The Jaca Navarra (), or Navarrese Horse, is a Spanish breed of small horse from the autonomous community of Navarre in the north-eastern part of the country.
History
The origins of the Jaca Navarra are unknown; In 2013 it was listed in the Catálogo Oficial de Razas de Ganado de España in the group of autochthonous breeds in danger of extinction. The total population of the Jaca Navarra has been variously estimated at 350 (in 1999), 250 (in 2000), and 240 and decreasing (in 1997). In April 2011 the total population was reported to be 899, all of which were in Navarre. In 2000, and again in 2007, it was listed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as endangered.
A breeders' association, the Asociación de Criadores de Ganado Equino Jaca Navarra, was formed in 1999, and a stud-book opened in 2001. All but a few examples of the breed are kept in semi-feral conditions in a conservation and reference herd at the Sabaiza estate in , in the .
Names
In
Spanish language, this breed is also known as the
Poney Navarro,
Caballo Navarro,
Caballo Vasco-navarro,
Caballito de Andía,
Caballito de las Améscoas or
Caballito de la Barranca, and was in the past also known as
Jaca de Montaña,
Raza de Pamplona or
Raza Pamplonica.
The word jaca has an unusual history, from Old Spanish haca, itself from Old French haque, which in turn is ultimately derived from the English place-name Hackney, a place famous for its horses.
Use
The Jaca Navarra may be used as a light
draught horse. It is reared for
horsemeat, and may be used in conservation grazing.
Further reading
-
Alberto Pérez de Muniáin Ortigosa, Martín Villanueva Vergara, Satur Napal Lecumberri (2007). Nuestros caballos: la Jaca Navarra y el Burguete (in Spanish). Pamplona: Editorial Evidencia Médica. .
