Reference Breeder:

 

 

Hierro del Bocado

 

 

The Bocado Line is the most popular and the most common strain of Andalusian.  For those new to the breed, the multitude of names used to describe these horses can be very confusing.  For the most part the names, “Bocado,” “Carthusian,” and “Terry” are all used as to describe the same horses.  

The Bocado is the prototypical Spanish horse.  He personifies the Warhorse Type.  The Bocado is what you probably envision when you think about an Andalusian.  Bocados are renowned for their great beauty, their baroque roundness, their abundant mane and tail, and their sweet temperaments.

A Short History of the Carthusian Horse.  The Monastery of the Cartuja was founded toward the end of the 15th Century.  According to the legend, the Carthusian monks’ first breeding stock was “Zamoranos” (stock descended from the famous stallion Esclavo and bred by the Zamora brothers).  The story is that the monks continued their breeding program until the Napoleonic wars caused them to lose their horses and the stewardship of the breed was transferred into the hands of a succession of various private owners.  This transfer was facilitated by the priest, Pedro Jose Zapata, who during the unsettled times around 1810, bought 60 mares and 3 stallions of the best Cartujano stock. 

Zapata is often given credit for the design of the brand in the shape of an iron bit – Hierro del Bocado.   The bit looks very similar to the letter “H”.  Together with his brother, Don Juan, Jose Zapata managed the stud until the death of Don Juan.  At that time the ownership passed into the hands of Don Juan’s son and then, in 1854, the son’s widow, Dona Maria Romero.   

In 1857 Don Vicente Romero Garcia acquired a portion of the stock and continued to use the “H” shaped brand of the bit, but added a small letter “c” to distinguish it.  In 1864 Romero acquired the balance of the breeding stock and the original brand (without the “c”).  Thus the Carthusian stock of Zapata was reunited.  (Pictured nearby are two rare photos of Don Vincente.  One photo was taken when he was about 90 years old and his gray stallion, Solo, was 23.)

After Don Vicente Romero’s death the stud passed through the hands of a succession of owners including Don Francisco Chica Navarro, Viscount of Montesina, Don Roberto Osborne, Don Juan Pedro Domecq y Nunez de Villavicencio, Don Fernando Terry, and then his widow Dona Isabel Merello.   Eventually, the stud passed into the hands of its current owner, EXPASA Agricultura y Ganaderia.

This story of the Bocado horses has been summarized form several sources, especially the website www.yeguadacartuja.com.