Rare-Breed Report
This month: A closer look at area Andalusians and Tennuvians
By Lisa Broadwater

If you know where to look in Arkansas, you'll find a surprising number of rare horses being bred on local farms. For example, there's Laura Holbrook's Horsepower Ranch in Guy, which includes Spanish Normans and Aztecas. Toni and Dennis Albers raise Suffolks at Rimrock Cove Ranch in Green Forest and Ginny Edwards in Beebe has Clydesdales.
Below we take a look at two other rare breeds: Andalusians and Tennuvians. Next month, we'll focus on Friesians and Lipizzans. (And if you’re raising a rare breed, let us know about it!)

Andalusians at White Magic Farm, Clinton
Credit a Palomino mare for introducing Lynette DesMarais to her first Andalusian.
"Lottie was my first horse; I've had her since she was 2 and she's about 12 now," DesMarais says. "When my husband and I lived in New Hampshire, I thought about breeding her. Everybody had ideas about what she should be bred to but me. At that point, you could buy a horse easier than you could breed one. I looked and looked and I didn't see anything until I saw this ad for an Andalusian farm in New York. They had this stallion, and I saw him running, and that was it.
"It was total addiction," she adds with a laugh. "The next thing I know, it's 12 horses later...To me, it's like shoes: You can't have too many."
The Andalusian was named for Andalus, the Iberian Peninsula where the breed — one of the oldest on record — was developed. The Andalusian probably developed from the crossing of African Barb horses with indigenous stock (the Lusitano is essentially the same horse, except it's from Portugal). In the past, the Iberian horse was considered the perfect war horse because of its strength, natural collection, agility, impulsion and bravery. They're still used in the bullring in Spain. The success of the breed is attributed to the Carthusian Monks, high-quality breeders who safeguarded their stock during war and epidemic.
For DesMarais, the Andalusians’ rich heritage is a large part of their appeal.
"When you're around them, you can't help it — you just get taken away; you get absorbed into this ancient history,” she says. “People in history stood for them to prevent them from getting slaughtered, and you can't help but get intoxicated by that whole romantic history. Then, when you start working with them and you ride them, it's so euphoric. They're like being placed on a feather floating through the winds of time.
"When I ride an Andalusian, the passion of the horse just radiates. It's like you're taking a ride in a piece of history, but it's physical and tangible and here right now in this moment. They're so intelligent and so easy to train and work with. They give you the fire and the excitement, but their minds — they're so gentle and noble and easy to train. They can do anything. And they're very, very honest. They're so willing to please. Their work ethic far surpasses anything I've experienced with other breeds."
Historically, Andalusians were the preferred mounts of European royalty (and were the foundation stock for the Lippizan).
"Because the horse is so gentle and noble, it was easy for someone to train the horse and then put a king or queen, who wasn't capable of riding well, on the horse and the horse would go out and perform," DesMarais explains. "And it would look like the king or queen was an avid rider. Basically, it was the horse who was capable of doing all these beautiful movements."
Today, there are about 3,800 pure Spanish Andalusians in the United States, primarily in California and Texas. A well-bred weanling can sell for $15,000 and up. Well-bred blacks and bays (which are rare) of a sporthorse-moving type can go for $20,000-$30,000.
Andalusians are compact horses, with a short back, sloping croup and high degree of flexion in the joints of the hind legs, which allows them to move in collected gaits. They range anywhere from 14'1 to 17 hands, typically around 15'1 or 2. Eighty-five percent of the breed is grey, 10 percent is bay and 5 percent is black (DesMarais owns a bay stallion with full white socks and black legs — "He's the only one who looks like him in the U.S.;" she says.)
What Andalusians excel at, says DesMarais: "Everything. I think the misinterpretation of Andalusians is that they're like carousel horses — people don't know what to do with them. But if you go back in history in Spain and Portugal, back to bullfighting, the Iberian horse was used for dressage. What did knights ride? Andalusians. The reason they rode them was because of their easy training ability."
In this breed, everybody rides stallions or geldings, she adds: "In Spain, the mares are used strictly for breeding. But like in any breed, some mares do really well being brood mares and some mares do a lot better being ridden. Here in the States, you have more who ride mares because we don't have as many big breeding farms (a big breeding farm for Andalusians is 30-40 horses).

Tennuvians and Peruvian Pasos at Bar Fifty Ranch, Bismarck
When Bette Clay and Julian McKinney bought their Bismarck ranch, they had no intention of breeding Tennuvians. In fact, before they set foot on the property, they hadn't even heard of the breed. (But then, few people have. Created in 1991 as an experiment, it's a cross between Tennessee Walker and Peruvian Paso and is known for its strength, agility, endurance, grace — and, of course, its smooth, unique gait.) It just so happened, however, that three Tennessee Walkers came with the ranch.
"We liked them very much." Clay recalls. "It was probably a couple of years later that we saw an ad for a Tennuvian. It sounded interesting. We didn't buy that one, but we thought about it for a while and finally leased a purebred Peruvian stallion. We had two Walker mares, and bred them with the Paso."
They were so pleased with the results, they bought the stallion and began breeding Tennuvians in earnest six years ago. Back then, there were only eight known breeders in the country.
The goal of the Tennuvian registry is to create a smoothly gaited pleasure mount with good feet like the Tennessee Walker’s with a smaller body and more refined ear, like the Peruvian’s.
What Clay has found in the breed, she says, is the ideal trail mount.
"When we had the babies and got them raised, we really liked them as trail horses," Clay says. "They have good, easy temperaments, and they're generally small — closer to a Peruvian, which is typically 14'2 to 15'2. The Walkers are generally a little taller than that. So you get a horse that's not overly tall with a wonderful temperament and a nice gait — the smoothest ride in the world. You move like you're ice skating. And they have stamina and strength — they can go 11 miles an hour all day long."
As for the Peruvian Paso's famous "termino" (a natural lateral gait in which the forelegs roll toward the outside as the horse strides forward), "Some Tennuvians have more than others," Clay says. "It doesn't seem to be as pronounced as in a Peruvian, but you can see it. The gait is probably closer to a Walker.
"Everybody who has bought one just loves them," Clay adds. Oftentimes, guests staying the Bar 50 take a test-drive trail ride and end up converts.
Clay and McKinney recently increased their stable of purebred Peruvian Pasos by nine, including several former show horses imported from Peru. The breed, known for its proud carriage, energetic stride and outstanding temperament (breeders in Peru won't breed a horse with an undesirable disposition), is the only naturally gaited breed that can guarantee its gait to 100 percent of its purebred offspring.
The origins of the Peruvian Paso go back several centuries, to South America, where horses brought to that country by Spanish conquistadors and settlers were bred selectively, blending Barb, Jennet and Andalusian. Typically under 15 hands, the onetime "working horse" is known for its refined head, wide-set eyes, extravagant mane and tail, substantial body and small legs. It's also touted for its "brio" — energy and exuberance that makes the horse a willing worker that is focused, quick to react and fast to learn.
What Clay loves about Peruvians, she says, is "They're easy, easy horses. It's bred in them. We've never had one that's given us an ounce of trouble."
She considers their Peruvian stallion, Tesoro, "the perfect stallion" because of his outstanding temperament and striking appearance — especially his long, flowing mane and tail.