Sanfratellano horse
The Sanfratellano Horse owes its name to the area of origin of the breed: the Municipality of Sanfratellano in the province of Messina. This breed still lives in the wild, free and wild, on a wooded area of over 11,000 hectares located mostly in the province of Messina (in the territory of the municipalities of Acquedolci, Caronia, Militello Rosmarino, S.Agata Militello, Sanfratello and Mistretta ), on the northern slopes of the Nebrodi Mountains, in an area that extends between the hill and the mountain.
The Sanfratellano Horse stands out for its particular morphological conformation tending to be long-limbed, for its good health and its robustness, which makes it capable of providing very advantageous performances. The Sanfratellano satisfies its hunger only with a little grass and shrubs in the undergrowth and suffers the rigors of the cold.
Due to its particular sobriety and strong cross-country ability, the Sanfratellano is considered an animal with excellent performance, even in the most uncomfortable conditions of work fatigue and adverse climate. Furthermore, the Sanfratellano Horse is credited with qualities of aesthetic beauty, nervousness, temperament, and the ability to stand out even in sporting competitions, despite its robust but light physical structure.Sicilian breeders have been working for decades on a notable improvement of the characters through reproduction by crossbreeding, with the aim of increasing the possibilities of its use in the field of horse riding where strength, agility and resistance are particularly suitable characteristics. To these qualities, the Sanfratellano horse also combines those of elegance and reliability: it is particularly useful on difficult countryside itineraries, for crossing ravines, ditches and paths full of stones, very steep climbs and descents.
The Sanfratellano Horse is also used for the production of excellent mules (50% of Italian mule production takes place in Sicily), and has always found excellent use also in light transport and agricultural work. With the growth of equestrian tourism, the Sanfratellano is always highly sought after for its powerful locomotive system, exceptional resistance and docility of character.
