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November 30, 2010 at 12:56 PM EST | No Comments
1) Why am I "hooked" on Lusitanos?
So, how did this happen? I got hooked on Lusitanos in the same way that I got hooked on Border Collies. I love to work with very intelligent, curious and willing animals and both Lusitanos and Border Collies share those characteristics. Lusitanos are very, very "aware" of the human and want to work with them. I have Lusitanos that would much rather come out of their lush, green pasture and learn rather than to eat. They consistenly wander over from pasture to watch while another horse is being trained. Their retention is impressive and they learn very quickly. This makes them a true joy to work with. Their innate ability to do lateral work and collect is an added bonus. Lusitanos have a coping mechanism that is bred into them and between this and their natural boldness they excel at trail work and at accepting new and "scary" situations. These all come in very handy when riding in new places. I want to have fun on my horse and Lusitanos give me that. They are fun to ride, fun to train and fun to live with. It takes a lot of time, energy and money to have horses so I want a return for this investment. Lusitanos give me that and more!
Here is a photo of one of our Lusitanos wanting a sip of my drink. He was so curious that I just had to share with him!
2) Why are Lusitanos the Border Collies of the horse world?
Our Border Collie, Britt, working our St. Croix Sheep
Where did this quote come from? The inspiration for this quote came from a particular moment when I was having a lot of fun working with one of our Lusitanos. The horse in question was one of our mares, Vespa. She was so willing, quick to learn and focused on me that I suddenly thought of her as an equine version of our Border Collies. After working with both Lusitanos and Border Collies for a number of years I began to see many similarities between them. I have bred, trained and worked Border Collies on our sheep and cattle for years and have enjoyed their keen, intelligent, active, and highly trainable nature. I see these same attributes in the Lusitano horse. Lusitanos and Border Collies have an impressive ability to focus on their trainer. The attention span that I have observed, even in the young ones, is longer than the attention span that I have observed in other breeds of dogs or horses. For individuals who like to train, and are willing to give their horse or dog equal focus and attention, the rewards can be tremendous.
Lusitanos and Border Collies also both have an interest in livestock. Lusitanos are bred to be bold and brave with bulls and have been bred in Portugal to do herd work with cattle. The Border Collie is bred to do the same. It requires a high degree of intelligence and focus to influence large livestock and stay safe. The Lusitano’s job is to protect both horse and rider while moving stock and the Border Collie’s job is to manipulate the livestock and stay safe at the same time. These highly functional attributes should be maintained when selecting good breeding stock so that the important, functional characteristics of both the Lusitano and the Border Collie are maintained. There is a danger if breeders place a greater emphasis on breeding for other attributes such as color or size rather than for temperament and function. It is a true joy to work with animals that are bred for trainability, focus and function. There is an almost indescribable connection that both Border Collies and Lusitanos develop with their human trainers. It is a connection that is well worth preserving.
Lusitanos take naturally to working cattle
And...Border Collies take naturally to working sheep
