The Andrades are tall, powerful saddle horses, with rounded croup, head profile nearly straight, very functional, with elegant gaits, excellent for bullfighting, dressage and work.

Perhaps the most effective description of the Andrade bloodline comes from the breeder himself, Ruy d'Andrade:

"…they are short strong horses, valiant with the bulls, changing from calm to ardent if spurred and from ardent to obedient if left in peace; fast when running and rapid on turns; with good walk, sensible to the spurs, submissive with good mouth, endless strength in everything."

The selection process used by Andrade differed from that applied to the Veiga lineage according to Alfredo Baptista Coelho who writes: "Contrary to Manuel Veiga, [Ruy d'Andrade] started from a solid morphological base and tried to retain the most subtle qualities."

The Coudelaria Andrade - as we know it today - was formed with the stallion Principe VII, from Francisco Chica Navarro (FCN). He was a grandson and great grandson of the "chief of line" Primoroso.

Ruy d'Andrade discovered and saved from extinction a primitive Iberian horse which he called "Sorraia", because he found these horses along the Portuguese river Sorraia.

D'Andrade also found evidence in his research that in Iberia, the domestication of the horse took place as early as the Mesolithikum, or Neolithikum.