The Quarter Horse

The American Quarter Horse is reputed to be the oldest all-American breed. The origins of this breed started as early as the 1600s, soon after settlement of the Americas by the British.

Just like the people who settled the new world, the horse evolved from a mixture of different breeds to become the first breed native to the United States of America.

The Spanish horses of the conquistadors that had gone wild, such

as the Mustang is a feral horse found now in the western United States. The name Mustang comes from the Spanish word mesteño or monstenco meaning wild or stray. The Morgan, Arabians, Cleveland Bays, Barbs, and other draft type breeds were fused together to make a horse with heavily muscled hindquarters that was stout, fast and agile and could rope, bulldog, cut and drive cattle.

These horses were used for the various farm chores like pulling logs, plowing pulling light carriages, and riding. He was around 14.3 hands and weighed about 1100 pounds, had short muscular legs, huge hindquarters and a quiet disposition. When the new English horses were bred to the native stock, a compact horse with began to develop.

This is a breed of horse originally bred for sprinting short distances, typically races of a quarter mile or less. Being the most popular breed in the United States, and is the largest breed society in the world, with over 3.2 million registered worldwide.

It is commonly believed to be the world's fastest horse over short distances, and has been clocked at 63 mph. The compact body of the Quarter Horse is well-suited to the intricate and speedy maneuvers required in calf roping, reining, cutting, working cow horse, barrel racing and other western riding events, especially those involving live cattle. The versatile Quarter Horse is also shown in English disciplines, driving, and many other equestrian activities.

The influence of Thoroughbreds like Janus contributed genes crucial to the development of the colonial "Quarter Miler," or "Quarter Mile Horse." They were called this, as they could beat any horse in a race over a quarter mile. Thus the name Quarter horse.

This was a speedy working man's racer, sometimes referred to as the "Celebrated American Quarter Running Horse." The resulting horse was small, hardy, and quick, and was used as a work horse

during the week and a race horse on the weekends As flat racing became popular with the colonists, the Quarter Miler gained even more popularity as a sprinter over courses that, by necessity, were shorter than the classic racecourses of England, and were often no more than a straight stretch of road or flat piece of open land. When matched against a Thoroughbred, local sprinters often won.

As the Thoroughbred breed became established in America, many colonial Quarter Mile mares were included in the original American stud books, starting a long association between the Thoroughbred breed and what would later become officially known as the "Quarter Horse," named after the distance at which it excelled.

Westward Expansion

In the 1800s, pioneers heading West needed a hardy, willing horse. On the Great Plains, settlers encountered horses that descended from the Spanish stock Hernán Cortés and other Conquistadors had introduced into the viceroyalty of New Spain, which today includes the Southwestern United States and Mexico.

These horses of the west included herds of feral animals known as Mustangs, as well as horses domesticated by Native Americans, including the Comanche, Shoshoni and Nez Perce tribes. As the colonial Quarter Mile Horse was crossed with these western horses, the pioneers found that the new crossbred had innate "cow sense," a natural instinct for working with cattle, making it popular with cattlemen on ranches.

Breed Characteristics

The modern American Quarter Horse has a small, short, refined head with a straight profile, and a strong, well-muscled body, featuring a broad chest and powerful, rounded hindquarters. They

usually stand 14-16 hands high, although some Halter-type horses may grow as tall as 17 hands.

There are two main body types: the stock type and the racing type. The stock horse type is shorter, more compact, stocky and well muscled, yet agile. The racing Quarter Horse is built to sprint short distances ranging from 220 - 870 yards, and therefore is somewhat taller and smoother muscled than the stock type, more closely resembling the Thoroughbred.

Stock type

Reining and cutting horses are on the small side, with quick, agile movement and very powerful hindquarters. Western pleasure show horses are often slightly taller, with a somewhat more level topline (though still featuring the powerful hindquarters characteristic of the Quarter Horse) and smooth gaits. Horses shown in-hand in Halter competition are larger yet, with a very heavily muscled appearance, while retaining small heads with wide jowls and refined muzzles.

Racing and hunter type

Quarter Horse race horses have long legs and are leaner than their stock horse counterparts, but are still characterized by muscular hindquarters and powerful legs. The show hunter type is slimmer, more closely resembling a Thoroughbred, usually reflecting a higher percentage of appendix breeding.

Colours

Quarter Horses come in nearly all colors. The most common color is sorrel, a brownish red, part of the color group called chestnut by most other breed registries. Other recognized colors include bay, black, "brown" (genetically a variation on bay), buckskin, palomino, gray, dun, red dun, grullo (also occasionally referred to as blue dun), red roan, blue roan, bay roan, perlino, and cremello.In the past, spotted or pinto colors were excluded, but now with the advent of DNA testing to verify parentage, the registry accepts all colors as long as parents are registered.

Temperament

These animals possess a very kind temperament which makes them very easy to train and maintain. They possess gentle temperament and people oriented nature. The gentle nature and the versatility of the Quarter Horse ensures its suitability for all levels of rider. Beginners however should start with an older, educated horse.

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