Andalusian Horses Blog
up-to-the-minute resource from Spain

Day to day happenings and observations from the PRE stud, and our work among the horses of Spain.

Updates and links to areas of the site that have been updated in the last week or two.

Safety in Helmets

Olympic level rider Courtney King-Dye's life was changed forever in March of 2010.

The young horse she was riding stumbled, she fell - and incurred a traumatic brain injury that left her in a coma. She was not wearing a safety helmet.

The horse world looked on in shock and sympathy as reports of her accident rocketed across the internet.

Once out of the coma, Courtney began the journey to recovery.

At a recent symposium on helmet safety she shared this video.

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Stolen Horse - and Friends who Help

I received this email over the weekend. A great example of a co-ordinated effort to help a fellow horse owner.

"Stolen from Dainewell Fields Carrington, Manchester: Andalusian gelding called Spirit stolen from his field in Manchester, the UK, on the 8 May 2011.His registered name is ’Espiritu Volador’ He is 15.2hh (157.48cm). Grey in colour with fading dapples.

He has several distinctive marks, which include a scar on the inside of his right hind leg, a small snip between his nostrils and three white hooves, one blackThe black hoof is his off fore/front right.

He is BAPSH IV registered and microchipped. His micro chip number is 941000001549969.He has a website, www.findspirit.co.uk. with details and pictures, and contact details for his owner. It is possible that he may have been repassported under a different name."

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Spanish Mare to Ride

One notable ridden spanish mare I know is a big, beautiful grey owned by a friend who is a leading practitioner of garrocha - the work with the long pole and cattle.

She was his best horse for a long time, and watching them flow together was reminiscent of the intuitive horsemastership of the rejoneadores in the bullring.

He is one who loves his horses and lives for his riding, and it shone out of their partnership. The mare would twist and turn, snip sideways, speed up and slow at what appeared to be no more than a thought from him.

He never tires of praising her, and whenever we visited we could be sure of a literal step by step description of how she had moved, thought, reacted as they galloped in the fields. .

She is now wandering peacefully around those same fields, with her second or third foal at foot, and he sits easily on a short-tailed jaca, his garrocha resting at his side, watching her and smiling.

Vaquero Saddle Include

Vaquero saddle. Include art, quality and skill. Add individual design, embossed leatherwork, and spanish leather. Stirrups, girth and more all included in one price. Direct from saddlemaker in Spain.

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Vaquero Saddle Design

Vaquero saddle, design by master craftsman Ramon Bolaños. Individual traditional spanish saddles, handmade. No mass production, no middleman costs.Correct saddles and turnout for Doma Vaquera. Fluent in english.

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Vaquero Saddle Measure

Vaquero saddle - measure your saddle to be made by master craftsman, Ramon Bolaños. Individual traditional spanish saddles, handmade. No mass production, no middleman costs.Correct saddles and turnout for Doma Vaquera. Fluent in english.

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Andalusian Dream Horse

I dreamed of one day owning a noble white horse that would perform the high school movements. I found my andalusian dream horse in Spain - here's where and how.

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Stables and horses in Spain

A major thrust of our websites has always been answering the questions people have about horses in Spain. We are not the only opinion, nor are we experts in everything, but we have made ourselves available to answer whatever we can.

No Question is too big or too small, and we have always done this at No Cost to anyone, ever.

We share what we have learned and what we see around us in Spain.

Here is just one example:
Q: A question regarding the stables in Spain - do the horses have contact with the other horses when in the stable or are they separated by bars?

A: So long as there are people around - and I mean people who know horses - there is quite a bit of space for horses to feel un-caged and part of a group.

• In open barns with wide passages, the horses can look out over the doors, and see their next door neighbours and the horses across the passage.
• Horses can be tethered next to one another in the passage.
• They stand in shower areas and preparation areas together etc.
• They can touch noses through the stable partitions which are usually solid halfway, then consist of bars.

Safety is always the uppermost precaution.
We work with the principle of 'If it happens just once, it is once too many'. Two stallions fighting is a scary sight, and one - if not both -  can end up seriously injured.

A  feature here  is stables that open at the back into a long fenced section outside. Between these mini-paddocks is fencing, and the stallions accept that they are neighbours with no territorial claims being asserted.

Andalusian Horses for sale Gallery

andalusian horses for sale gallery. Spanish PRE, andalusian horses. Stories, resources and tips direct from Spain. Private yards, breeders and studs. Videos. Photos.

