Alter-Real

The Alter-Real has had a very checkered past and is lucky to be in existence today. The work real in Portuguese means royal, and the breed was established by the Braganza royal family in 1747. The House of Braganza imported 300 selected Andalusian mares from the Jerez region of Spain, to form a national stud in Alter do Chao, from which the Alter-Real derives its name. The principal reason for establishing the stud was to provide the royal family with a suitable High School and carriage horses for the royal stables at Lisbon. During the 18th century, the Alter-real became extremely popular for their ability at High School exercises, which was in part due to their association with the Marquis of Marialva, who was the Master of the Horse at the time.

During the Napoleonic invasion, the breed suffered a setback and was contaminated by infusions of English Thoroughbred, Arab, Norman, and Hanoverian blood. Following this, a great deal of Arab blood was introduced to the breed to try to re-establish it, but this did not produce the desired results. Finally, Andalusian blood was reintroduced which restored the Alter-Real back to its former glory. Another setback was suffered during the early 20th century when, as a result of the dissolution of the Portuguese monarchy, the Alter-Real stud was closed down and most of the stud records burnt. Luckily, a leading equestrian figure of the time, Dr. Ruy d'Andrade, salvaged two stallions and some mares from the stud and set about re-establishing the breed again. Due to this effort the breed did survive and continues to be bred in Portugal.

The Alter-Real is intelligent and a quick learner, and as such needs to be handled by experienced and knowledgeable horsemen. They tend to have an average-sized head, with a pronounced jaw, and a straight or convex profile. They should have a short and muscular neck that is nicely arched, pronounced withers, a compact frame with a short back, and muscular quarters with a well-set tail. The shoulders should be sloping, and they should have strong legs with slender, but sturdy cannon bones and pasterns. Typically they are bay, but can be chestnut, gray, or brown in color, and tend to stand between 15.1 hh and 16.1 hh.

Start Page : Alter-Real