Where Did You Get That Horse? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Spain

The Andalusian is an ancient breed of horse which originates from the Iberian Peninsula - primarily the countries of Spain and Portugal. It gets its name from the Spanish region of Andalusia, and is also known as the pura raza espaņol, or pure Spanish horse. Most Andalusian horses are grey or bay in colouring, with thick tails and manes. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the numbers of purebred Andalusians were falling, but have now stabilised, and examples of the breed can be found around the world.

Answer: Australia

Unlike most of the other horses in this quiz, the brumby is not a pedigree breed but is the generic name for the feral horses that roam wild through the uncultivated parts of Australia. They are the descendants of horses brought to Australia by European settlers, and the first references to feral brumbies date from the mid-nineteenth century.

While sometimes regarded as a nuisance, the wild brumbies are nowadays more often thought of as an integral part of the Australian landscape and culture. No-one knows where the name brumby came from, although there are many theories, including that it derives from one of several aboriginal words; from a farmer named Brumby; or even from an Irish word for "colt".

Answer: Scotland

The Clydesdale horse comes from the Clydesdale region of Scotland, which is named after the River Clyde which flows through it. It is a breed of draught horse, bred for heavy farm work such as pulling ploughs and farm carts.

It is believed to have originated in the seventeenth century from a cross between Flemish stallions from Belgium with local Scottish mares, with English Shire horses later added to the strain. Like most draught breeds, it became threatened when farming became mechanised in the twentieth century, but conservation efforts around the world have helped to protect it.

Answer: Germany

The Holsteiner takes its name from the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany, where it traces its origins as far back as the thirteenth century. The first Holsteiners are believed to have been bred by local monks as animals useful for both agricultural labour and as war horses when required.

Modern Holsteiner horses are now mostly bred for show-jumping, at which they have been very successful.

Answer: England

The Suffolk Punch is an old-established breed of English draught horse, named after the county of Suffolk in East Anglia. "Punch" was a word often used to describe short, stocky people, and the Suffolk Punch is indeed one of the smaller, chunkier, draught breeds.

It was bred locally as a farm horse and, like many such breeds, the numbers fell drastically after the Second World War when farming became almost wholly mechanised. Pure-bed English Suffolk Punch horses are still listed as "critical" by conservationist organisations.

Answer: United States of America

The Rocky Mountain horse is an American breed whose name is misleading, as it was first developed in the Appalachian Mountains region of Kentucky in the late nineteenth century. However, the stallion from which the breed originated came from the Rocky Mountains, and this gave them its name.

It is known as a "gaited breed", because it naturally moves with a particular gait known as a "single-foot", rather than the "trot" which most horses use. It was officially recognised as a breed with the foundation of the Rocky Mountain Horse Association in 1986.

Answer: Denmark

The Jutland horse takes its name from the Jutland Peninsula which forms part of the country of Denmark. It is a stocky, muscular horse originally bred for farm work. Although it was officially recognised as a breed in the nineteenth century, there is some evidence that similar horses were being used by Viking peoples in the ninth century.

In the twenty-first century their numbers are sadly depleted, with only around 1000 horses existing in 2011. The Danish brewery Carlsberg owns around 20 Jutland horses which it uses to transport beer kegs around its home city of Copenhagen.

Answer: France

Perche is a historic region of northern France, and home to the Percheron horse breed. As is usual with the more ancient horse breeds, their precise origin is lost in the mists of time, but horses that were recognisably Percherons are recorded in the region in the seventeenth century.

The first Percherons were probably war horses, but became adapted for farm work and hauling stagecoaches. They have been exported around the world, and there are Percheron Societies in the USA and UK, for example, that are dedicated to preserving the breed.

Answer: India

The Spiti is a small breed of horse native to the Himachal Pradesh state in northern India and gets its name from the Spiti River which flows through the region. It is a small, sure-footed breed, well-suited to the rough landscape of the Himalayan foothills. Locally, it is used as a pack animal as well as for riding.

Answer: Brazil

The Campolina horse has its origins in Brazil and is named not for the region in which it is found, but for the nineteenth-century farmer, Cassiano Campolina, who began to develop the breed around 1870.

A variety of different breeds from around the world were used to develop the stock, including Andalusians, Holsteiners and Clydesdale, and by 1934 the basic breed standard as it exists today was established. In Brazil it is popular as a dressage horse and is also used for pleasure riding and pulling carriages.