Venezuelan Criollo horse

The Venezuelan Criollo (Spanish: criollo venezolano), or Llanero / Llañero, is a stock horse breed from the Llanos region of Venezuela. It is descended from the Colonial Spanish horse, gradually introduced from the 16th century onwards, and is closely related to other Criollo and Paso Fino breeds. Small, sober and responsive, the Venezuelan Criollo is mainly used as a mount for stock cattle in its native region. They are still widely used for transporting goods and people.

The breed has excellent genetic diversity, and is therefore not threatened with extinction. Its main threat lies in the presence of parasites, notably Anaplasma phagocytophilum, which causes anaplasmosis. As its selection is still being organized, there is no stud book yet, and its numbers are unknown.

Name
The Spanish name Llanero translates as "horse of the plains". The DAD-IS database and the University of Oklahoma Encyclopedia (2007) refer to the breed as Llanero (without diacritical mark), while CAB International, the Delachaux guide and researchers from the teams of E. G. Cothran and J. L Canelón refer to it as "Venezuelan Criollo". However, the Delachaux guide also specifies the existence of the name Llañero (with diacritical mark).

Formation
Horses were extinct in South America around 10,000 BC, and the species only reappeared with the arrival of the crews of Christopher Columbus's second voyage in 1493. The Venezuelan breed is descended from the Colonial Spanish horse, introduced by settlers and conquistadores from the 16th century onwards – the same origin as the neighboring Trote y galope. In 1526, the settlement of Coro introduced local horse breeding. In 1528, King Charles V of Spain commissioned the Welser governors to import horses from Hispaniola, San Juan and Santiago de Cuba to Venezuela. It seems that horses abandoned by Don Pedro de Mendoza in 1535 near Buenos Aires also played a special role in the founding of the breed. The majority of these founding horses came from the Antilles, but a not inconsiderable number, acquired by the Welsers or by settlers, are thought to have come directly from Spain. Ambrosius Ehinger brought over 80 horses from Sanlúcar de Barrameda to Venezuela. Similarly, in 1545, Cristóbal Rodríguez, a settler in the Llanos, brought ten mares and two foals of the Andalusian breed directly from Jerez de la Frontera.

The Venezuelan Criollo breed originated in the Llanos plains of north-western Venezuela. The particularly harsh climate, with very dry winters, has led to a reduction in the size of the original Iberian herd.

Since the 20th century
The Venezuelan Criollo was described and characterized by Ángel Cabrera in his work published in Buenos Aires (1945), then by R. De Armas in his veterinary thesis published in 1946, which is the most complete description published of the breed. The structuring of Venezuelan Criollo breeding is more recent, and stems from the observation by local llaneros that their traditional horses are better adapted to the climate of their region than the American Quarter Horse. A group of researchers from the Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado, in Barquisimeto, has conducted several studies on these horses. In 2011, when a genetic characterization study was published on 214 subjects of the breed in comparison with other South American horse breeds, there was still no stud book (or herd book).

Description
DAD-IS refers to it as a pony, but it is actually a small horse, typical of South American Criollos. Hendricks' book (University of Oklahoma, 2007) and the Delachaux guide (2014, which probably uses the latter's data) cite an average height of 1.42 m. The breed is close to the Argentine Criollo, but lighter in pattern, the result of the influence of the climate in its native region. The Venezuelan Criollo is also close to the Colombian Criollo. There are few phenotypic differences between horses from the states of Apure, Aragua and Mérida.

The head is rectilinear, sometimes slightly convex, and generally triangular in shape, with a broad base. Cheeks are prominent, eyes triangular and expressive. Medium-sized ears point upwards. The neck is of medium length, rather thick, with little definition at the throat. The chest is relatively narrow. The back is generally straight and strong, the rump rather swollen and short. The limbs are slender, ending in small, sturdy paws. Mane, tuft and tail are thick and abundant, but dewlap is rare.

Coat
The coat is generally characterized by the expression of the Dun gene (which includes the bay dun and grullo coats), with black manes and markings, but a wide variety of other coats are possible, including chestnut, bay in all shades, black, gray, roan, strawberry roan, palomino and piebald.

Temperament, care and selection
The Venezuelan Criollo is reputed to be very sober, requiring little food intake. They are well adapted to the climatic conditions of their region. Reputedly calm in character, they are responsive when called upon. Thanks to its selection for stock with livestock, it has inherited great endurance. Hematological alterations are considered to be one of the main unfavorable factors for horse breeding on the Venezuelan plains. A parasitological study carried out on two Venezuelan ranches shows that infestations with Trypanosoma evansi (7.3%), Babesia equi (1.4%) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum (32.9%) are possible, and are responsible for significant losses in farm horses.

Genetics
The Venezuelan Criollo has excellent genetic diversity. All South American horse breeds seem to belong to the same gene cluster, noted "h", which is notably the case in this breed, this cluster also being common to Iberian horses and Sorraia. Several particularly rare alleles, although not very frequent, were detected in the 214 Venezuelan Criollo horses analyzed for the purposes of the study by E. G. Cothran and his team in 2011. The Venezuelan Criollo is genetically very close to the Chilote and the Colombian Paso Fino, and is also genetically close to the Puerto Rican Paso Fino. The greater closeness to these three breeds compared to other South American Criollo is consistent with the breed's history, with the main ancestors of the Venezuelan Criollo coming from the Caribbean.

The Venezuelan Criollo was the subject of a study to determine the presence of the DMRT3 gene mutation responsible for extra gaits: the study of 21 subjects failed to detect the presence of this mutation in 16.7% of the horses tested, and the existence of horses with extra gaits was confirmed among the breed.

Usage
The Venezuelan Criollo is an essential partner for farm and ranch work. There is a difference in use according to sex: the horses put to work are very generally the males, while the females are put to breeding. These horses are mainly used as mounts for transporting people and goods in rural Venezuela. In particular, they are used for work riding with livestock. This use is predominant on Venezuela's large cattle farms. These horses help the Llaneros to stimulate, fetch and capture cattle destined for meat production in the country.

These horses also make good touring horses. Cross-breeding with other breeds is rare, as the horses resulting from such cross-breeding are generally less adaptable to the climatic conditions of the Llanos.

Breeding spread
The breed is unique to Venezuela, and is divided into three sub-populations in the states of Apure, Aragua and Mérida. The teams of E. G. Cothran and Raymi Castellanos also list it as a "local breed". However, there is no record of numbers, particularly on DAD-IS (2018).

According to the Delachaux guide (2014), awareness is growing of the large number of crosses made in the breed (which contradicts information from Venezuelan studies). According to Cothran et al. the excellent genetic diversity and large numbers make the threat of extinction very low, and should ensure the future of the Venezuelan Criollo, unless a genetic bottleneck occurs.