The Criollo Horse is one Tough Cookie

Don’t Underestimate this Horse Breed

The Criollo horse comes from Argentina. The Argentinian Criollo Breeders Association runs an annual endurance ride for purebred Criollos. These are the ride rules:

• Each rider has one horse and the ride is 465 miles covered in 14 days
• Horses carry 250 pounds which is nearly 18 stone
• The only food available is the grazing found along the trail
• Medicine is not permitted
• The ride cannot be completed in less than 75 riding hours
• Participating horses present 30 days before the start of the ride and spend this time together on pasture and without training.

For Endurance the Criollo matches Arabian Horses but has a bigger frame

Like the Arabian, the Criollo is a very enduring small horse. On average they stand a shade shorter than Arabs but are thicker set with heavier muscles. The Criollo has a short, strong back and a very solid bone structure. The breed has hard feet and a sound constitution with considerable disease resistance. If this is not enough, Criollo’s are also long-lived and many work when over 20 years of age.

Two Extraordinary Criollo Horses Endurance Tests

1. Between 1925 and 1928 Professor Aimé Félix Tschiffely rode two Criollo horses called Gato and Mancha from Buenos Aires to New York City. They crossed very rough and varied terrain on their 10,000-mile journey. At the start of the ride, Gato was 15 years old and Mancha was 16 years old. Gato and Mancha respectively lived to be 36 and 40 years of age and Professor Tschiffely’s ashes are scattered on their graves.
2. Vladimir Fissenko spent 5 years riding a Criollo named Sufridor from Patagonia to the Arctic Ocean in Alaska and arrived in 1993 after a journey of 19, 000 miles.

Your next Endurance Horse

The Criollo is mainly bred in South America but can be found in North America and Europe. Considering endurance, they are a worthy alternative to the Arabian. and come in many unusual colours.