The Thoroughbred horse is a breed of equine commonly used for racing. Some people mistakenly refer to a purebred horse by this name. In fact, this breed is in a class all its own. This breed was cultivated in the 17th century when English breeders crossed their mares with Arabian stallions. All Thoroughbreds can be traced back to their Arabian stallion sires. This breed of horse is beautiful and stately. It is not an overly large horse and it is not too small either.

This breed stands between 15 and 17 hands. Coat colors seen include chestnut, bay, black or gray. White is very rare. You may come across Pinto or Palomino Thoroughbreds. Pinto is a splotched coloration pattern commonly in brown and white. Palomino is a golden coat color with a white main and tail. Pinto and Palomino colorations can be seen in a variety of different horse breeds. This breed is considered a hot blooded horse, which means it is bred for racing purposes.

One of the most distinctive things about this horse is that it cannot be formally registered unless conceived under what is called live cover. This means the mating between a registered stallion and mare must be observed. Although artificial insemination can be used with other breeds, it is not allowed with this breed. The average horse gestation period between breeding and birth of the foal is eleven months. Most foals are born in January because the breeder likely wants the foal to have an advantage against the competition in age group competitions.

Issues about Thoroughbred horses

There are some controversies related to this breed of horse. The rate of injury in racing is one such controversy. Some horses start racing around the age of 2 when their bones are not completely formed. This leads to accidents, although older horses can have accidents on the racetrack as well. Another controversy is that of selective breeding. Selective breeding is used to produce racetrack winners which may have a detrimental effect on the skeletal structure of the animal.

There are approximately 35,000 foals registered in the United States alone each and every year. The Thoroughbred horse is commonly bred in states like California, Kentucky and Florida. The business of breeding these horses is a big one and supports many employees including workers, jockeys, veterinarians and businesspeople to name a few. While these horses are primarily used as racehorses, they also excel at other equestrian pursuits like dressage and show jumping.

The Standard bred horse was developed in the United States as a race horse. They are most famous for carriage racing rather than saddle racing like Thoroughbreds. Trotting races were first held in the 17th century. These races were originally held in grass but made their way to official race courses with the horses sporting harnesses. There were a variety of different horses that were bred together to produce this particular breed. They include the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Norfolk Trotter, Thoroughbred, Hackney and the Morgan. The crossbreeding resulted in this new breed as we know it today.

Bred comparisons

While this breed is compared to the Thoroughbred, they are longer in body and feature more muscle than the Thoroughbred. Their disposition is placid and trainable. They enjoy spending time with their handlers and like meeting challenges. Their height ranges from 14 to 17 hands. The coat is most always brown or black. Other colors are not uncommon but are not seen as often as the brown or black coloration. There may be some white coloration on the nose.  This breed of horse comes in two varieties — trotters and pacers.

The trotter prefers to race at a trotting pace as its name suggests. Pacers have a pace gait which means the forelegs and hind legs move in unison. These horses can also of course perform all the other common horse gaits such as walking, cantering and galloping. Pacers can of course be taught to trot, and sometimes trotters can be taught to pace. If you are interested in buying or breeding this type of horse, some education is in order. Breeding horses takes more than just a stallion and a mare. There is a practice called selective breeding where sire and dams are chosen for their characteristics to produce a foal with certain traits.

There are various programs devoted to this breed including the American Standard bred Adoption Program. This program helps place former racehorses with homes as companion animals. If breeding horses is what you want to do, you should consider reading some books on the general subject of horse breeding. Some titles to consider include: The Horse Conformation Handbook by Heather Smith Thomas, The Foal is the Goal by Tena Bastian and Racehorse Breeding Theories by Frank J. Mitchell and Steven A. Roman.

Palomino is recognized as a color breed. This is because “palomino” is not a particular breed but a specific color of horse coat.  This color carries a mane and tail that are white and a coat that is of a lovely flaxen gold or chocolate color.  Cremello, a color that is almost white, may also be a possible to obtain.  Some visible markings may be found on the leg of the horse but there is nothing that extends to the rest of the body.  Although almost similar to buckskin which is also light gold, this horse has a darker mane and tail.  These horses are very priced as parade and show ring horses.  Palomino foals may have light-colored eyes but these will darken to brown as they grow older.

