Horse Breeding: The Different Types of Horse Breeds

Horse Breeding

There are as many horse facts as there are breeds of horses and fanciers to raise them. The smallest of horses is called the Fallabella Miniature Horse, and it can be housebroken and kept as an inside pet. Outside of this breed though, a horse is a horse, not an animal like a big dog.

All horses on the Earth today can trace their ancestry to the Arabian horse. These majestic horses used to live with their owners in tents in the desert, and they are still a breed that is hardy and forms close attachments to its people. The Arabian is a hot-blooded horse, though, and when American farmers needed horses to pull plows and not just carts, they needed something bigger.

They learned from what their European cousins had already done, and bred the Arabs with larger horses called cold-bloods or drafters. This not only developed into a bigger horse, facts confirm, but it also calmed the temperament somewhat, since Arabs can be high-strung.

For racing, the best horse, facts state, is the Thoroughbred. This is arguably the fastest horse, unless you're racing a quarter of a mile. The winners in short races like this are usually American Quarter Horses, whose very name comes from the race it was bred to win. Quarter Horses also make great cattle horses, with a cow sense that can tell them what a calf will do, before it does it.

For those who enjoy the beauty of different and unusual colors of horses, there are breeds who carry genes that insure colorful patterns in their young. The American Paint horse and the Pinto Horse both have colorful coat patterns of black, brown, or other colors and white. The Paint horse must have both parents registered as Paints, Quarter Horses or Thoroughbreds. Pinto horses, on the other hand, are any horses with the pinto markings. Their background may be of any breed.

Appaloosas are also colorful. They make have a blanket and spots on their rump, or they may be speckled and spotted all over. There are different patterns of Appaloosas, and they can be very striking. Their patterns include snowflake, blanket, leopard and semi-leopard. In build, both Paints and Appaloosas are built normally like the typical Quarter Horse.

The Morgan Horse, facts say, is another breed that most people agree was founded in this country. He is perfectly suited for hauling carts or small wagons, and he is a hardy breed with sound feet.

The main Draft horses used in the United States are the Clydesdale, the Percheron and the Belgian. Clydesdales are usually bay in color, and are the most well-known draft horse breed, thanks to the Budweiser Clydesdales of St Louis, MO. Percherons can be gray, black or white. They are born black and get lighter as they age. Belgians are usually blond in color, and they are the main work horse for Amish farmers.

The Amish also usually use a special breed for pulling their carts. The Standardbred is generally dark brown, bay or black in color, and they have a choppy trot that it useful for pulling but difficult to ride astride. Amish horses are usually hardy, and you'll rarely see them blanketed, even in the coldest of weather, since they allow them to grow thick winter coats.