SORRAIAS - HISTORY
As Dr. Ruy d'Andrade found the last survivors of this sub-species in Portugal near the Sorraia River, he baptized them with this name. He is also the responsible for their preservation: he saved the species by placing a small group on his estate near the Sorraia River, in Agolada de Baixo, and letting them multiply.
His studies convinced him that the Sorraia horse is not just a breed, but it represents the autochthone primitive horse of southern Iberia.
When preserving the Sorraia horses, Dr. d'Andrade did not create a breed but he created a reserve for these individuals on his estate. Rather than selectively breeding them, he kept them in a semi-wild state and allowed mother nature to be the determining factor by not feeding or supplementing these horses. As D'Andrade did not get any outcrops of other forms from his original seed stock, it can rightfully be assumed that they were of a pure breed. Also, there is a very old genetic type found in the Sorraia, different from other Iberian horses, its absolutely primitive phenotype and behaviour.
There is also a fact that the Sorraia has no history as a domestic breed.
Dr. Ruy D'Andrade's extensive studies documented the Sorraia horse as a direct descendant of one of the four forms of primeval wild horses from which all our domestic breeds derived, namely form III, which inhabited the south of the Iberian Peninsula.
Dr. Ruy D'Andrade found conclusive evidence in the teeth of the Sorraia horses: "As is well known, teeth are among the most common archaeological findings. They allow precise conclusions regarding the evolutionary state of an animal and are the most reliable elements for a systematization.[...] The pure-bred Andalusian's teeth, though, correspond with those of the Sorraia horse."
Paintings of horses on the cave walls at La Pileta, near Ronda (Granada), in the south of Spain, officially dated between 30,000 and 20,000 B.C., already show the subconvex heads and arched necks typical of Andalusians, Lusitanos and their ancestor, the Sorraia, as do ancient sculptures.
All this suggests that the remaining Sorraias are a remnant population of a true primitive horse form, or subspecies.
The total number of Sorraias in the world may not exceed 200 head, and they all stem from the original group of 7 mares and 4 stallions gadered by Dr. Ruy D’Andrade - that is how imminent the threat of inbreeding is!
Today, Sorraias are bred by a handful of private breeders, not only in Portugal, but also in Germany, France and Switzerland. Most are still owned by the D'Andrade family, who keeps them in semi-wild, where they born, grow and reproduce without human hand.
Beside all the efforts, the actual number of Sorraias is nowhere near a number that would ensure the survival of the most primitive Iberian horse we have today, making this a breed in extinction!