Italy – Italian endemic breeds: the little horse of Giara

The Giara horse (acheta, akkètta, cuaddeddu in Sardinian) is an endemic breed of Sardinia , confined to the Giara plateau where it lives in the wild . The origin of this horse is uncertain , some scholars argue that it descends from African equines imported by Phoenician or Greek sailors in the 5th-4th century BC. Discover now all our travels, tours, holidays and horse trekking in Italy. According to others, it had already been domesticated by the Nuragic populations a millennium earlier and would therefore be a descendant of the wild horse present in Sardinia as early as the Neolithic period and of which fossils dating back to around 6000 BC have been found. Until the late Middle Ages it was widespread in the wild throughout Sardinia, while now it is found only in the Giara plateau, from which it takes its name. The characteristics of the plateau, with an altitude ranging from 500 to 600 meters above sea level and the steep walls have completely isolated the remaining herds, guaranteeing the preservation of the typicality of the breed. The Giara horse generally has a wild bay, black or burnt chestnut coat. They are characterized by a square head, with a showy tuft like the mane and a sturdy neck. Its withers are barely pronounced, its rump is short and sloping, the junction of the tail low. Its eyes are slightly almond shaped, its chest is low and narrow and its limbs are thin. The average height at the withers is about 120 cm, it is not a pony , but a small horse. The little horses of Giara are animals with an indomitable and restless character.