Breeding

There are several details that one has to know about breeding a palomino.  Two palominos will most definitely result to a palomino that can be cremello or chestnut.  Quarter Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse and American Saddlebred may also produce palominos.  Although rare, there are also some Thoroughbreds and Arabians that carry this color and these may be registered if they qualify.

There is a gestation period for Palominos which is more or less eleven months.  Most breeders prefer that Palominos will be produced on a January to have an edge against the competition of the horse’s age group.

More Information

The following sources would be very helpful when in search of more information about Palominos: Palominos by Victor Gentle, Palomino Horses by Tomas Micek and The Whole Horse Catalog by Steven Price.  The Palomino Horse Breeders of America would also not lack in information about these horses.

The power, splendour and trainability of the wonderful Oldenburg Horse are truly a fine thing.  But what else do we know about this horse?  Here is some information that may be of your interest.

Background

This horse’s bloodline is goes all the way back to the Fresian Horse.  This horse is named after a place at the center of the Hanoverian region of Gemany where it is bred.  Because this place is modest in size, there are only a few foals produced per year.  It is so little that they represent only a little percentage of registered horses.  Regardless, the Oldenburg Horse is the most treasured breed in the country.

Features and Uses

Oldenburgs are fast, strong and powerful especially that in the past these horses are originally bred to pull carriages.  Today, it stands out in different fields such as equestrian competitions, dressage and companionship.  They are predominantly black in color although other colors may also be encountered.

Breeding

Breeders from organizations that protect the bloodline of this horse mainly take charge of most of the breeding.  One of these organizations is the Oldenburg Breeding Society and International Sporthorse Registry.  These institutions help disseminate awareness of this breed.  Books and the internet can also be helpful in informing people.

In terms of breeding an Oldenburg, an option of acquiring a sire and dam, or buying a brood mare and then finding somebody else’s stallion may be chosen.  It can be crossbred with the Hanoverian, Spanish or Thoroughbred breeds.  It is advisable that you time the delivery of these horses during winter season.  This raises the chances of it being better than other horses of around the same age.  Wild horses on the otherhand are usually born during springtime.  Should you want a foal born during this season, then mating should take place in early fall.

The Nordlander Horse is typically not a well-known breed.  It is even not known for its real name but for its other name, Lofoten Horse.  So as not to remain ignorant of this breed, read on and learn more about it.

Origin

As the name hints, this breed is native to Norway.  It is regarded to be the country’s smallest native breed of horse.  There was time in the past when its population sharply dropped.  It was a good thing that later on the number dramatically increased.  Today, only a couple thousand of Nordlands exist.  This is because a lot of breeders and enthusiasts are unaware of its beautiful and majestic existence.

Uses

Although already replaced with machines and vehicles, Nordlanders made a great draft horses in the past.  Currently, they are more accepted as companion horses or wagon-pulling horses due to their ability to carry a significant amount of weight.

Features

In comparison to other horses, this horse appears to be smaller than the others.  In actuality, they are even considered by many people as a large pony.  Another thing that you would notice about this horse is its ruggedness.  It also has a straight and heavy neck graced with a thick and dense mane.  Its legs are massively muscled and it has some feathering to it.  These horses have a peculiar gait and are good trotters.  Its common colors for coats are bay, black, chestnut, gray and palomino.  Lastly, this horse is highly adaptable to harsh cold environments.

Breeding

As it already is, this horse is rare which makes it difficult to find outside of Norway.  A healthy sire and dam are necessary in breeding these horses.  A gestation period of about 11 months will have to take place.

There are plenty more specifics about breeding Norlanders.  There are also other sources like the internet and books where you can acquire more details.  You can get started  with the following:  Susan Mcbane’s Modern Horse Breeding: A Guide for Owners, Janet E. English’s The Complete Guide for Horse Business Success, and Karin Kattwinkle’s Your First Foal: Breeding for Beginners.

Mustang horses are quite familiar to and even beloved by many because of the popularity it gained from representing automobiles and sports teams.  It is apt that this horse is a mascot for such because it exudes freedom, strength and independence.  In fact, the English term for this breed comes from a Spanish word that means stray. This is very fitting since they are the very manifestation of the Spirit of the West.

