| Quarter Horse |
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| Breed Description |
| Height 14.3 - 16hh for mature stallions and mares. |
| Coulour Any solid colour. |
| Conformation Short, wide head, with small muzzle, lerge, wide-set, intelligent eyes and medium-length, alert ears; fairly long, flexible neck; sloping shoulders and well defined withers; compact body with broad chest, deep girth, short back, well-sprung ribs and powerful loins; broad, deep, heavy and well-muscled hindquarters with long, gently sloped croup; good limbs, with short cannons, broad, flat, low-set hocks, muscular thighs and gaskins and medium-lenght pasterns; oblong feet with deep, open heels. |
| "The American Quarter Horse is one of the best-known horses in North America. Originally it was bred for racing, its ancestry being from across between the Spanish horses and those imported by the colonists. In the early 1600s, there were few racetracks of the type the we have today. The races run by these horses were often quite short, often just the main street of town. A quarter mile (.4 km) was the distance usually raced, and so the Quarter Horse was aptly named after the quarter mile that it ran. By the time that the thoroughbreds began arriving in North America, Quarter Horses were already well established. When thoroughbred were pitted against Quarter Horses for these short races, the smaller, stockier Quarter Horses, whith their quicksilver starts, invariably won, much to the great chagrin of the thoroughbred owners. Over longer distances, though, the Thoroughbred could outlast the Quarter Horse. As Thoroughbed racing gradually became more popular than Quarter Horse racing, the Quarter Horse might have fallen by the wayside. It was soon discovered, however, what superb cattle horses they made, and over the years their cattle sence has been brought to an incredible level. They are quick and agile, and can turn on a dime and be up to full speed in no time flat. They are an exellent all-round horse, able to turn their hand or 'hoof' to anything. This breed is by far on of the most numerous in western Canada and the United States, and is thus very likely to be seen grazing in feilds." |
| Extract from book Field Guide to Horses by Kindrie Grove 150 Breeds and Types! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description and interesting fact from Horse Breeds or the World by Judith Draper The complete reference to horse and pony breeds |
| Intresting facts The American Quarter Horse Association was formed in 1940. Its registery is now the largest of any breed in the world, with more than two million horses listed. |
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