Originary from the Albufera of Valencia, coming from the Arab "Al-Buhayra" meaning "the small sea", Albufera Horses are like most Iberian breeds: strong and inteligent working horses with a unique flair!
The Albufera is the largest lake in Spain and houses a natual reserve aiming to preserve all sorts of endemic life. There is where resides the Albufera Horse, living in semi liberty similarly to Camargue horses.
Around the Albufera are the Hortas: nord, oest and sud, where this breed of horse has been used as a working horse in the fields, in the wetlands, And even the sea... This is particularly true in the Horta Sud, the closest to the Albufera lake and wetlands.
The Albufera is the largest lake in Spain and houses a natual reserve aiming to preserve all sorts of endemic life. There is where resides the Albufera Horse, living in semi liberty similarly to Camargue horses.
Around the Albufera are the Hortas: nord, oest and sud, where this breed of horse has been used as a working horse in the fields, in the wetlands, And even the sea... This is particularly true in the Horta Sud, the closest to the Albufera lake and wetlands.
Reference:
As seen in their reference Albufera horses are a breed created by a family and their registry and well as stud book is managed by the De l'Horta Estate (or Yeguada de l'Horta) though their development was a bit chaotic. You'll find here a document telling you everything you need to know about the breed's story and their creation, use the plan of the document to find specific information:
Albufera Horse: The Unmistakable
As their story is well explained in the document I'll talk here about their conformation and character more in detail
Albufera Horse: The Unmistakable
As their story is well explained in the document I'll talk here about their conformation and character more in detail
Conformation:
The most important point to really keep in mind with Albuferas is their backline, through breeding a peculiarity appeared on their rhomboideus muscle: being attached higher on the withers making ther wihers "disappear" under it: the withes is exactly where it is as with any other horse breed, it's just that the vertical neck of Albuferas in addition to this peculiar muscle formation, it becomes indistiguishable. This peculiarity paired with their well developped - sometimes overdevelopped - hindquarters, creates a beautiful backline, as if the horse was drawn from head to tail in a single stroke.
Then there are other important elements such as their mobile and high set tail, their refined head with a square jaw and small pointy ears. Their silouette is overall vertical, with their chest always forward, they're bred to look proud and, conveniently, to be able to look over the tall grass of the wetlands they live in.
Albuferas due to being used as carriage and working horses, have been bred to be muscular in such a way that they can present minor myostatin defficiencies. (Myostatin being the molecule that regulates the amount of muscle a body can produce, Quarter Horses are famously bred with huge myostatin defficiencies to end up looking like balls of muscle perched on sticks.) Though this makes them have particularly athletic bodies, it's never exagerated since their silouette should never be disturbed by hypertrophy.
When it comes to their height, Albuferas average around 1m65 (16.1hh) but can go as low as 1m55 (15.1hh) and as high as 1m75 (17.1hh).
Albuferas also have an oriental strain:
Then there are other important elements such as their mobile and high set tail, their refined head with a square jaw and small pointy ears. Their silouette is overall vertical, with their chest always forward, they're bred to look proud and, conveniently, to be able to look over the tall grass of the wetlands they live in.
Albuferas due to being used as carriage and working horses, have been bred to be muscular in such a way that they can present minor myostatin defficiencies. (Myostatin being the molecule that regulates the amount of muscle a body can produce, Quarter Horses are famously bred with huge myostatin defficiencies to end up looking like balls of muscle perched on sticks.) Though this makes them have particularly athletic bodies, it's never exagerated since their silouette should never be disturbed by hypertrophy.
When it comes to their height, Albuferas average around 1m65 (16.1hh) but can go as low as 1m55 (15.1hh) and as high as 1m75 (17.1hh).
Albuferas also have an oriental strain:
Nowadays their new Registry manager breeds them with the intent of having these beautiful creatures in his background, living the dream and looking like a fantasy. His main goal is to have them be healthy and strong with wonderful colors, he absolutely doesn't care in the slightest about sports or performance, these are horses not cars. he still wants them exercise regularly to enhance their shapes, they need to be in shape, and they need some mental stimulation
Temperament
As Albuferas were bred to be working horses primarily, they have been selected for inteligence and perseverance, a passive effect of this was the breed becoming a very personable breed. They have been affectionatelly called "perritos" through the generation. This word can be translated as "puppies". Because just like dogs, these horses will bond with a human and once that is done they will behave like dogs: responding to voice commands and following their human around without needing a lunge.
