This beautiful horse breed is relatively rare worldwide and more commonly seen in South America. As the National Horse of Brazil it is known for its smooth gaits and even temperament. The Mangalarga Marchador moves as smooth as a dancer and it is known for its endurance. Mangalarga Marchador horses descends from horses brought to Brazil by Spanish soldiers, but are now found all over the world.
History
The Mangalarga Marchador is a direct ascendant from the Iberian horse breeds. The horse was bred for its comfortable gait and gentle temperament, intelligence and endurance. It is a result from the breeding between Berber horses and Lusitano horses. The Baron of Alfenas started the breeding, he used his imported Lustiano horses and crossed them with the Berber horses on his farm. He sold a number of this new nameless breed, with an appealing appearance and smooth gait, to his friend in Rio de Janeiro. The friends farm was called Mangalarga, and as people began to notice the impressive breed they started calling the breed Mangalargas. A breeding association was formed in 1934 with the goal to streamline the breeding and define the characteristics of the Mangalarga Marchador. Nowadays the breed has made it overseas to North America with its marching gaits.
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Usage
The horse is known for its many talents and has been seen excelling in many different disciplines, such as dressage, endurance riding, jumping and farm work. It is a very versatile horse that is known for setting the Guinness world record for long-distance riding with a distance of 8,694 miles ridden in 1994. Its excellent results on endurance rides has increased the breeds popularity in the endurance world the last 20 years.
Mangalarga marchador has two special gaits: marcha picada and marcha batida. The extra gaits of marcha is very similar to trot and flying trot, but in the case of marcha, the horse has three hooves on the ground at the same time during the movement, which does not exist in any other gaits. Both of these unique gaits look effortless, and the horse almost floats over the ground due to its smoothness. Marcha picada is known as a lateral gait, whilst marcha batida is a diagonal gait. In marcha picada the hind foot hits slightly before the front and you can clearly hear the gait based on the specific rythm and sound it makes. The time that the legs spend in lateral pairs is longer than in marcha batida. In marcha batida the same movement is made, but the time with three feet on the ground is shorter than in marcha picada, and the sound it makes is distinctly different. Marcha batida is also considered the most comfortable of the two to ride in, and the diagonal gait is a little bit more athletic.
In both of these unique gaits the horse has three hooves on the ground at the same time, creating this smooth and comfortable gait. The extra gait is very similar to trot and flying trot.
The horse has its own gait "marcha" which makes it easy, smooth and comfortable to ride.
The Mangalara Marchador is considered as a very healthy breed since there are no known specific diseases related to the breed.
Temperament
The Mangalarga Marchador horse is a pleasant, cooperative and easy-learning horse breed. Even the Mangalarga Marchador stallions of this breed are unusually easy to handle and ride - hence, many are kept as stallions rather than gelding them. Horse enthusiasts love the breed as it is easy to train, gentle and friendly. In Brazil, young children are often seen riding this gentle giant due to its docile nature.
Appearance
All colors are allowed for this breed, most common are: gray, light brown and chestnut. They have a straight nose bridge with a straight profile, and slightly curved ears. The head is noble, long and triangular with large expressive eyes and the neck is set high. Their coat is silky smooth and glossy and their body is typical for a warmblood, with a deep chest, long back and muscular hindquarter. They are a rather small framed horse for its size, but surprisingly strong and durable. A agile, powerful and well-proportioned horse, the measure between 14.2-16hh.
7 Quick Facts About the Mangalarga Marchador Breed
- Relatively Rare Breed - The breed is rare worldwide, with only a few thousand spread worldwide; they are most common in South America (especially Brazil).
- Two Special Gaits - Marcha picada and Marcha batida. The extra gaits of marcha is very similar to trot and flying trot, but in the case of marcha, the horse has three hooves on the ground at the same time
- The National horse of Brazil - The breed is the national horse breed of Brazil, where more than 500,000 Mangalarga Marchador horses currently exists.
- Holds the Guiness World Record for long distance Endurance riding - With it's impressive endurance the Mangalarga Marchador are known for setting the Guinness world record for long-distance riding with a distance of 8,694 miles ridden in 1994.
- Docile Nature - Even stallions are easy to handle and small kids are reguraly seen riding the breed in South America.
- Often Bred for Color - Many breeders focus on breeding unique colors hence the breed comes in a lot of unique color patterns.
- The Breed is Often Compared to and Mixed up with the American Quarter Horse - As the Mangalarga Marchador is fairly rare in North America, the breed is often mistaken to be a quarter horse as they are similar size and both chunky short legged breeds.