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Happy New Year

Jan 01 2011 Feliz Año Nuevo from the Family here

	---		---
Arco Iris	---	Arco Iris	---	Emilio
	---		---
Sire of QD B-Baby	---	Queridita - QD	---	Justyn
	---		---
Sire of QT B-Baby	---	Quijotita - QT	---	Andrés
	---		---
Serranilla	---	Serranilla B-Baby	---	Moi
	---		---

And from Peregrino horses across the globe . .

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Vaquero Saddle Price

Vaquero saddle price direct from master saddlemaker to buyer. No middleman costs. Many extras included in one price. Traditional Spanish vaquera saddles hand made. Top quality leather and work, direct from saddlemaker in Spain.

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Vaquero Saddle

Vaquero saddle. Traditional Spanish saddles, bridles and accessories. Simple and hardwearing to beautifully handmade and elaborate. Direct from saddlemaker in Spain.

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Manta Estribera

The manta estribera is the traditional blanket carried across the front of a vaquero saddle - a silla vaquera. Our saddles and other spanish tack products are handmade in spain.

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Spanish Saddle

spanish saddle handmade in Spain. The true alta escuela saddles for spanish high school. Personal attention. Beautiful finish. Traditional craftsmanship

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Spanish Tack

Spanish tack and leather work. Handmade doma vaquera an alta escuela saddles, comments from the craftsmen. Traditional Spanish saddles, bridles and accessories. Terms and translations, questions invited.

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PREs Andalusians and Adverts

Conformation and Bloodlines:
The PRE (pura raza española/ purebred spanish) are a limited breed. They must be born of Purebred, registered parents, and individually they must meet certain conformation standards in a Breed Revision at 3 years old.

PRE and Andalusian are not the same thing. (see link below.)

PREs are becoming increasingly popular as dressage horses, and are also sought after in the separate market of Breed and Show animals.

One advantage of the breed purity is that we can keep close tab on the bloodlines, which show definite tendencies and talents.

'Andalusians':
Andalusian is not a true breed description.

Advertisements for 'andalusians' often include part-breds. The inherent value of a part-bred is considerably lower than that of a Purebred, as there are no bloodline guarantees or breed standards to have been met, and the horse holds no value for future stud fees.

'Flashy' Advertising:
The internet has opened up endless opportunities for advertising. A flashy website or gushing advert is no guarantee of a good horse.

All the horses we present are our own or known to us personally, and all our filming is done according to a published Code of Ethics.

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Just a Comment . . . .

One of the subjects in line for an article is the wording of horse advertisements by agents and dealers.

Manipulation of the english language, deliberate use of words in a way that leads to false conclusions and downright untruths have all shown up at one time or another.

Currently we seem to be seeing a wave of 'name-dropping', where horses are described as 'of the line of Leviton' or 'descended from Agente'.

Agente was the father of Leviton, and  both these horses had a definite impact on the breed, being prepotent. 

However, their impact on any of today's horses must be seen through  the facts that

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Stories About Horses

Stories about horses that will never be forgotten. The story of the Pure Spanish Horse, the history, the art. Stories about andalusians that were famous, and horses that are special to one person. Stories of Andalucia and Spain.

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Braid Andalusian Mane

When you braid an andalusian mane or tail - plait the mane and tail of spanish horses - the results are elegant and flattering. The traditional braids, plaits and tail knots can be learned

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Mares in Foal

Mares in foal are a delight, and andalusian mares in foal have something special about them, Diary of the andalusian stud in spain, and the pure spanish mares in foal

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New Videos

It has been a marvellous spring. Arco-Iris, the first Peregrino foal is thriving. The four mares have all been introduced to their partners of 2010, and 2 are already confirmed in foal.

And I have had had a marvellous time of video-ing, both of our own horses and among our andalusian Group.

Beautiful PRE breeding stallions, Alta Escuela High School spanish horses and high level dressage horses from Novice, through Prix St George up to competing Grand Prix.

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My Horse Question

Horse Questions about andalusians, brands, spanish horses, bloodlines, hoof care and more. Real life horse questions and experiences, collected over the years and edited into case studies.

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Andalusians Jump

Andalusians Jump? Can a spanish horse compete in jumping? Well, ours do. They are apto - inscribed and revised in the spanish stud book. As well, they win in dressage, and have top PRE breeding lines.

