Named after the French word for ‘power’, puissance is a high-jump competition within the sport of show jumping that puts a horse and rider’s power, scope, bravery and trust to the ultimate test. It’s a fast-paced and thrilling spectator sport, that’s for sure! The puissance wall is so high that often, only the rider’s helmet […]

Name of breed: Gypsy Horse (also called the Gypsy Cob, Gypsy Vanner, Irish Cob, Romany Tinker and Traditional Cob) Origin: Great Britain and Ireland Breed origin: The Gypsy Horse was originally bred by Irish Travellers and Great Britain’s Romani Travellers to pull the wagons in which they lived and travelled. These wagons, often known as […]

Name of breed: Selle Français, also known as the Cheval de Selle Français Country of origin: France Breed origin: Like most warmblood horse breeds, the Selle Français was developed with a diverse mixture of bloodlines. In the 19th century, Norman breeders imported Thoroughbreds and Norfolk Trotters, crossing them with their native stock (now known as […]

Name of breed: Curly, also known as the Bashkir Curly or the American Curly Country of origin: North America Breed origin: The origins of the Curly horse are a mystery, with many theories but no clear answers. When the Curly started to gain recognition as a breed in the 20th century, it was called the […]

Name of breed: Exmoor Pony (also known as the Celtic pony) Country of origin: United Kingdom Breed origin: Horses have been present in Britain since 700,000 BC and fossil remains have been found in the area of Exmoor dating back to about 50,000 BC. Some people claim the Exmoor pony has been purebred since the […]

Name of breed: Kabarda, or Kabardin Country of origin: Former USSR (Russia and Georgia) Breed origin: The Kabarda horse has been known for at least 500 years, but its origins are quite possibly as old as the Hittite civilisation, which existed from – wait for it – 1680 to 1178 BC! The mountain tribesmen in […]

Name of breed: Arabian, or Arab Country of origin: This is a much-disputed point! There are arguments to support the breed’s development in northern Syria, southern Turkey, the Piedmont region in northern Italy, the Fertile Crescent running from Iraq to the coast of Egypt, and southwestern Arabia. Breed origin: The prototype for the modern Arabian […]

 Netflix lovers, there’s a new horse movie for you to check out – ‘Concrete Cowboy’, a moving, true-to-life impression of Philadelphia’s Black urban horse riding community. We first became aware of the existence of ‘urban cowboys’ in America’s cities during the Black Lives Matter protests last year. Alongside Bri Noble and her horse Dapper […]

Name of breed: Riwoche Country of origin: Tibet Breed origin: The Riwoche is a small, dun-coloured horse that lives in the Riwoqê County of northeastern Tibet. The breed first came to international attention in 1995, when a group of European explorers led by the French ethnologist Michel Peissel discovered Riwoche horses in an isolated valley […]

Name of breed: Rocky Mountain Horse Country of origin: United States of America. Breed origin: Despite its name, the Rocky Mountain Horse didn’t develop in the Rocky Mountains, but in the Appalachian Mountains in the state of Kentucky. According to legend, sometime around the late 19th or early 20th century, an anonymous traveller from the […]

Name of breed: Marwari, or Malani Country of origin: India, specifically the Marwar (or Jodhpur) region Breed origin: Although there is some controversy surrounding the origins of the Marwari breed, its ancestors are generally believed to have been native Indian war horses, Arabians and Turkomans (today’s Akhal-Tekes), possibly with some Mongol influence as well. The […]

Name of breed: Norman Cob Country of origin: France Breed origin: The Norman Cob is named after the French region of Normandy where it was first developed. A light draught horse, it descends from the now-extinct Carrossier Normand, or Norman horse. The Carrossier Normand was a strong, hardy, big-boned horse with fantastic stamina and a […]

Name of breed: Lusitano, also called the Pure Blood Lusitano or Puro Sangue Lusitano (PSL). Country of origin: Portugal Breed origin: The Iberian Peninsula, which now sits within Spain and Portugal, has been populated with horses since 20-30,000 BC. Known as Iberian horses, they were influenced by horses from many other parts of the world as civilisations […]

Name of breed: Comtois. Country of origin: France. Breed origin: The Comtois breed comes from the Jura Mountains on the French-Swiss border. In the 4th century, the Burgundians of northern Germany introduced a heavy type of horse known as the ‘German Breed’ to the French regions of Jura and Franche-Comte. Here they mixed with oriental […]

Name of breed: Oldenburg (also known as Oldenburger) Country of origin: Germany Breed origin: The Oldenburg is a warmblood breed that can be traced back to the 17th century in the German provinces of Oldenburg and East Friesland. Count Johan XVI of Oldenburg took a keen interest in horse breeding, producing fine war horses to […]

It’s become an iconic image in the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement: Bri Noble astride her Appaloosa, Dapper Dan, leading a protest with her fist high in the air after the murder of George Floyd. With Dapper Dan standing 17 hands high, Bri was literally someone to look up to at the Oakland protest and […]

Name of breed: South German Coldblood (German: Süddeutsches Kaltblut) Country of origin: Bavaria, Germany Breed origin: The South German Coldblood is a descendant of Austrian Noriker horses that were introduced to Bavaria, in southern Germany, in the 1800s. The Noriker is a fine draught horse, but breeders in Upper Bavaria wanted to create a different, […]

For globetrotters who have ridden The Patagonia Trail in Argentina or our safari ride in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, it’s common knowledge that guide Jakob von Plessen is a force of nature – a human whirlwind of charisma and courage with a penchant for sniffing out adventure. So it will come as no surprise to hear […]

Jenny Bright is one of a handful of globetrotters who have been lucky enough to visit the island of Sumba, Indonesia for the Pasola Festival and enjoy the many delights of this slice of paradise. Afterwards, she shared such brilliant feedback with us that we HAD to share it with you! Check it out below. […]

Name of breed: Retuerta (Spanish: Caballo de las Retuertas) Country of origin: Spain Breed origin: The Retuerta horse is named after the ‘retuertas’, flooded, sandy areas where animals come to drink in what is now Doñana National Park. This region of Spain is the homeland of the Retuerta, but it is believed to have roamed […]

In the Soma district of Fukushima Prefecture, a famous horse breeding region in Japan, a festival called Soma Nomaoi has been celebrated since ancient times. It’s said to have originated in the early 10th century as a series of military exercises undertaken by the samurai of the Soma Clan. Even today, the role of ‘Supreme […]