Equine Breeds
Equine Science & Technology
Equine Breeds
Feral- a horse that was once domesticated and has
become wild.
A breed of horse may be defined as a group of horses
having a common origin and possessing certain
well-fixed distinctive, uniformly transmitted
characteristics that are not common to other horses.
Equine Breeds
Draft horses are large and usually 14 to over 17 hands
in height and over 1,500 lb. in weight.
They are sometimes referred to as cold-blood horses.
The term refers to the quiet, calm temperament of
these breeds.
Equine Breeds
Draft Horse Breeds
Belgian
 The Belgian breed originated in Belgium.
 Directly descended from the Old Flemish ancestry.
 Bay, chestnut, and roan are the most common colors.
 The Belgian is noted for its draftiness, being the widest,
deepest, most compact, most massive, and lowest set of
any draft breed.
Equine Breeds
Clydesdale
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This Scotch breed of draft horse derives its name from the
valley of the River Clyde, located in Scotland.
Weight ranges from 1,600 to 2,400 lbs. and stands from 16
to 19 hands in height.
The breed is known for a moderate amount of fine feather
or long hair at the rear of the legs below the knees and
hocks.
Equine Breeds
Clydesdale
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Bay and brown, with white markings are the most
characteristic colors.
Equine Breeds
Percheron
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The Percheron originated in northwestern France, in the
ancient district of La Perche.
Most Percherons are black or gray, with an occasional bay or
chestnut.
Percheron is noted for its handsome clean-cut head, excellent
temperament, and longevity.
Equine Breeds
Shire
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The Shire breed originated on the low, marshy lands of East
central England.
The great size and bulk of this breed are derived directly
from the Great Horse of the Middle Ages.
The Shire is taller than any other draft breed.
Common colors are bay, brown, and black with white
markings.
Equine Breeds
A light horse is usually 12 to 17 hands in height and weighs
900 to 1,400 lbs. They are usually used for riding,
showing, and racing.
A pony, on the other hand is smaller, usually less than 14.2
hands and weighing 500 to 900 lbs.
Equine Breeds
Pony Breeds
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Haflinger
Shetland
Welsh Pony
Dales Pony
Exmoor Pony
Exmoor Pony
Dales Pony
Haflinger
Equine Breeds
American Walking Pony
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Breed originated near Macon, Georgia from a foundation
cross of Tennessee Walking Horse and Welsh Pony.
Used for pleasure riding and as mounts for children and
small adults.
All colors accepted.
Equine Breeds
Shetland Pony
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Native to the Shetland Islands, which lie 100 miles north of
Scotland.
One of the oldest breeds in existence
All colors accepted.
Equine Breeds
Light Horse Breeds
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Akhal-Teke
American Crème Horse
American Curly
American Mustang
American Walking Pony
American Warmblood
Akhal-Teke
American Mustang
Equine Breeds
Light Horse Breeds
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Appaloosa
Arabian
Buckskin
Cleveland Bay
Cracker Horse
Dutch Warmblood
Buckskin
Arabian
Cleveland Bay
Equine Breeds
Light Horse Breeds
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Hackney
Lipizzan
Miniature Horse
Missouri Fox Trotter
Morab
Morgan
Norwegian Fjord
Morgan
Lipizzan
Norwegian Fjord
Equine Breeds
Light Horse Breeds
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Paint
Palomino
Paso Fino
Pinto
Pony of the Americas
Quarter Horse
Saddlebred
Saddlebred
Paso Fino
Equine Breeds
Light Horse Breeds
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Selle Francais
Standardbred
Dan Patch Story
Tennessee Walking Horse
Thoroughbred
Trakehner
Selle Francais
Equine Breeds
The males of the ass family are called jacks, and the females
jennets.
Asses are also commonly known as donkeys, burros, or
jackstock.
Long-Eared Breeds
 Mammoth Ass
 Standard Donkey
 Miniature Donkey
 Mule
Miniature Donkey
Equine Breeds
Appaloosa
 Originated in the United States- in Oregon, Washington,
and Idaho from animals that first came from Central Asia.
 Ancestors of the Appaloosa were introduced into Mexico
by the early Spanish explorers.
 For many years Appaloosa horses were owned by the Nez
Perce`.
Equine Breeds
Appaloosa
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Appaloosas may be black, bay, brown, chestnut, white with
dark spots over the loin and hips, white with dark spots
over the entire body, or mottled dark and white, or with
white spots over a dark body.
The eye is encircled by a white sclera, and the hooves are
stripped vertically black and white.
Equine Breeds
Arabian
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The foundation stock of the Arabian horse was obtained
from either the Egyptians or the Libyan tribes of northern
Africa.
Oldest breed of horses, and the foundation head of all other
light horse breeds.
Develop in the desert country of Arabia.
The Arabian breed is medium to small in size, has a
beautiful head and great endurance.
Equine Breeds
Arabian
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Predominating colors are bay, gray, and chestnut, with an
occasional white or black.
Equine Breeds
Morgan
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Known as the first family of American horses.
The early development of the breed took place in the New
England states.
Standard colors are bay, brown, black, chestnut; and white
markings are not uncommon.
