An Iberian love affair

ALICE HURLEY produces and competes Iberian horses at Karen Bourdon’s Oxfordshire yard and rides Karen’s Spanish-bred PRE stallions Deseado CCV (pictured) and Resuelto XX at small tour level. Having trained in Spain and accompanied prospective buyers there on shopping trips, she knows the potential pitfalls of importing a horse.

“It’s easy to down one too many glasses of wine at the stud while the horse you’re trying is tacked up, and not notice that he is far greener than you imagined,” says Alice, who describes the management style in Andalusia as particularly old-school compared with the more modern methods used further north.

“Some people see a horse in 40°C heat, perhaps a stallion handled by a couple of strong lads or ridden in traditional Spanish style, and find that his temperament changes completely when he moves to our cool climate.

“We always do a full MOT when horses arrive here,” she says, adding that most cope well with life in the UK. “Iberian horses are incredibly good doers — I’ve seen some there fed little more than broccoli ends and they still look amazing. We’re very careful how we introduce feed and we give them plenty of forage.

“I came from a warmblood background and was quite dismissive of the Iberian breeds, but I’ve completely fallen in love with them,” she admits.

Ben explains that Iberian breeds typically have quite straight and close-set hindlegs.

“With long, slender legs and a lot of muscle mass at the top, an Iberian is built like a wine glass with a small base — any little imbalance and it topples easily,” he explains. “This creates a huge amount of torque and twist.

While the shoulder can absorb this torque in front, it is held in mechanically behind and can cause hock and sacroiliac joint problems.

“The more mediolateral [side to side] stability and the bigger the platform the shoe creates, the better. A shoe that doesn’t grip too much is preferable if the horse is working on artificial surfaces, as this dissipates pressure and is less likely to cause joint and soft tissue problems.

“Foot hygiene is also vital, as upright hooves with deep frog clefts can hold bacteria,” he adds. “Thrush is common in muggy environments and when the horse is stabled for longer periods.”

Farrier Dan McDonald DipWCF shoes a number of Lusitanos. “Their hoof quality is often amazing, with great thickness of wall which is good for nailing shoes on,” he says. “But their feet are used to consistent dryness rather than our wet-dry-wet conditions, so hoof problems such as seedy toe and white line disease can be a problem.

“Imported horses usually arrive with shoes that offer a lot of width and support, but this can be impractical with our muddy fields and sheep wire, so shoes can be lost,” adds Dan. “The main thing is that a farrier does not try to turn Lusitano hooves into something they’re not, which compromises the feet. Try to find a farrier who knows the breed.”

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The danger of sand colic and the latest vet news