Save the Lusitano

by Desiree Oliviera

Living in the south of Europe can take some getting used to. Apart from the obvious meteorological differences to central or even the north of Europe, people speak a different language and some of the local customs can be rather strange. Indeed, there was one tradition that made me stop and think. I’m talking about bull fighting. Now, before you go ”Aaarrgghh!” and think about throwing the SA Horseman in the corner, let me start from the beginning ...

A noble horse

One of the most amazing horses I have ever come across is the Lusitano, the noble horse of Portugal. Historically, these horses date back thousands of years, when they lived on the prairies of Iberia among all the predators that roamed the peninsula. The horse, being a prey animal, teamed up with another prey animal, the wild bull. The idea being that the bull would attack predators and, in a way, protect the horse.

Somehow, it was written in the stars that these two creatures would create a place deep in the minds of the Iberian people. The first natural selection of the Lusitano was thanks to the bulls. The bull has a very small private territory, but accepted the horse near him. However, when the horse would by accident step into its sacred space, not only would the bull attack, he would kill!

At least 80% of the horses currently being used for rejoneo are either purebred Lusitano or Lusitano crosses

The bulls were therefore the first natural selectors of the qualities of the horse. The horse became much more alert than any other; quick to run away, developed good flexibility to bend and dodge attacks and run away. Most other animals would be killed by the ferocious bulls. All these qualities became the first characteristics of the breed, made by the bull, so to speak.

Useful traits

Later on, humans recognised the qualities of this extraordinary horse as a beautiful creature and a useful animal for hunting. By this time, humans took over the selection process. In the advent of the wars, humans started to breed equestrian qualities such as good handling, with manoeuvrability, along with the speed, courage and finesse the horse already had.

During the wars, humans recognised the extraordinary bond between horse and bull, and started to use bulls to train horses for combat. Initially, they used spears and swords by closing the bulls in big spaces and training the horses to fight against their enemies. This was also the start of another culture – the equestrian art of bullfighting. Since then, Portuguese breeders have bred the horse mainly for this purpose.

Qualities of the Lusitano

The approach and encounter of bull and cavalier must be face to face to the last possible moment

The Lusitano is a maximum of 1,60 m high, squarely built, with very flexible joints, not too muscular and very fine in its communication with the rider, acting quickly. This very sophisticated machine has finesse and speed, but is not the athletic machine we see in sport today.

Nowadays, the equestrian world is changing, but the basis of equitation is the same, whether you do dressage, jumping or whatever else. The Lusitano has a quality that has been perfected over hundreds of years, and in the world of art, one should never take away the personality of the horse, for it is this ego that makes the horse a living work of art. The old masters (Oliveira, Marialva, etc.) never modified the horse; on the contrary, they worked with what the horse already had.

Current equitation takes on many shapes, but its basis is the same, the writing is the same, the difference is in equestrian art: the writing is poetry and not prose. Poetry is more emotional, with love and feeling; it has a world around it; it is less cold and precise.

In the sport horse, the Lusitano can be a great supplement, but it is important to improve the breed and never to modify it. The horse is a cultural asset in Portugal and should not be changed for commercial interest. The result would be the taller horse that seems to be the trend, losing flexibility and the other excellent qualities that the Lusitano has had for all these years – rendering it useless. The best idea is to take what is there and improve upon it, but not spoil what is there.

Lusitano mares of the Rio Largo Stud in Cape Town.

The bullfight

This brings me back to bullfighting. As long as the Portuguese breeders continue to breed for bullfighting, the qualities of the horse will remain.

Read what Dr Juan Valera-Lema says in an article titled ‘The Art of the Portuguese Equestrian Bullfights’:
”In Portugal, the objective of the bullfight is not to kill the bull, but rather to demonstrate the training and schooling of the horse. The bullfight consists of placing a series of long and short darts on the muscular part of the bull, just behind the neck. The darts irritate the bull and make it more aggressive. The performance is relatively short, ten minutes or so, in which an average of six darts are placed, but it must be performed under strict codes of honour.

“The bull should be given the advantage when charging. That is, it must initiate the charge before the cavalier makes his move. In addition, the approach and encounter of bull and cavalier must be face to face to the last possible moment, in which the horse, to escape the impact of the bull must literally wrap itself around the bull in some fascinating displays of agility.

”The placing of darts is usually done one by one; however, it is not uncommon for the cavalier to tie the reigns, hold a banderilla in each hand, and with the aid of his legs and seat, manoeuvre his horse for the placing of a pair of banderillas. During the intervals of placing darts, the cavaliers allows his horse to be closely chased by the bulls and then demonstrates in an elegant and relaxed manner, a variety of movements of dressage.”

Training necessary

“Portuguese bullfighting takes place in relatively small rings, requiring that the horse possesses perfect and precise training to avoid the charge of the bull. Therefore, the success in evading the impact of the bull depends more on skilled movements than in running speed. To cite Sr Alvaro Domecq‚ in Portugal everything seems to be concentrated around the development of precise and perfect training. The labour of bullfighting seems to be given by an equestrian master solely for the display of his horse. Bullfighting on horseback seen in this setting has become a marvellous game, a delectable one ... pure art.

”Traditionally, the Portuguese bullfighter is mounted on a purebred Lusitano stallion. On occasions, they will ride mares or crossbred horses. In fact, the breeding selection process of the Lusitano is essentially based on its ability for the bullfight. In Spain, the preference for stallions is not as marked and the use of the purebred Andalusian horse is not predominant.

“I would venture to say that at least 80% of horses currently used for rejoneo in Spain, are either purebred Lusitano or crosses of Andalusians, Arabs and thoroughbreds. I recently saw an Appaloosa used for rejoneo in Spain, but I do not recall seeing the use of a gelding of any breed in either Spain or Portugal.”

In an book about equestrian bullfights entitled O Toureio Equestre em Portugal, Fernando Sommer d’Andrade summarises the characteristics of a good bullfighting horse by stating: ”The horse for the bullfights must be patient, docile, courageous, suffering and not impressionable. It must also have the ability to concentrate, be energetic, agile, sensitive, fast and obedient and possess personality. These are the contradictions that make it difficult to find good bullfighting horses.”

A partnership

In closing, I would like to emphasise the importance of the partnership between horse and rider in rejoneo, where in essence there is a symbiosis, from which depends both the life of horse and rider.

Something that Sylvia Loch so eloquently describes as: “A symbol of complex dependence one upon the other. The centaur-man and horse joined in a way in which no other equestrian sport can demonstrate. Something deeply primeval within us is touched when we see such perfect empathy between a man and his horse.”

What will happen if we ban bullfighting? Will the Lusitano sport horse lose all its beauty, flexibility, courage and finesse just to become another type to compete against horses that were bred for another purpose? Will that be worth it?

(Desiree Oliveira is a South African living in Portugal.)

Visit www.riolargostud.co.za for more information