Spain, The Yeguada Militar And The Legendary Duke Of Veragua (An excerpt from the book “The Arabian Horse in Brazil” by Mario Braga)
Veragua mares.
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pain is an important reference in Arabian horse breeding around the world, notably since the introduction of the “Cría Caballar” and the founding of the Studbook, considered the oldest of its kind, in 1847, in Jerez de la Frontera. Later, in 1893, the “Yeguada Militar” was created by royal decree at Moratalla, in the region of Cordoba. Like in many other countries, the Spanish horse breeding in this period was initiated with the purpose of supplying horses with Arabian blood to improve the existing heavier cavalry horses. Later on, the main objective became the preservation of a gene pool of Spanish horses, either Arabians or the Andalusians, who also derived from them. By the middle of the 19th century, Queen Isabel II ordered an expedition to the east with the sole purpose of obtaining animals of Arabian blood to Spain. Her successor, King Alfonso XII, would timely follow that initiative, by importing animals from other European nations. However, it was only in the beginning of the 20th century, with Capitain Luiz de Azpeitia de Moro’s expedition to Mesopotamia, Syria and the Arabian Desert, in 1905, and to Poland in 1906, that the breeding of Arabian horses in Spain was formally established. In his travel diary, Captain Azpeitia relates that the main goal of the trip was to find horses that were suitable for good riding and that also had refinement, good stature and ages between eight
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