The breed is noted for easy keeping qualities: stamina,
docility, beauty, courage, and longevity.
Morgan blood was used in laying the foundation of many
breeds.
Equine Breeds
Quarter Horse
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Quarter horses originated in the United States.
The Quarter horse is an ideal stock horse.
The most predominant colors of the breed are chestnut,
sorrel, bay, and dun. Palominos, blacks, browns, and roans
are not uncommon.
Equine Breeds
Quarter Horse
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Animals are disqualified for registration if they have paint,
pinto, appaloosa, or albino coloring.
Equine Breeds
Thoroughbred
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The history of the thoroughbred had its beginning in the
17th century, though the original lineage of the breed is as
old as civilization.
All U.S. Thoroughbreds are registered in the Jockey Club,
established in 1894. Membership in the club is by election.
Thoroughbreds are bay, brown, chestnut, black, or less
frequently gray.
Equine Breeds
Thoroughbred
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About one-third of the nation’s Thoroughbreds are bred in
Kentucky.
Racing and the unquestioned value of the Thoroughbred
for crossbreeding purposes assure the breed a bright future.
Equine Breeds
Paint Horse
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The paint horse represents a combination of breeding,
conformation and color.
Paint horses originated in the United States.
Paint horses are distinguished by two color patterns- they
must either be overo or tobiano.
Most tobianos have color on the head, chest and flanks and
some in the tail. The legs are nearly always white.
Equine Breeds
Paint Horse
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The overo often has jagged or lacy-edged white markings,
mostly on the midsection of the body and neck area.
Tobiano
Overo
Equine Breeds
Buckskin
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Buckskin horses originated in the United States largely
from horses of Spanish extraction.
Buckskin is a shade of yellow that may range from gold to
nearly brown-dun, red dun, or grulla (mouse dun).
The Buckskin is primarily a color breed with no particular
type favored.
Equine Breeds
Palomino
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The word palomino implies a horse of a golden color, with
white, silver, or ivory mane and tail.
Originally, Palominos were not considered either a breed or
a type but simply as a color.
Palomino horses originated in the United States from
animals of Spanish extraction.
Equine Breeds
Palomino
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Palominos are used as a stock, parade, pleasure, saddle, and
fine harness horses.
Equine Breeds
Tennessee Walking Horse
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Early settlers from Virginia brought the sturdy original
saddle stock to Tennessee.
The breed represents an amalgamation of the
Thoroughbred, Standardbred, Morgan, and American
Saddlebred breeds.
A great array of colors exists, including sorrel, chestnut,
black, roan, white, bay, brown, gray, and golden.
Equine Breeds
Tennessee Walking Horse
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An ideal horse for the amateur or the person who rides
infrequently.
Equine Breeds
Miniature Horse
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The miniature horse is a small model of a full sized horse;
it is not a dwarf.
Miniatures horses were used in England and Northern
Europe to pull ore carts in the coal mines as early as 1765.
They were also bred as pets for some of the royal families
of Europe.
Miniature horses cannot exceed 34 in. in height at the
withers.
Equine Breeds
Miniature Horse
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All colors are accepted.
Equine Gaits
A gait is a particular way of going, either natural or acquired
which is characterized by a distinctive rhythmic movement
of the feet and legs.
Walk
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A natural slow, flat footed, four beat gait.
It should be springy, regular, and true.
Equine Gaits
Trot
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A natural two-beat, diagonal gait in which the front foot
and the opposite hind foot take off at the same split second
and strike the ground simultaneously.
There is a brief moment when all four feet are off the
ground and the horse seemingly floats through the air.
This gait varies considerably according to breed and
training.
Equine Gaits
Canter (Lope)
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The canter is a slow, restrained, three-beat gait in which the
two diagonal legs are paired, thereby producing a single
beat that falls between the successive beats of the other
unpaired legs.
In the show-ring the lead should be toward the inside of the
ring. Thus when traveling to the left, the front leg should
lead (the horse is on the “left lead”).
Equine Gaits
Run (Gallop)
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The run or gallop is a fast, four beat gait in which the feet
strike the ground separately- first one hind foot; then the
other hind foot; then the front foot on the same side as the
first hind foot; then the other front foot, which decided the
lead.
In executing the gallop, the propulsion is chiefly in the
hindquarters.
Equine Gaits
Pace
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The pace is a fast, lateral two-beat gait in which the front
and hind feet on the same side start and stop
simultaneously.
The feet rise very little above the ground.
The pace is faster than the trot but not so fast as the run or
gallop.
Equine Gaits
Movement Defects
The feet of an animal should move straight ahead and parallel
to a centerline drawn in the direction of travel; any
deviations from this way of going constitute defects.
Forging
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The striking of the forefoot by the toe of the hind foot.
Equine Gaits
Movement Defects
Paddling
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Throwing the front feet outward as they are picked up.
This condition is predisposed in horses with toe-narrow or
pigeon-toed standing positions.
Equine Gaits
Pounding
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A condition in which there is a heavy contact with the
ground in contrast to the desired light, springy movement.
Defects in conformation that shift the horse’s center of
gravity can lead to pounding.
Rolling
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Excessive lateral shoulder motion, characteristic of horses
with protruding shoulders.