São Paulo – The first Arabian horse specimens arrived in Brazil in the 19th century, but there used to be no comprehensive records of their origins, use, and dissemination across the country. Now there are. Released in late 2014, the book O Cavalo Árabe no Brasil (The Arabian horse in Brazil) recounts the history of the animal in the country and features photo essays portraying the ways in which it is used throughout the Brazilian territory. The book features texts by Mario Braga, photos by Marco Terranova and editing from Andrea Jakobsson.
According to Braga, the book was one of the actions designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian Association of Arabian Horse Breeders (ABCCA), in 2014. “We had no accounts available of the history of the animal in these parts, and Brazil is a landmark when it comes to breeding Arabian horses. We raise and export the animal,” Braga said. In a bid to retrieve the race’s history in the country, the author resorted to foreign publications, research works, and old newspapers.
Braga claims the earliest documentation of the animal’s arrival in Brazil date from 1860, but there is little information regarding importation and utilization from that time. The first official Arabian horse breeder was Guilherme Echenique Filho, who imported seven specimens in the 1920s from a stud farm in Argentina to Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state.
The race was only bred in the South, with a few specimens in other regions, until ABCCA was founded in 1964 by banker Aloysio Faria, one of the owners of Banco Real, which has since been incorporated into Santander. The association was established in Belo Horizonte and then implemented in São Paulo. Echenique joined Faria and then the Arabian horse started being used in the entire Brazilian territory.
The photos in the book show the Arabian horse in the pampas (lowlands) area of Rio Grande do Sul, among buffalo herds in Marajó, Pará, in Midwestern cattle farms, and even in the Northeastern caatinga (savannah). These pictures are testimony to one of the animal’s main features: its resistance.
“It is the oldest horse there is, the father to all races. The thoroughbred, the quarter horse, the Andalusian and the domestic horse all derive from the Arabian horse,” said Braga. According to information from ABCCA, the earliest records of the animal’s existence were found in Egyptian bas reliefs from the 16th century BC, and the race originated in the desert.
Arabian horses are bred in many countries, among them Argentina, United States, Egypt and Poland. Arab countries Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates invest in breeding and hold contests. In addition to racing, Arabian horses are used in genetic improvement.
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Book O cavalo árabe no Brasil (The Arabian Horse in Brazil)
Authors: Mario Braga and Marco Terranova
Price: R$ 140.00 (roughly US$ 44)
Information: www.abcca.com.br or (+55 11) 3674-1744
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
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