Overall body proportions & special considerations

The minimum acceptable height of a male at 3 years of age is 152cm/15.hh taken with a measuring stick.  The minium height of a female is 150cm/14.3 1/2hh. There is no upper limit for height. 

The PRE horse tends toward being a square horse with overall medium proportions. The body should fit perfectly into a square box, if imaginary lines are drawn from the point of the shoulder and the point of the buttock. This means that its height at the withers is equal to its length (from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock). This is especially important in males, whereas females are allowed to have slightly longer backs.

Further dividing this square into 3 equal thirds should roughly indicate the proportions of the shoulder, body and hindquarters. This means that the shoulder, the back/trunk and the croup/quaters should be equal.

Good proportions are also indicated by drawing a line from the point of the elbow to the knee/stifle, this line being parallel to the ground.

The hindquarters are lower than the withers.

Head

The head is of average size, retangular, fine, with a straight or slightly convex (subconvex) profile, mobile ears of medium size, well placed and parallel; forehead wide, flat or slightly convex, bit triangulare, almond shaped eyes with an expressive look.

• head should be in proporation to the overall body size
• head profile should never be dished
• nasal bone is narrow and dry
• ears can be slighly longer in mares
• ears should have a well rounded outside curve, their tips should face forward, distance between both ears equals their size (ie you should be able to draw a square from ear base to tips.
• muzzle is soft, with the upper lip slightly longer than the lower lip and divided showing 2 clear divisions
• nostrils are in shape of an inverted comma
• Jaw is neither pronounced nor overly muscular

Neck

The neck is of average size and length, lightly arched and muscular (more in males than in females). It is well inserted at the head and body and carries abundant silky mane.

• the underside of the neck should also show a slight curve
• neck should not be too thick or too short
• throatlatch should be well defined, not too thick
• ewe neck is a disqualifying defect as is a fallen crest
• the upper line of the neck should run smoothly into the withers, without a dip in front of the withers

Shoulders

Shoulders should be well sloped and forward of the forearm. The shoulder should be long, giving plenty of room for the muscles and form a 45 degree angle with the line of the ground.

Withers

The withers should be prominent yet well covered, wide and well set back. They should form a smooth continuation from the neck and into the backline.

Trunk & Chest

Well proportioned and robust with a solid and muscular back, wide short loin, muscular and somewhat rounded, well joined to the back and to the croup. The underline of the belly should taper smoothly from the ribsgirth to the waist and should not be just straight or wasp like/hering gutted

To the front of the shoulders the trunk/chest will protrude out past the arm of the horse. This is due to the angle between the shoulder and the arm (scapula and humerus) being 80%, hence setting the forearm further under the body, than in some other breeds.

Back & Loins

The back should be flexible, of medium length, strong and sufficiently wide in proportion to the rest of the animal's body and it should be very slighly concave. The loins are short and wide and well joined to the croup. Defects are sway back and roach back.

Croup

The croup should be of average length and width, rounded and lightly sloping. The tail should be low-set (in a horizontal line with the point of the hip) and placed between the two buttocks and floowing the curve of the hindquarters without separation. The tail should consist of abundant, long and often slightly wavy hair.

Legs

The forelegs sit slightly further under the body than in other breeds. They also can have somewhat shorter cannons, medium pasterns with a loack of feathers and compact balanced hooves. The knee is well developed and lean.

The hindlegs have good angulation and stand under the body sufficiently to draw a straight line from the point of the buttock following the rear profile of the cannon. Any deviation from this either indicates a horse standing under too much (cow hocked) or not placing its hindlegs under the body mass (camped out). The limbs show a definite angulation through the joints (more than in some other breeds), making the frontlegs come under the body and giving the hindlges a slightly "cloiled"impression. 

Any other defect and/or deviations of the legs are the same as apply to other horse breeds.

More detailed information can be found on

• www.equiandalusian.com a wonderful website with many photographs illustrating the correct features of PRE morphology and giving examples of defects. The site also contains information about colour and breed history.
• Go to our book section for a list of publications about history and morphology
• Visit www.altamirano.com if you wish to purchase any of this authors books.