The pedigree of Costalero XV is one rich in the history of the Carthusian Horse. It is said that the breeding of the Spanish Carthusian horse began in the 1400’s via the Carthusian monks in Spain. Exactly how the monks acquired the horses is a mystery.

One popular theory starts with the Zamora brothers who purchased a Stallion by the name of El Soldado and bred him to two mares A colt and a filly were produced, and the colt, a dark grey, was named Esclavo and went on to become the foundation sireof the Carthusian breed.

Esclavo went on to produce many offspring, which were sold to breeders in Jerez. One group of mares sired by Esclavo around 1736 were sold to Don Pedro Picado, who then gave part of them to a group of Carthusian monks in the settlement of a debt and sold the rest to Antonio Abad Romero where they were absorbed into the main Andalusian breed.

The stock given to the monks was bred into a special line, known as Zamoranos, and specific breeding of the Carthusian horse was established by the 1400s.

Throughout the following centuries, the Zamoranos bloodlines were guarded by the Carthusian monks, to the point of defying royal orders to introduce outside blood from the Neapolitan horse and central European breeds.

They did, however, introduce Arabian and Barb blood to improve the strain. By the 1700s and 1800s the Carthusian strain was beginning to become well established. The Carthusian monks sold a large number of horses to Don Pedro and Juan Jose Zapata, which were subsequently purchased in 1854 by Don Vincent Romero y Garcia, a Jerez landholder.

Through his breeding expertise, Don Vincent improved the breed quality without introducing outside blood. Today, the Carthusian strain is raised in state-owned studs around Jerez de la Frontera, Badajoz and Cordoba.

These horses were known for having a light head with a slightly convex profile, small ears and a broad forehead. The neck is generally well arched, the back short and broad and the croup sloped.

Modern Carthusian horses maintain these characteristics and are known for their excellent conformation. They are highly suitable for dressage.

References Carthusian Oklahoma State University; DeYoung, Donna, All About the Cartujano Horse , Andalusian Horse Club;Bongianni, Maurizio (editor) (1988).Simon & Schuster's Guide to Horses and Ponies