Horse Breeds and Markings

Have you ever looked at a horse or pony and wondered exactly what breed that particular horse might be. If you break it into three categories the first would be from purist lines like the Arab, Barb, and Thoroughbred known as "hotbloods", the second are European heavy horses called "coldbloods", and the third are "warmbloods" which are a combination of the first two.

There are a couple of breeds I would like to mention and describe their background and uses. The reason I select the following breeds is based on what I have owned or ridden in the past and present. Also, some of the saddle pad choices I buy are for western pleasure, but I still have my English tack from earlier riding days.

The Quarter Horse

This horse has a muscular physique especially in the hindquarters and has a good conformation. A wide chest, short back, and a short and wide head are more of the characteristics in this horse. The many uses of the quarter horse range from barrel racing, steer roping, cattle cutting, trail and pleasure riding and has been used for showjumping and eventing especially when crossed with the Thoroughbred. The Quarter horse was first breed to develop in the Americas dated back to 1611. The early settlers adopted the these horses for the hobby of racing in the distance of a quarter mile, therefore the name Quarter horse was named.

The Thoroughbred Horse

The Thoroughbred has a fine-lined physique the legs and back are lengthy along with the neck. They have well formed knees and hocks, to be able to withstand pressure at top speed. This horse may take a little longer to mature and generally have a nervous and excitable nature they do not tolerate extreme climates and probably would not survive in the wild. The Thoroughbred is courageous and bold they enjoy galloping and jump very well, also this horse is always of solid colors. The primary use of this horse is flat racing and brings quite a bit of revenue if you are fortunate to have the right horse bases on bloodlines and the "heart" of the horse.

Markings of Horses

Colors and markings list of a bay (light, bright, dappled or dark), brown, black, grey (light, dark, dappled, flea-bitten, or iron gray), chestnut (liver, bright, sorrel), roan (strawberry, red, blue), also cream, dun, palomino, piebald (black and white), and skewbald (any other color and white) or spotted. These cover most of the names but there are more, the markings referred to on the face and or the feet would be a star, stripe, snip, blaze, and white face. The markings are usually white hair in specific places on the horse and are commonly on the feet as well known as stocking, sock, or partial sock.

This article describes only two of the many breeds that are known today, I chose these because I have had the pleasure of riding and owning these specific horses and they have brought me a lot of fun and joy riding them both. There are books that are available if you want to find out more about them be sure to check them out it is very interesting and informative reading.

Happy Riding!