A stud-book was created and approved in 1987 by the Brazilian government; nevertheless in 2017 the authorization to carry out the genealogical records of the breed was revoked by the Ministry of Agriculture ("Portaria n. 1.537/2017" do MAPA published in Diário Oficial da União, on 26 July 2017, section 1, page 17[2]) causing the loss of the breed's lines records.

Over time the horses have evolved into a small breed very well-adapted to surviving in the local semi-arid climate of the Northeast Region.

[3] In 1535 it was introduced into the Northeast Region of Brazil in Bahia and Pernambuco[3] through the efforts of Duarte Coelho, first grantee of the Captaincy of Pernambuco, and Tomé de Sousa the first governor of Bahia and Brazil[4] that when establishing along the Rio dos Currais (now São Francisco River) cattle farms (provided with cattle and horses) was the precursor of this new breed.

It withstands dry and hot environments and can feed and subsist on low nutritional quality plants with scarce or unhealthy water.

Besides having a low stature (typical of the Brazilian corral horse breeds[6]) it also resists hoof wear due to its very hard hooves.

[10] It is likely the Associação Brasileira de Criadores de Cavalo Nordestino (ABCCN), whose authorization to maintain the genealogical records of the breed was revoked a year later, na Portaria n. 1.537/2017 do MAPA published on the Diário Oficial da União, on the date 26 July 2017, section 1, page 17.