Mangalarga Marchadors

[Roberta Jo Lieberman <fineprint@erols.com>]

<<We have new neighbors from Brazil...bringing their Mangalarga 
Marchadors soon. We'll get to see firsthand how this
breed might be for endurance.  >>

A couple of years ago, while attenting an equine reproduction 
symposium in Caxambu, Brazil (4 hours south of Sao Paolo), I had the 
opportunity to see and ride this unusual breed. I had the pleasure of 
riding a Mangalarga on a four-hour trail ride in spectacular country. 
My little gray friend, just a four-year-old, was tough, kind and 
sure-footed. The ride ended with our group trotting through the 
streets of downtown Caxambu surrounded by street vendors, barking 
dogs, etc. and never putting a foot wrong.

My friend Chris Bowman, who hadn't ridden in years due to arthritis, 
fell in love with the breed and somehow persuaded her husband Tom (a 
reprodutive veterinarian on Maryland's Eastern shore who was there for 
the conference) to import a few of these critters for her to ride. 
Well, after a year of searching, they discovered an entire HERD of 
Mangalargas in Florida, and they took in the whole group -- stallions, 
broodmares, foals, and a couple of young geldings. Anyway, they are 
now stuffed to the gills with Mangos. 
There are two varieties of Mangalargas -- a gaited type called the 
marchadore, and a more sport horse type called the Paulista (I think). 
Some have been used for endurance in Brazil. These horses have, among 
other influences, Andalusian and Criollo blood, if I'm remembering the 
story I wrote about them a few years back correctly. 

As far as I know there are few sources of Mangalarga blood in America, 
and it's difficult to import them due to piroplasmosis being fairly 
common in Brazil. There is a veterinarian in Brazil, Joao Fleury, who 
does embryo transfer with Mangos and owned one of the breed's top 
sires there. 

I'm sure Chris Bowman would be delighted to share her adventures with 
Mangos (as we call them). Her email addreess is danceforth@aol.com

Bobbie