The Carthusian horse

This saddle horse was bred by Carthusian monks in Seville and throughout Andalusia. Since 1476, the monastery of Jerez de la Frontera has been breeding the Chartreux horse from the Spanish Genet, then the Andalusian, with the addition of the Arabian and the Barbe. The history of the Chartreux horse is an interesting one, as the breed originated with the purchase of a Lusitano horse by the Carthusian monks. The monks are famous for having first worked in the mining of metals such as iron, before embarking on the production of Chartreuse, a strong alcohol made from a blend of several hundred plants, the recipe for which remains a secret to this day. Another of their success stories, more equine in nature, was the development of the Chartreuse horse. The stud was disbanded in the 19th century, and the horses bred by the clerics were dispersed to carefully selected breeders.