Persian Horse
The origin of the Persano horse is traditionally traced back to the year 1742, when Charles III of Bourbon started the selection to create the "Persano government breed". To this end, he began to crossbreed Neapolitan, Sicilian, Calabrian and Pugliese mares with stallions of the Oriental Turra breed on the Persano estate in Campania. In a dispatch dated 31 December 1763, Charles III ordered the introduction of some sire horses from Andalusia to improve the breed. Subsequently, some purebred Arabians and Persians were also introduced.
For more than a century the Persano was considered one of the finest breeds existing in Italy. This was possible thanks to the large number of measures that were taken to preserve the genetic heritage of the "Royal race", as Charles III defined it.
The inclusion of some Mecklenburg breeders "polluted" the purity of the breed, which was officially suppressed with a decree issued in 1874 by the Minister of War, Cesare Ricotti. All the specimens were thus sold in the animal markets of Salerno.
It was only in 1900 that the breed was officially rebuilt, thanks to a new decree issued by the then Minister of War, which also sanctioned its division into two groups:
1st pure oriental blood Luati group
2nd group Melton pure English blood
The mares, chosen by a commission of high-ranking cavalry officers and veterinarians, were discovered among the neighboring breeding farms and the cavalry regiments and schools.
Following the suppression of the quadruped supply center in Persano in 1954, the breed was reduced to around fifty mares, and transferred to the Quadruped Collection Post in Grosseto, under the Ministry of Defence.
In terms of conformation, the breed has an elongated head with a long neck. The shoulder is rightly sloped, the withers are pronounced and the dorsal-lumbar line is short; the loins are short, the croup is sloping and short; the chest is broad and the chest is deep. The limbs are regular, and quite slender; the joints are also regular and the gait is very harmonious and elegant; the aplombs are regular and the foot is relatively small.
