...
