Horse

:This article discusses ungulate mammals. For other meanings of horse, see Horse (disambiguation).

The origin of modern horse breeds

Horses come in various sizes and shapes. The draft breeds can top 20 hands (80 inches, 2 metres) while the smallest miniature horses can stand as low as 5.2 hands (22 inches, 0.56 metres). The Patagonian Fallabella, usually considered the smallest horse in the world, compares in size to a German Shepherd Dog.

Related Topics:
Draft breed - Patagonian Fallabella - German Shepherd Dog

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Several schools of thought exist to explain how this range of size and shape came about. These schools grew up reasoning from the type of dentition and from the horses' outward appearance. One school, which we can call the "Four Foundations", suggests that the modern horse evolved from two types of early domesticated pony and two types of early domesticated horse; the differences between these types account for the differences in type of the modern breeds. A second school -- the "Single Foundation" -- holds only one breed of horse underwent domestication, and it diverged in form after domestication through human selective breeding (or in the case of feral horses, through ecological pressures). Finally, certain geneticists have started evaluating the DNA and mitochondrial DNA to construct family trees. See: Domestication of the horse

Related Topics:
DNA - Mitochondrial DNA - Domestication of the horse

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Breeds, studbooks, purebreds and landraces

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The idea of a "purebred" animal gained importance in Europe during the 19th century but selective breeding has occurred almost everywhere man has kept horses. The Arabs had a reputation for breeding their prize mares to only the most worthy stallions, and kept extensive pedigrees of their "asil" (purebred) horses. During the late middle ages the Carthusian monks of southern Spain, themselves forbidden to ride, bred horses which nobles throughout Europe prized; the lineage survives to this day in the Andalusian horse or caballo de pura raza español.

Related Topics:
Purebred - Selective breeding - Arabs - Carthusian - Andalusian horse

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The modern landscape of breed designation presents a complicated picture. Some breeds have closed studbooks; a registered Thoroughbred, Arabian, or Quarter Horse must have two registered parents of the same breed, and no other criteria for registration apply. Other breeds tolerate limited infusions from other breeds—the modern Appaloosa for instance must have at least one Appaloosa parent but may also have a Quarter Horse, Thoroughbred, or Arabian parent and must also exhibit spotted coloration to gain full registration. Still other breeds, such as most of the warmblood sporthorses, require individual judging of an individual animal's quality before registration or breeding approval.

Related Topics:
Studbook - Thoroughbred - Arabian - Quarter Horse

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Breed registries also differ as to their acceptance or rejection of breeding technology. For example, all Thoroughbred registries require that a registered Thoroughbred be a product of a natural mating. A foal born of two Thoroughbred parents, but by means of artificial insemination, is barred from the Thoroughbred studbook. Some other breed registries allow artificial insemination, embryo transfer, or both.

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Hotbloods, warmbloods, and coldbloods

The Arabian horses, whether originating on the Arabian peninsula or from the European studs (breeding establishments) of the 18th and 19th centuries, gained the title of "hotbloods", for their fiery temperaments. The Thoroughbred is also included in the "hotblood" category. The slow, heavy draft horses class as "coldbloods", as they usually possess a quite calm temperament. The term "warmbloods" covers everything else, but the term also specifically refers to the European breeds, such as the Hanoverian, that have dominated dressage and show jumping since the 1950s. True hotbloods usually offer greater riding challenges than other horses, especially the coldblood. They show more excitability, and often more dominance; and the longer you ride them, the more excited they become, instead of merely getting tired (although any breed of horse can succumb to fatigue).

Related Topics:
Arabia - Warmblood - Hanoverian - Dressage - Show jumping

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The list of horse breeds provides a partial alphabetical list of breeds of horse extant today, plus a discussion of rare breeds' conservation.

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