Also akeen to how a dog would do, Albuferas will match the energy or mood of their human! They will get sad, excited, happy or scared with you.
A thing to note too is the fact that these horses need stimulation, just like a border collie needs to run and work, albuferas need to run and work. They love feeling like they're part of a team and they love working with a purpose!
This is why this breed is not really suited for children or unexperienced riders/handlers. They will need someone who knows how to stay calm and focussed under any situation and someone who can communicate clearly and firmly.
This character also makes them incredibly loyal, they will follow their human around and get very sad/anxious if their human leaves for a long time or sells them. It will take time and patience for them to recreate a bond with another human.
Disciplines:
Though Albuferas were originally bred to be elegant ridding horses meant to show off their owners wealth, the breed ended up being reclaimed by the little people as working horses. For such reasons they'll be perfect for anybody who has a afrm and plenty of stuff to do! Wether you have them as literal working horses, or you train them in Working Equitation, Doma vaquera, any type of Western discipline too (they were used by Spanish cowboys, I think american cowboys can ride them all the same), and of course, dressage and eventing!
Any kind of driving would be perfect for them as they are incredibly strong -due to them being selected during some time to have bigger muscle mass- and also very good at picking up on voice commands. They’re also agile and used to all typed of terrain and on top of that they are very good in muddy/ wet terrain due to them well… essentially coming from the Albufera!
To be frank they are the jack of all trades “master of none” you’ll say. Well not really, if you do a bit of everything with them they’ll be good at everything. If you pick one of two things and train them adequately they’ll be excellent at it.
Oh and Albuferas are wonderful social media horses, I mean just look at them! if you wanna take pretty pictures and get the instagram fame, they're made for you!
As Albuferas were bred to be working horses primarily, they have been selected for inteligence and perseverance, a passive effect of this was the breed becoming a very personable breed. They have been affectionatelly called "perritos" through the generation. This word can be translated as "puppies". Because just like dogs, these horses will bond with a human and once that is done they will behave like dogs: responding to voice commands and following their human around without needing a lunge.
Also akeen to how a dog would do, Albuferas will match the energy or mood of their human! They will get sad, excited, happy or scared with you.
A thing to note too is the fact that these horses need stimulation, just like a border collie needs to run and work, albuferas need to run and work. They love feeling like they're part of a team and they love working with a purpose!
This is why this breed is not really suited for children or unexperienced riders/handlers. They will need someone who knows how to stay calm and focussed under any situation and someone who can communicate clearly and firmly.
This character also makes them incredibly loyal, they will follow their human around and get very sad/anxious if their human leaves for a long time or sells them. It will take time and patience for them to recreate a bond with another human.
Disciplines:
Though Albuferas were originally bred to be elegant ridding horses meant to show off their owners wealth, the breed ended up being reclaimed by the little people as working horses. For such reasons they'll be perfect for anybody who has a afrm and plenty of stuff to do! Wether you have them as literal working horses, or you train them in Working Equitation, Doma vaquera, any type of Western discipline too (they were used by Spanish cowboys, I think american cowboys can ride them all the same), and of course, dressage and eventing!
Any kind of driving would be perfect for them as they are incredibly strong -due to them being selected during some time to have bigger muscle mass- and also very good at picking up on voice commands. They’re also agile and used to all typed of terrain and on top of that they are very good in muddy/ wet terrain due to them well… essentially coming from the Albufera!
To be frank they are the jack of all trades “master of none” you’ll say. Well not really, if you do a bit of everything with them they’ll be good at everything. If you pick one of two things and train them adequately they’ll be excellent at it.
Oh and Albuferas are wonderful social media horses, I mean just look at them! if you wanna take pretty pictures and get the instagram fame, they're made for you!