Lavradeiro
In Amajari, in northern Roraima
Conservation status
Other namesWild Horse of Roraima[2]
Country of originBrazil
DistributionRoraima
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    285 kg[2]
  • Female:
    275 kg[2]
Height
  • Male:
    145 cm[2]
  • Female:
    135 cm[2]
Colour

The Lavradeiro or Wild Horse of Roraima is a Brazilian breed or population of feral horses of Colonial Spanish type in the state of Roraima, in northern Brazil. The name derives from the lavrado or savannah terrain in that region.

A conservation herd was established in Amajari by the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, the national organisation for agricultural research, in about 1991.[3]: 36 [4][5]

History

The Lavradeiro is of Criollo or Colonial Spanish type, descending from Iberian horses brought to the Americas by the Conquistadores[6]: 456  Horses of this type were brought into Roraima during the period of Portuguese colonisation in the eighteenth century.[7]: 24 [5]

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.[7]: 24  Until about 1980 this population numbered some 1000 head, but by the end of the decade numbers had fallen to no more than 200, largely as a result of hunting.[8]

A conservation herd of some fifty horses was established by the Empresa Brasileña de Investigación Agropecuaria, the national organisation for agricultural research, at the Fazenda Resolução in Amajari in about 1991.[3]: 36 [4] The feral population is at risk of extinction, the principal threats being hunting and uncontrolled cross-breeding with horses of other breeds.[7]: 24 

Its conservation status was listed by the FAO in 2007 as 'endangered/maintained';[1]: 13  in 2023 it was listed as 'unknown'.[2] The only population data reported to DAD-IS is for 1992, when there were 1200 of the horses, including 850 breeding mares and 100 stallions;[2] total numbers in 2010 are variously reported to have been either 1260–1680[9]: 502  or fewer than 200.[4][10][11] Germplasm is conserved under the supervision of Embrapa in Roraima.

Characteristics

Average height at the withers is about 1.40 m;[12] it is about 1.37 m (13.2 h) for mares and approximately 1.41 m (14.0 h) for males. Average thoracic circumference is 1.63–1.66 m (64–65 in).[3]

The head is surmounted by small ears.[12] The back is short and the croup has a slight inclination. Mane and tail are hairy and very thick. The coat is generally bay, chestnut, iron grey or roan.[12] Lavradeiro has been the subject of studies on its blood proteins and on its RAPD markers.[13]

The breed is known for its excellent resistance to equine infectious anaemia.[3] It also has an optimal adaptation to its biotope and very good fertility. Therefore, it's potential as an animal genetic resource is recognised.[3] These horses are reputed to be intelligent, and docile once broken in.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Breed data sheet: Lavradeiro / Brazil (Horse). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Arthur da Silva Marínate (1993). Animal Genetic Resources Conservation Programme Brazil. In: Assefaw Tewolde (editor) (1993). Memoria de la Reunión Técnica sobre la Conservación para el Desarrollo de los Recursos Genéticos Animales in América Latina y el Caribe, 23–26 June 1992. Turrialba, Costa Rica: Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza.
  4. 1 2 3 [s.n.] (25 February 2010). Pesquisa investe na conservação do cavalo lavradeiro de Roraima (in Portuguese). Revista Horse. Archived 8 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 Madalena Esteves (10 May 2009). Genética do cavalo lavradeiro vai ser estudada no Brasil (in Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. Archived 9 January 2023.
  6. ↑ Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  7. 1 2 3 Arthur da Silva Mariante, Concepta McManus, José Francisco Mendonça (editors) (2003). Country Report on the State of Animal Genetic Resources: Brazil. Brasília: Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology. ISSN 0102-0110, 99. Annex to: Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 10 January 2017.
  8. ↑ Arthur da Silva Mariante (1990). Endangered Livestock Breeds in South America. In: Gerald Wiener (editor) (1990). Animal genetic resources: A global programme for sustainable development, proceedings of an FAO Expert Consultation; Rome, Italy, September 1989. FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 80. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251029261.
  9. ↑ Élise Rousseau, Yann Le Bris, Teresa Lavender Fagan (2017). Horses of the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691167206.
  10. ↑ [s.n.] (10 February 2010). Embrapa e instituições parceiras investem na conservação do cavalo lavradeiro de Roraima (in Portuguese). Notícias Agrícolas. Archived 9 January 2023.
  11. ↑ [s.n.] (March 2010). Cavalo de Roraima (in Portuguese). Pesquisa FAPESP. São Paulo: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo. (169): 67.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Rousseau, Élise (2014). Tous les chevaux du monde : près de 570 races et types décrits et illustrés (in French). Yann Le Bris. Paris: Delachaux et Niestlé. p. 506. ISBN 978-2-603-01865-1. OCLC 899366894.
  13. ↑ Mariante, Arthur da Silva; Egito, Andréa Alves; Albuquerque, Maria do Socorro Maués; Paiva, Samuel Rezende; Ramos, Alexandre Floriani (July 2008). "Managing genetic diversity and society needs". Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia. 37 (spe): 127–136. doi:10.1590/S1516-35982008001300016. ISSN 1516-3598.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lavradeiro.
  • Ramayana Menezes Braga (2000). Cavalo lavradeiro em Roraima: aspectos históricos, ecológicos e de conservação (in Portuguese). Embrapa Comunicação para a Transferência de Tecnologia. Brasília: Embrapa. ISBN 9788573830712;
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