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Hoof Reconstruction

Hoof reconstruction as part of treatment. Serious cases of hoof damage. On the job photo record, vet and farrier work together

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Show Jumping PREs

Two of the horses who have left us here in Spain for further fields are showing their hidden talents!

Bambu and Sol, both PRE stallions, are now displaying their show jumping ability.

Read their Blogs, and more, here - just click on their box in the Left Hand Menu:

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Andalusians for You in Spain

andalusians-for-you.com. Free videos, articles, answers on the PRE spanish horse from Spain. Andalusian spanish horses for sale from breeder. Superb temperaments, excellent foundation. Trained in dressage by Royal School riders. Personal attention, no intermediates

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the WEATHER

Extract from our local news, to let you know why things here on site have been a little slow . .

"TWO months of almost continual rain has seen Andalucia suffer its wettest winter ever.

The weather pattern, not seen for 13 years, has caused over a billion euros of damage from floods.

Cadiz (that's our province) received its annual rainfall in less than two months.

Some of the worst flooding was seen in Jerez, which was cut off due to bad weather when its main motorway, airport and train station shut.

. . . 26 horses were killed in nearby fields . . pupils were evacuated . . there were landslides .. .roads cut off by floods . . .. several rivers burst their bank . ..

So a pause as we mop up, and hope it's almost over.

As Winnie the Pooh would say: "Bizzy, Backsun"

Buying a Spanish Horse in Spain

I was recently asked for input for an article about buying a PRE from Spain

• Buying from Spain is advantageous because of the sheer number of pure spanish horses there are here. The choice becomes very wide.
• The linked disadvantage would be that ’first time visitors’ may not know where and how to locate these hidden treasures.

It is not easy to obtain a true full view of the spanish scene, when working from a distance with limited resources, and often a language barrier.

What must a visitor do? Use agents? Go to YouTube? Browse the internet and advertising sites?

That only lets you touch the fringes. Those are the fringes that everyone else is touching, and sometimes these fringes can get quite tangled.

So that set me to work again, and the Buy Wisely Guide is rapidly taking format

All the material is here, years of answers and article and case studies. I just have to co-ordinate it.

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Andalusian Horse Rescue

Going through the files, I discovered the Andalusian Horse Rescue Story from Tracy that I published a year ago .

It gave me a good feeling then, and still does, so for those who have not yet read it, here it is in her own words. . .

’ I first moved to Spain over 10 years ago. A friend took me to a ’yard’ to go for a ride and see a little of thecountryside.

We rented horses and I was given Maria La Tonta to ride. A very nervous, typically skanky, know-all mare somewhat on the light side of healthy!

We had a great ride. She ditched me on a rocky river bed as she high-tailed it away from an iberian giant donkey stallion that appeared in the middle of nowhere!

I had to walk back to the yard and in so doing I came in the back way. There I saw a row of 4 concrete stalls with all the doors shut. No windows, no light, no air - and it was July!

The boxes were occupied, and I couldn’t resist a peek.

The first two stalls contained well kept, if long in the hoof, stallions. Their bedding was clearly a couple of days old, but it was 5 star compared to what I saw next. The third stall was where the chickens slept.

Upon opening the top door of the final stall a fire breathing dragon snapped his head out with all teeth bared. Eyes blazed out from a magnificent head and the longest, tangliest mane I ever saw. . . .

To read the complete Andalusian Horse Rescue Story . . .

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TOO OLD FOR A BIG MISTAKE

At the age of 50 and with a small inheritance in hand, I thought that at last I could realise a dream that I had harbored since a child of owning my own

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Ridden Andalusian and PRE mares

Ridden Andalusian and PRE mares

The older line of thought here is still that it simply IS NOT DONE to ride PRE mares - they are for breeding.

Of course that is not to say that no-one rides them - we make no claims to the omniscience of always and never - but it is an exception.

One notable exception I know is a big, beautiful grey mare owned by a friend who is a leading practitioner of garrocha - the work with the long pole and cattle.

She was his best horse for a long time, and watching them flow together was reminiscent of the intuitive horsemastership of the rejoneadores in the bullring.

Click for more info

Spanish chaps Full chaps

Spanish chaps are a part of traditional wear. Leather, plain or embossed and decorative. Hand made full spanish chaps for feria and display. Also working chaps, polainas, half chaps. Hand made to measure by Ramon.

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Half Chaps Polainas

Half chaps to many, known as polainas in Spain. Essential part of spanish riderœs kit. Made to measure. Simple and hardwearing to beautifully handmade and elaborated. Direct from saddlemaker in Spain.

