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Historically and genetically
re-created by blending the genes of the Andalusian and the
Percheron, the Spanish-Norman is the phenotype and living symbol of
the extinct Norman horse of Europe.
In the early eighth century,
Europeans were threatened by the Moors to the south and the Turks to
the east. As Islamic forces advanced into Spain and France from
North Africa on their Barb horses, Europeans were faced with a horse
unsurpassed in combat: hardy, courageous, powerful, quick to respond
to the rider's commands, with an uncanny ability to engage its hind
end and strike out in any direction. Confronted with this
remarkable, ideal warhorse of the Moorish invaders, Europeans
realized the importance of breeding horses for battle.
Both the Barbs of North Africa and
the indigenous horses of the Iberian Peninsula carried Oriental
blood and were of a very similar genetic strain. The Barb which
invaded Spain in 711 was small, agile, and fiery and possessed great
stamina.
When the Moors lost their first
battle in 718, the victors were awarded the invaluable prize of Barb
breeding stock. It was not until the year 1492 that the 'Reconquista'
or reclaiming of Al-Andalus was complete. Through the centuries of
conquests and defeats, the Barb horse became a great legacy of the
Moorish invasions.
The Norman invasion of England in
1066 was carried out by fierce warriors mounted on 'destriers.' The
mighty chargers were renowned for their equestrian excellence on the
battlefield. Research shows that early Spanish horses influenced the
development of the now lost Norman horses of medieval France. Norman
horses infused with Barb blood contributed to the equine type which
would eventually come to be known as Percheron, after the Le Perche
district of France. Percherons imported to the U.S. in the 1840's
were called Normans.
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