The History of the Lusitano

The Puro Sangue Lusitano (PSL), or as we know them, the Lusitano, has a particularly interesting and rich history. The story goes that the lowlands in southwestern Iberia were spared from the effects of the last Ice Age. Thus, a group of horses survived and developed, allowing for domestication at an early stage.

Their riding skills quickly showed signs of surpassing other breeds and later inspired the Greek legend of the centaur (half horse, half man) as horse and rider experienced a merging into one entity.

The Lusitano as we know it today is the direct descendant of this Iberian horse and was the foundation for many horses worldwide, from Europe to Asia, North Africa to India.

Due to the isolation of the breed in parts of Europe, it survived and evolved for about fifteen thousand years, almost untouched by foreign influence until now.

It wasn't until the 19th and 20th centuries that the Lusitano underwent crossbreeding with foreign blood due to a need for stronger draught power. However, this led to a degradation of the breed, as they became larger and heavier and lost their agility. This lasted only 200 years before the focus returned to the original Lusitano.

The Lusitano breed has since been carefully preserved, maintaining the values associated with its appearance, usability, personality, and more, which is why it also has its own closed studbook with APSL (Associação Portuguesa de Criadores do Cavalo Puro Sangue Lusitano). READ MORE.

Today, the Lusitano is seen as a very versatile breed. Originally, the Lusitano was used as a warhorse and in agriculture, and as a bullfighting horse.

Nowadays, you can find them at the top level in modern dressage, and they are part of the Olympic teams for Portugal and Brazil. They can jump, participate in working equitation, perform within classical dressage, and are also used in endurance riding.