The or Roraima Wild Horse is a Brazilian

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

or population of

feral horse A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated stock. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and thes ...

s of Colonial Spanish type in the state of

Roraima Roraima ( ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas t ...

, in northern Brazil. The name derives from the or

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

terrain in that region. A conservation herd was established in Amajari by the

Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa - ) is a state-owned research corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (Brazil), Ministry of Agriculture. Since its inception on April 26, 1973, it has been devoted ...

, the national organisation for agricultural research, in about 1991.

History

The Lavradeiro is of

Criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...

or Colonial Spanish type, descending from

Iberian horse The Iberian horse is a designation given to a number of horse breeds native to the Iberian Peninsula. At present, some breeds are officially recognized by the FAO,

s brought to the Americas by the

Conquistadores Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

Horses of this type were brought into

during the period of Portuguese colonisation in the eighteenth century. The horses were managed extensively on the unfenced savannah or ''lavrado'', and a substantial feral population established itself. The horses became hardy and well-adapted to the difficult climate and poor grazing of the area. Until about 1980 this population numbered some head, but by the end of the decade numbers had fallen to no more than , largely as a result of hunting. A conservation herd of some fifty horses was established by the

, the national organisation for agricultural research, at the Fazenda Resolução in Amajari in about 1991. The feral population is at risk of extinction, the principal threats being hunting and uncontrolled cross-breeding with horses of other breeds. Its

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

was listed by the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

in 2007 as 'endangered/maintained'; in 2023 it was listed as 'unknown'. The only population data reported to

DAD-IS DAD-IS is the acronym for the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System, a tool developed and maintained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a part of its programme for management of animal genetic resources for ...

is for 1992, when there were of the horses, including breeding

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

s and

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

s; total numbers in 2010 are variously reported to have been either or fewer than .

Germplasm Germplasm refers to genetic resources such as seeds, tissues, and DNA sequences that are maintained for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, conservation efforts, agriculture, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of s ...

is conserved under the supervision of Embrapa in Roraima.

Characteristics

Average height at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

is about ; it is about for mares and approximately for males. Average thoracic circumference is . The coat is generally bay, chestnut, iron grey or roan. The back is short, the croup sloping. The mane and tail are thick, the ears are small. The horses show some resistance to equine infectious anaemia and are well adapted to their biotope. Their blood proteins and random amplification of polymorphic DNA markers have been studied.

History

Characteristics

References

Further reading