It is hard to believe when you see a racehorse in full flight that sixty million years ago the ancestors of the modern day horse were no larger than a small dog.
Evolution is indeed a wonderful process that, in order to suit differing environments, has given us varieties of the animal ranging in size from the tiny Shetland pony to the massive carthorse, and a range of skills that again extend from the tireless carthorse to the swift elegance of the Arab.
One of the reasons for these differences is the process of 'breeding'. This entails maintaining the purity of the bloodline, in a manner that might be compared to the 'arranged marriage'?
The Spanish have a tradition of maintaining such purity in their horse's bloodlines, consequently the Iberian peninsula boasts many of the world's most highly prized breeds: Andalucian, Lusitano (Portugal), Lippizzaner, Alta Real and obviously Arab - the original breed somehow adopted during the conquest of their lands by the Moors centuries ago.
In much the same way that there are different varieties of horses, so there are also different types of riding school. Even here on a tiny island like Ibiza we are served by a variety of different options.
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