Background

These horses are descendants of the Spanish horse which can further be traced back from the oldest breed of horse, the Iberian.  It was introduced to the New World by the Spanish conquistadors.  These horses are wild and free to roam in areas like in southwestern United States. Despite this fact, this horse cannot be loosely called wild because they have once been domesticated horses.  Therefore, the appropriate term to use to refer to them is feral.  There can only be on purely wild horse on earth and that is the Przewalski’s Horse in Mongolia.

During the early stages of the 1990s in the United States, there were more or less 2 million feral horses in the location.  They were mainly caught and tamed only to be sold, slaughtered for pet food, or used as soldier horses.  Although it is not as severe as in the past, this still happens to Mustangs of a particular age.  Today, only about 25,000 of these horses are left and most of them are found in Montana, Nevada and Oregon. There are now breeders from the country and protection acts that protect and preserve this spirited horse.  There are even organizations and agencies that offer adopting services for these horses.

Features

The physical features of Mustang Horses are similar to that of Spanish Horses.  Their coats are commonly in bay, black, chestnut, palomino (light tan) or roan.  Although savage and therefore stubborn, these horses are actually intelligent in nature and are able to adapt to human and animal environments.

If you are looking into beautiful, elegant, graceful and majestic horses, the Lipizzaner Horse should be on top of your list.  Whether goal is to show your horse, breed horses or just have a beautiful and intelligent companion horse, there is absolutely no reason why you should not go for this breed.

Background

Originally used as war horses ages ago, Lipizzaners were officially bred in the year 1950 in Austria by the sovereign prince of the its former ruling house.  As descendants of the world’s oldest horse breed, the Iberian, Lipizzaners are understandably rare and expensive.  There are only several thousands of this breed around the world.  This is the reason why putting up stallions, brood mares, colts, fillies and even geldings for sale can be a very lucrative business for breeders.  An organization devoted to this breed exists and it is called the Lipizzan Association of North America.

Characteristics

This breed’s head is of average size—not too big or too small.  They have big expressive eyes that mildly show a Roman profile.  Their necks have a graceful arch.  Lipizzaners stand at an average of about 14 to 16 hands.  Their bodies are solid and compact but muscular which makes them suitable for the High School dressage which they are known for.

They richly have fine and silky –smooth mane and tail.  Their coats usually start out as bay or black but over the years it will develop into their distinctive gray color.  The color of this breed’s adult coat very slowly surfaces only when they are about 4 to 10 years of age.  By this time, the coats would have already lightened to a beautiful white color and it will be kept like this for the rest of the 35-year lifespan of the horse.

Dressage

Lipizzaner horses are experts at executing a complicated series of successive levades called Airs Above the Ground.  They are considered to be the dancers in the realm of equids as they are able to do several elaborate moves.  A riding school was established in Vienna to develop the potentials of horses in dressage.  This school is called the Spanish Riding School which is the oldest riding school in the world.  It is named after the many Spanish horses that were in the expanse.  Only stallions that are at least four years old are admitted.  It takes about six years to complete a full training that has to be administered with patience and gentleness.  After which, the horses are then able to perform movements such as the

capriole, courbette, croupade and levade.

The Icelandic breed of horse can be one kind that you would consider if you are thinking of getting your hands on a draft or farm horse, a companion horse or a show horse.  Here are more details about this breed.

Background

The Icelandics have been around since 850 A.D.  Judging from its name, it is easy to tell that this breed originated from Iceland where there are over 70, 000 of these.  It was the Vikings who introduced and first used this breed for travelling.  This breed is originally a product of breeding different other breeds of horses.

Although there are Icelandics found in the Iceland, Canada and the United States, there are very little that can be found in other locations.  This is because there is a bylaw that mandates this breed to not be returned to Iceland if it is brought outside of the island.  One would be lucky to acquire this breed because then you’d be able to take account of its beautiful charcteristics.

Qualities

These horses are usually mistaken as ponies but they are not.  They are just miniscule in size ranging from an average of 12 to 14 hands.  Despite their size, these horses are muscled and specialize on strength.  As a matter of fact, they are able to carry one-third of their own body weight.  There is no particular coat color that can be quickly associated to this breed.

