Rare Breeds

For the true horse lover, there is always a fascination with horses that are new breeds or horses that are rare breeds.

Here are just a few that I have found.

The American Walking Pony

The foundation cross that produced the American Walking Pony was the Reg. Tennessee Walking Horse and the Reg. Welsh Pony. The Walking Horse contributed the smooth saddle gait and the Welsh, the lovely head and long arched neck. Ponies of various bloodlines of this cross were accepted for registration.

The Gotland Pony

The Gotland Pony is popular as a children's horse, good-tempered and multifaceted. The same Gotland Pony can both be a good jumper, dressage horse, and draft horse. The Gotland Pony is also the fastest trotter among ponies. There are about 9,000 Gotland Ponies in Sweden today, and they can also be found in Denmark, Finland, and the U.S.A.

Gotlands are one of the newest breeds in North America, having been first imported only recently. They are used as in Sweden for pony racing, showing, and pleasure riding. Gotlands do well in competitive trail riding and are considering to be exceptional mounts for children.

Gypsy Vanner

These short, stout heavily feathered draft horses have been bred by the nomadically living gypsies of Europe for hundreds, if not thousands of years, with them they bring their horses. The Gypsies prized the piebald coat for their Vanners, but other colors are prreviewent, skewbald, and more rarely the solid colors of black, grey, bay, palomino, chestnut and brown. These horses were bred for their ability to sustain themselves on just foraging around roadsides and the occasional pasture, to be able to pull the heavy wagon either alone or in pairs, and yet at the end of the day be gentle enough for the young children to ride around the campsite.

The Tiger Horse

Todays Tiger Horse averages 15 to 16 Hands in height and is of medium and sturdy build. It exhibits brave but controlled spirit and a love of human companionship. While versatile in a variety of sports, Tiger Horses are best suited to long hours in the saddle and they do exceptionally well on diverse or difficult and wooded trails. The very smooth fourth or "middle" gait of The Tiger Horse is a joy to ride.

The Rocky Mountain Horse

Rocky Mountain Horse is being used as a pleasure horse, for trail, and competitive or endurance riding. As show horses, the breed is rapidly gaining in popularity beause of its beauty and unique way of moving in the ring. The calm temperament of his horse makes it ideally suited for working around cattle and for 4-H projects. These horses have a lot of natural endurance, they are sure-footed on rough ground and, because of their gait, they require a minimum of effort by both horse and rider so that together they can cover a greater distance with less tiring.