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Pónei da Terceira

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Portuguese breed of horse
Pónei da Terceira
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007): not listed
  • DAD-IS (2024): at risk/critical
Country of originPortugal
DistributionTerceira, Azores
Traits
Weight
  • not over 350 kg
  • Male: 265 kg
  • Female: 254 kg
Height
  • not over 148 cm
  • Male: 130 cm
  • Female: 127 cm

The Pónei da Terceira is a Portuguese breed of small horse native to the Atlantic island of Terceira, in the Azores archipelago. It was formally recognised as breed in 2014, after a period of research and recovery lasting some fifteen years.

It is one of four Portuguese breeds, the others being the Garrano, the Lusitano and the Sorraia.

History

The Pónei da Terceira was formally recognised as breed in 2014, after a period of research and recovery lasting some fifteen years; it is the fourth horse breed to receive official recognition in Portugal. A breed association, the Associação dos Criadores e Amigos do Pónei da Terceira, was constituted in 2010. The programme of recovery and conservation of the remaining population of the horses was overseen by the University of the Azores, which is also the principal breeder – in 2014 it had a breeding herd of over fifty head. The university also manages the conservation programme for the endangered Burro da Ilha Graciosa breed of small donkey.

In 2024 the registered population consisted of 36 stallions and 68 breeding mares, in the hands of 20 breeders.

Characteristics

The Pónei da Terceira is small, with a maximum height of 148 cm and maximum weight of 350 kg; average height at the withers is 130 cm for stallions and a few centimetres less for mares. Its morphology is that of a horse rather than a pony, with an appearance comparable to that of the Lusitano. The coat may be of any colour; horses with blue eyes are not eligible for registration.

References

  1. Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. Breed data sheet: Ponei da Terceira / Portugal (Horse). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2024.
  3. ^ (2021). Catálogo Oficial de Raças Autóctones Portuguesas (in Portuguese). Lisboa: Confederação dos Agricultores de Portugal; Direção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária. Archived 19 January 2024.
  4. ^ Equinos – Raça Pónei da Terceira (in Portuguese). Vale de Santarém: Sociedade Portuguesa de Recursos Genéticos Animais. Archived 7 August 2024.
  5. ^ (28 January 2014). Pónei da Terceira reconhecido como raça autóctone (in Portuguese). Lisboa: Diário de Noticias. Archived 18 May 2017.
  6. ^ Sobre nós (in Portuguese). Terra Chã: Associação dos Criadores e Amigos do Pónei da Terceira. Accessed August 2024.
  7. (2 June 2024). Pónei da Terceira em concurso na ExpoÉgua (in Portuguese). Notícias. Universidade dos Açores. Archived 7 August 2024.
  8. Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.


Horse breeds of the Iberian peninsula
Horse breeds thought to originate wholly or partly within Portugal and Spain. Some have complex or obscure histories, so inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively Iberian.


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