Nobilissimo, a Napoletano stallion
I recently met an Italian woman who came to my barn looking for classical dressage instruction. We chatted about Lusitanos as she owns one and talked about other classical type horses. In our conversation she described a horse that sounded like the type of horse that I have some prints depicting. After showing her my prints, she said the horse was a Neapolitan horse which I had not heard of. She explained that the breed was nearly extinct however in Italy they are trying to recreate this breed. In fact her trainer in Italy has been training one of the few of these horses in existence. Apparently this horse is a descendant of the Neapolitan horse. Today it is a recognized breed in Italy though the name has been changed slightly to the “Napoletano” horse.
The Neapoliton horse originated in the 15th century near Naples. The Lipizanner was developed from this breed. Today there are only 20 mares and 4 stallions descended from the bloodline of the Neapoliton horse.