The Mallorquín or Caballo Mallorquín is a rare breed of horse indigenous to the island of Mallorca

Mallorca

Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...

 in the Balearic Islands

Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...

, from which it takes its name. Identification of the breed was begun in 1985 by the Patronato para las Razas Autóctonas de Mallorca ("authority for the autochthonous breeds of Mallorca"). The Mallorquín is listed in the Catálogo Oficial de Razas de Ganado de España in the group of autochthonous breeds in danger of extinction. Its status was listed in 2007 as critical by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In approximately 2005 the number of Mallorquín horses recorded in the stud-book was 247, but a census conducted by the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino in 2003 identified only 172.

In some English-language publications, the Mallorquín and Menorquín

Menorquín

Menorcan is a dialect of Catalan spoken on the Balearic island of Menorca. It is very similar linguistically to the Mallorcan and Ibizan dialects of Catalan spoken in the Balearic islands....

 are not listed, but horses of the Balearic Islands are merged into a grouping called the "Balearic horse" or "Balearic pony." However, authoritative sources, including the Government of the Balearic Islands, the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino of Spain and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, make it clear that they are two separate breeds.

Characteristics

The Mallorquín may only be black, in all its variations; horses of any other colour can not be registered. Limited white facial markings are permitted, white leg markings are not. The minimum permissible height 1.52 metres (15 h) for males and 1.48 metres (14.6 h) for females. It has an upright mane, short, thick, but arched neck, a head with a convex profile but refined bone structure.

History

The origins of the breed are obscure. According to a genetic

Genetics

Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

 study of "Spanish Celtic horse breeds", the Mallorquín and Menorquín are connected to the now extinct Catalan horse, itself the result of introgression

Introgression

Introgression, also known as introgressive hybridization, in genetics is the movement of a gene from one species into the gene pool of another by the repeated backcrossing of an interspecific hybrid with one of its parent species...

 of populations with strong African genetic influence into an original population of Celtic horses introduced to the Iberian peninsula by the Celts in about the 8th century BC. The study showed clear grouping of the two Mediterranean breeds and clear separation from the five "Atlantic" Celtic breeds examined, the Asturcón

Asturcón

The Asturcón is a pony from the Asturias region of northern Spain. The ancient breed's ancestry is not known, although it is thought to have been from crosses between the Sorraia, Garrano, and the ancient Celtic pony...

, Gallego

Galician pony

The Galician pony , is a breed of pony developed in Galicia .It has had an influence on the Galiceno breed in Mexico and, allegedly, on the Mustang. It is thought to have developed partly from a mix of Celtic horses, Roman horses and horses brought to Galicia by the Swabians. The ponies are hardy...

, Jaca Navarra

Jaca Navarra

The Jaca Navarra , or Navarrese horse, is a breed of small horse from the Navarre region of northern Spain. It is listed in the Catálogo Oficial de Razas de Ganado de España in the group of autochthonous breeds in danger of extinction. The total population of the Jaca Navarra has been variously...

, Losino

Losino horse

The Caballo Losino or Caballo de Raza Losina is a breed of horse from the Valle de Losa in the province of Burgos, in Castile and León in northern Spain. It is listed in the Catálogo Oficial de Razas de Ganado de España in the group of autochthonous breeds in danger of extinction....

 and Pottok

Pottok

The Pottok or Pottoka , is an endangered, semi-feral breed of pony native to the Pyrenees of the Basque Country in France and Spain.It is considered an ancient breed of horse, particularly well adapted to the harsh mountain areas it traditionally inhabits.Once common, it is endangered through...

.

Uses

This breed is used by the local population only as a riding horse; farm work in the islands was traditionally done by the Balearic donkey. Mallorquín mares were traditionally bred to imported stallions, usually of French Trotter

French Trotter

The French Trotter is a horse breed from Normandy, France, developed in the 19th century from Norman horses with the addition of some English Thoroughbred and Norfolk Trotter blood.-History:...

 or Orlov Trotter

Orlov Trotter

The Orlov Trotter is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot, noted for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse. The breed was developed in Russia in the late 18th century by Count Alexei Orlov at his Khrenovskoy Stud farm near the town of Bobrov...

 breed, to produce Trotador Español, "Spanish Trotter", horses. Approximately 85% of the Spanish Trotter population is in Mallorca; however, genetic study has found little recent influence of the Mallorquín on the Spanish Trotter breed.