November 2009

  • Rare Breeds: The Spanish Jennet

    By erika on 11/19/09 1:22pm
    2 Comments

    Recently while I was researching a new Breyer Horse model, I ran across a horse breed I had never heard of: the Spanish Jennet.  In fact, a lot of source seem to be confusing or conflating the breed of horse of the Breyer model - the Knabstrupper - with the Spanish Jennet.  

    Just to clarify the situation, the Knabstrupper is a breed of horse developed in the early 1800s from a single spotted mare.  The mare may or may not have been of Jennet blood, but the Knabstrupper could plausibly be seen as an extension of the Jennet breed.  However, the Jennet itself is an ancient breed - literally ancient, as it was first documented in the prehistoric Paleolithic cave art of Lascaux and Altamira.  In other words, the Knabstrupper is an offshoot of the Spanish Jennet.


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