Argentine-Criollo history

The Argentine Criollo is the result of selective breeding of the baguales, feral horses of the Pampas region of Argentina, by the gauchos of the region for a robust and useful horse. Today this horse is the national horse of Argentina and is a great source of pride for that country.

Essentially the baguales of the Pampas and their ancestors, the Criollo, derive from a single source -- the bloodlines of 16th century Spanish stock introduced to the continent by the conquistadors. Many of these Spanish horses were abandoned by or escaped from these early immigrants. They formed feral herds that roamed the Pampas, the grassland area stretching north, south and west from the delta of the Rio de la Plata near Buenos Aires. The baguales also mixed with horses brought through the region as people migrated back and forth from Brazil, Uruguay and Chile. Portuguese and Dutch horses also had an impact on these feral horses as they were brought to the region from Brazil. It is the influence of these horses that distinguish the Criollo from the horses of Peru and Colombia.

Many travelers and explorers reported seeing tremendous numbers of wild horses in the Pampas. Some recorded seeing herds numbering in the thousands. The native tribesmen of the region soon discovered the great value of possessing these horses. Much like the Native Americans of the North American West, the horse increased the mobility of the tribes and they soon became expert horsemen. The Spanish population also depended on these horses in settling this vast new territory. However, as in North America, as the settlers moved into the lands occupied the native tribes they began to bring change to the Pampas. Fences crops and livestock breeding began to take effect on the feral herds.

In 1806 and subsequently in 1825, the British introduced the Thoroughbred to Argentina when they invaded the region. The French who brought the Percheron with them soon followed. The native Criollo horse was therefore, "improved upon" by crossing them with the Thoroughbred to make them lighter and more elegant or with the Percheron to make them larger, heavier animals suitable for draft work. With all this uncontrolled crossing, the Criollo horse of the Argentinean Pampas was threatened with extinction by the end of the nineteenth century

In 1917, the Sociedad Rural de Argentina was formed in order to preserve the "creole" horse of Argentina. The group was able to locate a herd of 200 mares that had been kept by the native Indian population in the southern provinces. This herd became the foundation for the rehabilitation of the old breed. At first the horse was known as the Argentinean, then the name was changed to the Argentine Criollo. Today is also known as simply Criollo, since the horses of Brazil and Uruguay have been determined to be of the same type and ancestry.