Sardinian (horse)
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The Sardinian Anglo-Arab or Anglo-Arabo Sardo is an Italian
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 ...
of
riding horse A riding horse or a saddle horse is a horse used by mounted horse riders for recreation or transportation. It is unclear exactly when horses were first ridden because early domestication did not create noticeable physical changes in the hors ...
from the Mediterranean island of
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
. It derives from
cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...
of local mares with stallions of
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
,
Anglo-Arab The Anglo-Arabian, also known as the Anglo-Arab, is a horse breed that originated in France by cross-breeding a Thoroughbred with an Arabian. The Anglo-Arabian has origins tracing back to the Limousin Horse. It was officially recognized by Empe ...
and
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
stock. Breeding began in 1874; the breed was officially recognised in 1967.


History

Breeding of what would become the Sardinian Anglo-Arab began in 1874, when the or royal
stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...
was established at
Ozieri Ozieri () is a ''comune'' (municipality) of approximatively 11,000 inhabitants in the province of Sassari, in the Italian region of Sardinia, in the Logudoro historical region. Its cathedral of the Immacolata is the episcopal see of the Roman C ...
in the
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...
in northern Sardinia. There indigenous Sardinian mares were put to Oriental stallions of the
Purosangue Orientale The Purosangue Orientale or Puro Sangue Orientale (PSO) (en: "Oriental Purebred"), is an Italian horse breed developed by Royal Decree n° 2690 of 19 September 1875 in the Kingdom of Italy, which created a stud book dedicated to the breed. B ...
breed, with the aim of producing
riding horse A riding horse or a saddle horse is a horse used by mounted horse riders for recreation or transportation. It is unclear exactly when horses were first ridden because early domestication did not create noticeable physical changes in the hors ...
s suitable for military use in the army of the new Italian state. From 1883 both French Anglo-Arab and
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
stallions were also used; from 1915 to 1937 the use of these was discontinued and only
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
stallions were employed. The demand for military horses was already substantially reduced by this time, and following the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
became negligible; from that time the horses were bred principally for
competitive sport Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individ ...
. Since the 1960s the major influence on the development of the breed has been the French Anglo-Arab. The Anglo-Arabo Sardo was officially recognised in 1967. It is registered in the second section of the
stud-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders w ...
of the
Sella Italiano The Sella Italiano is an Italian breed or stud-book of riding horse of sport horse type. It is bred to compete in showjumping, in dressage, in the three-day event and in endurance. History The stud-book of the Sella Italiano was establi ...
. Like other sporting horses, it falls under the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture; the stud-book is kept by the , the national association of animal breeders. In 2018 the breeding stock stood at just over head, consisting of 134 stallions and brood-mares. In 2022 the
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 ...
of the breed was 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 ...
as 'at risk'/'endangered'.


Characteristics

The Sardinian Anglo-Arab is markedly Oriental in appearance. It is dolichomorphic in outline, lightly built but strong. The head is light and square, with a straight profile, small ears and large eyes and nostrils. The skin is fine, the coat fine, short and silky, with abundant mane and tail; the principal colours are
bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
,
chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...
, less often
grey Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...
.


Use

The Anglo-Arabo Sardo was originally bred as a
riding horse A riding horse or a saddle horse is a horse used by mounted horse riders for recreation or transportation. It is unclear exactly when horses were first ridden because early domestication did not create noticeable physical changes in the hors ...
for military use. Since about the time of the Second World War it has been bred principally for
competitive sport Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individ ...
. It is particularly suitable for
three-day eventing Eventing (also known as three-day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where the same horse and rider combination compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...
, but is also used for
show-jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows are ...
and in races held specifically for half-blood horses, of which there are many in Sardinia; most of the horses that run in the
Palio di Siena The Palio di Siena (; known locally simply as ; from Latin ) is a horse race held twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August, in Siena, Italy. Ten horses and riders, bareback (the horses, not the riders) and dressed in the appropriate colours, re ...
are of this breed. In the three-day event, an early success was that of Rohan de Lechereo, ridden by Marina Sciocchetti, in the team which took the silver medal at the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
in Moscow in 1980.


References

{{Horse breeds of Italy Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in Italy Fauna of Sardinia Part-Arabian breeds of horses and ponies