One peculiarity of the Icelandics is their distinctive gait.  These horses are capable of cantering, galloping, trotting and walking. They also have unique gaits termed as tolt and pace which are gaits especially for racing purposes. Depending on the breed and training, a horse may or may not have pace. Those that do are what we call five-gaited and an Icelandic is considered to be one.

Uses

These horses are smart and enjoy human interaction.  If it weren’t for the dependence and usage of machines in farming, Iclenadics would still be commissioned to draft and do farm work.  Today, they are mainly used for companionship, farming and shows.

There are several organizations whose primary concern is the Icelandic Horse.  One of which is the devoted United States Icelandic Horse Congress.  Some riding clubs and international contests highlight this breed.  There was even a World Championship for Icelandics that took place in Switzerland in the year 2009.

Most likely, only experts and enthusiasts know about the rare Holsteiner Horses or the fact that there are warm-blooded, cold-blooded and hot-blooded equines.  This article is designed to guide you around the basics of Holsteiners.

Background

There are horses that are ideal for racing like the Thoroughbreds.  These horses are considered hot-blooded.  Horses that are perfect for drafting are labelled as cold-blooded while horses that are suitable for sporting are considered warm-blooded.  A Holsteiner is a warm-blooded horse that originates from the Schleswig Holstein region in northern Germany.  It has roamed the world in as early as the 13^th century.  They are said to be the oldest kind of all warm-bloods.  Only about 6% of the horse population is Holsteiners which is largely the reason why it is rare.

Features

The head of this breed of horse is small in size with eyes that opens wide and expresses intelligence.

They stand at about 16 to 17 hands.  It has muscular hindquarters and slanted shoulders which make its body structure ideal for galloping and jumping.  With its superb posture, this horse is on top of the list when it comes to equestrian performances, therefore making it a favourite among equestrians who compete.  Its coat colors may be in bay or black.

Breeding

As a general rule in breeding horses, the acquisition of healthy studs and mares is crucial.  If a breeder does not own a stud horse in one’s stable, one may take the mare to studs of others.  This means that stud, mare, and foal owners can generate an income using this rental scheme of breeding.  Also, since this breed is also suitable for racing and are quite rare as well, they can be sold at a high price.

There are plenty other resources that you can rely on if you want more information about Holsteiner Horses.  You may join the American Holsteiner Horse Association where you can be updated with useful information such as news, ads, breeding guides, breeding directories and more.  You may also refer to the book of Romedio Thun  Hohenstein entitled: The Holsteiner Horse: History, Breeding, Performance.

The Hanoverian Horse is one breed of that is very often seen in Olympic Games and in English equestrian competitions.  Karin Kattwinkle and James M. Griffin wrote about how to breed horses including the Hanoverian in the books : Your First Goal: Breeding for Beginners and Veterinary Guide to Horse Breeding, respectively.  But to get you started, here is a broad background on the Hanoverian.

Origin

The Hanoverian is said to have originated from a port city in northwestern Germany. The history of this breed can be traced back from the Middle Ages.  During the 18^th century, the demand for this breed was at its peak when it was used mostly to pull wagons.  However, its popularity dwindled sometime after World War I.  It was not until after World War II that the breed regained its regard when sport horses became sought after.

Characteristics

Hanoverians are commonly bay, black, brown, chestnut or gray.  It is not usual for this breed to be mostly white.  These horses stand at about 16 hands. Their bodies are considerably muscled but not stocky. They are often crossed with Thoroughbreds to produce horses that are lighter, which then makes it more agile.  Aside from being quick, beautiful and elegant, these horses are found to be pliant, intelligent and highly trainable.  These features make Hanoverians suitable as companions or as work or show horses.  They can also be used pleasure riding, hunting and for equestrian purposes.

Breeding

Hanoverians are not as abundant as some other breeds are.  That is why breeding them is being practiced.  There are breeders who breed just any stallions and mares that are available and there are breeders who carefully pick out the finest sire and dam.  Breeders need to be conscientious in keeping the dam healthy so as not to encounter difficulties during its pregnancy and delivery.  It is recommended to keep them as purebreds but should you choose too crossbreed, the best partners are horses like the Arabian or the American Quarter Horse.

Information on the Hanoverian Horse is easily accessible from the internet.  Signing up for The American Hanoverian Society may also be helpful in knowing more details about the breed including the specifics on how to breed it.