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Spanish Horses in the New Year

New Year Seems to be the Time for Pause and Review

These have been exciting years, and we have met many great people, and made enduring friendships.

So what of 2010 when it comes to the horses?

We will concentrate on

• our breeding program
• working with Emilio in training the PRE
• presenting the studs in our Private Group
• finding specific horses
• and on helping where we can.

We will not expand beyond the personal involvement that has been the central point of the success of Andalusians for You and Pure Spanish Horse Spain.

What of 2010 when it comes to Peregrino?

We will continue to live with joy and expectancy.

The Peregrino Vision is getting very close. I will soon be publishing the anticipated action for 2010.

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Pure Spanish Horse Bloodlines

The pure spanish horse bloodlines are becoming more known overseas. But what are the bloodlines that are recognised and highly regarded in our home country, Spain?

What is the history of the different PRE studs in Spain? Who are the breeders and studs who pay careful attention to genealogies and types?

Breeders have different ends in view. Some are breeding the Pura Raza for its classic beauty. Others see the potential of the spanish horse in dressage.Still others have a passion for the colors that are again appearing in the breed.

Compare here isn't a case of ’better’ - there are many good historical lines.

The Q's to be asking are how much of what line does a horse have, and what else is in the mix.

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Names of PRE spanish horses

One way that breeders of PREs in Spain like to name their foals is in a way that shows the year of their birth.

It is thought that this manner of naming was brought in by theYeguada Militar.

The first crop of foals all have names beginning with the letter ’A’. The names of the foals from the next year would then all begin with ’B’ and so on.

Other ways of naming an andalusian are equally acceptable, and enjoyably traditional.

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Our Success Stories - Bambu XX

Bambu XX PRE from Spain, now in the UK

Bambu, a purebred spanish stallion trained in dressage, was one of our babies. We continue to share the joy of his progress and successes.

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PRE dressage Andalusians

Agente laid the foundation of the success of the spanish horse in dressage.

Leviton is considered to be one of the most influential Yeguada Militar stallions in the lineage of the modern day sports PRE.

Evento represented Spain at the Atlanta Olympics 1996.

Dec 2009 We have a daughter of Evento and 2 grand sons of Evento for sale.
Inscribed and Revised

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Spanish Horses from Spain

We dedicate ourselves to breeding and finding good young spanish horses. We select rigourously, and may take up to 6 months, and view 70+ youngsters before choosing one.

We then devote ourselves to training each horse as an individual. We focus towards dressage, at the same time developing a horse that is soundly based in handling and everyday situations.

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Questions About PREs in Spain

We are deeply involved in the heart of the spanish horse world. The family traces involvement back over 4 generations.

We are trainers and breeders,and while we look to sell our stock, it is not our main source of income. I am a moderately successful author, and in general we remain somewhat outside the mainstream.

We have a passion for our horses, a loyalty to our fellow breeders, and a desire to see the full truth about the PRE spread abroad.

We have answered many questions, and assisted in the unravelling of a number of situations, but over the years we have learned that not everyone wants to hear an honest opinion.

We have given our perceptions in the past, voluntarily - and seen more than one person prefer an agent’s adjectives to our frankness, with the subsequent results.

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How do I build a website

How do I build a website that works, makes money, brings visitors, gets good rankings, lets me share my passion, gets talked about, means I can work from home. I did it, you can.

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SICAB 2009

SICAB is Spain - and the world's -  largest breed show for the PRE. It takes place annually in Seville.

SICAB is usually in the first 2 weeks of November, and is a high point of the show year for the PRE people of spain.

This year it is Nov 23-29th.

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The catching horse

Well one day I was taking my riding lessons, and when I was on my horse I had to stand up while riding and steering. I almost fell off. My Dad did

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Horse Poetry

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Chestnut Andalusian

Chestnut andalusian registered in the Spanish Stud Book of the Pure Spanish Horse. For sale direct from stud. Andalucia, Spain

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Andalusian Horse Books

Books are like chocolate -everyone has their preferences. Our choice of Andalusian horse books, horse subjects in general, nb shoeing and barefoot, and other reading related to Purebred Spanish Horses

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Andalusian Spanish Horses

andalusian spanish horses. Your questions answered from Spain. Articles, fotos and information free.

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Identify Spanish Horse Brand

Identify a spanish horse by a brand.? A brand is part of the tradition of Spain. Can you trace the breeding and history of your andalusian horse by his brand?

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