Pantanal Horse

In 2004, we started the raising of horses of the Pantanal breed (“pantaneiro”) as a strategy to aggregate the cultural aspect to the sustainable actions of the Araras Pantanal Eco Lodge .

The traditional economic activity of the people from Pantanal is closely linked to extensive cattle farming, for meat production purposes. In these huge properties, the Pantanal horse has been and continues to be fundamental since colonization and the exploring of the plains.

The horse is also a very attractive element for tourism, giving the visitor the opportunity, even in flooded periods, to explore large areas.

Thus, uniting the concepts of regional tradition to the ones of tourism, also seeking to aggregate safety in the execution of the horseback riding activity, we started our own horse nursery, the BAFO DA ONÇA Horse Farm.

Currently, this horse farm boasts a large number of awards, and has become an important supplier of animals in the elite, sports and work categories.

Main characteristics of the Pantanal horses:

1. They have developed, over more than 200 years of adaptation to the Pantanal plains, resistance of their hoofs, and they are able to maintain with them submerged in the wet areas for long periods, on the contrary of horses from other breeds, which, in little time, suffer the loss of the hoofs and consequent death.
2. They have the capacity to feed even with their nostrils submerged.
3. Relatively small in size, with 1.45 m of minimum height (withers), this animal, due to the flood area conditions, has front traction, and not rear, as in the other breeds.

With a lot of endurance and little feed demand, the Pantanal horse is the main ally of the people from Pantanal. Such intimacy is translated into extreme docility, comfortable trot and high ability in the rural work and with the cattle.