Roman Noses

A reader named Corujalinda made an interesting comment on the post about the Campolina horse. She said that technically they don't call the distinctive nose of the Campolina a "Roman nose."

A Roman nose (which is nicely called a Ramskopf or "Ram's head" in German) has a curve that starts up between the ears and arches down to the muzzle. The Campolina ideally has a flat forehead, and then an arch beginning just below the eyes and running down to the muzzle. She said she's heard this kind of head simply called "jeitinho Campolina" (Campolina style) or "um nariz bem pronunciado" (a well-pronounced nose).

To clarify, she sent me this Wikicommons photo of a horse with a true Roman nose, and a photo of a good quality Campolina, showing the flat upper forehead and convex lower profile. 

Here is the Roman nose:

And here is the ideal Campolina nose:

 

Thanks Corujalinda for your feedback and the links to the photos.

Comments

[cheryl palmer]

I love the so called "banana" head of these elegant looking Campolina horses. Something that has not been brought up and that should be considered: Their nose is a very brave nose out on the trail as conformation correlates with personality traits and behavioral traits. In contrast horses that have small heads and little prick ears and more of an concave and dainty shaped head are more timid, afraid of things, and more spooky. Fine boned, thin skinned horses in general are more reactive and timid. I appreciate and value the conformation and head shape of these horses and there is definitely a correlation between their structure, their personality, and their behavior. That's why they were bred to be a very level headed, stable minded animal. Give me a Campolina horse every time!
Cheryl Palmer

[Tamara Baysinger]

Interesting, thanks. I have heard the type of profile in the second photo called "sub-convex." It appears in Barbs, but is usually not that dramatic.

[Lauren]

That's interesting, I didn't realized there was a specific difference. I also didn't know of many breeds where a roman nose was pretty much encouraged except for the Cleveland Bay.

[globalhorseculture]

Salve Dario - I have not seen either of these noses on an Akhal Teke or other Central Asian horses. Is it common? Do you have any links to pictures?

I think in the US at least there is little distinction, because the Roman nose in general is not particularly common outside of a few draft breeds.

It may be that in a country like Brazil where there are many Iberian influences, there is a range of descriptions for the variations on convexity. I wonder if that is also the case in European countries where convexity is common in breeds like the Kladruber, Lipizzan, Lusitano, etc.

Do you know?

Thanks for stopping by again! Always nice to hear from you.

[DarioTW]

Salve,
I think the 'Campolina nose' is just more refined 'Roman nose' in a 'style' of horses' heads from Central Asia, including the Akhal-Teke.
anyway, it is a very interesting topic on these old American breeds descended from the ancient Iberian horses, lastly with some or a lot English Thoroughbreds infusion...