Pentro horse

The Pentro Horse (Italian: Cavallo Pentro) is a breed of horse originating in the area of Isernia, in the Molise region of Italy. It is one of the fifteen indigenous horse "breeds of limited distribution" recognised by the AIA, the Italian breeders' association.[1] It takes its name from the ancient Samnite tribe of the Pentri. Like many Italian breeds the Pentro is raised on open land year-round, where it has to fend off wolves, which have returned to the Italian countryside in considerable numbers.

Cavallo Pentro
Country of originItaly, native to Molise
Breed standards

The Pentro horse is threatened with extinction.[2] The total population is about 250, of which no more than 150 display the morphological characteristics of the breed. The surviving members live in the Pantano della Zittola, a broad plain extending over about 2200 hectares, lying on the edge of the Abruzzo National Park in the mountainous region between Abruzzo and Molise.[3] There is no established conservation program in the area and the horses there are raised as feral animals viewed as characteristic fauna of the land.[2]

References
  1. Cavallo Pentro: Standard Di Razza (in Italian). Associazione Italiana Allevatori. Archived 13 July 2008.
  2. G. Cicia, E. D’Ercole, D. Marino (2003). Costs and benefits of preserving farm animal genetic resources from extinction: CVM and Bio-economic model for valuing a conservation program for the Italian Pentro horse. Ecological Economics 45: 445–459.
  3. Arianna Bruzzone, Daniela Lamartino, Michele Blasi, Fabio Pilla (2003). The Pentro horse: genetic characterization by microsatellite markers. Italian Journal of Animal Science 2: 223-230.


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