Breeds%20and%20Classes%20of%20Horses

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Breeds and Classes of Horses
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Breeds

• As breeders selected and bred for desirable
  traits after generations a breed of horses
  developed.
• A breed is defined as a group of horses with
  common ancestry that breed to produce common
  characteristics.
• World wide about 300 breeds of horses exist.
• Many breeds of horses started with a foundation
  sire and for those breeds all registered foals
  must be able to trace their ancestry back to
  these stallions.

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Breeds

• Three foundation stallions make up the
  thoroughbred
• Darley Arabian
• Byerly Turk
• Godolphin Arabian
• Justin Morgan is the foundation sire for the
  Morgan breed.
• Allen F-1 A Morgan Stallion was the foundation
  sire for the Tennessee walking horse.
• Morgan Stallions also contributed to the
  development of the standard bred, quarter horse,
  American Albino, and Palomino breeds.

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Horse Breeds

• The five most popular horse breeds in the World
• 1. The American Quarter Horse
• 2. The American Paint Horse
• 3. The Arabian Horse
• 4. The Thoroughbred Horse
• 5. The Appaloosa Horse

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Breeds

• Certain breeds were developed with color
  requirements. And for some that is the only
  registry requirement is color.
• Palomino was the first color breed. Others
  include
• Appaloosas
• Albinos
• Paints
• Pintos
• Buckskins
• Whites
• Cremes
• Spotteds

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Classification

• Horses are also classified according to size,
  weight, build and use
• The common measurement for horses is the hand. A
  hand is equal to four inches.
• The height of the horse is measured from the top
  of the withers to the ground.
• A horse that is 15 hands is 60 inches or 5 feet
  at the withers.

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Light Horses

• Light horses are 14.2 to 17.2 hands high and
  weigh 900 to 1400 pounds.
• They are used for riding , driving, showing,
  racing, or farm and ranch work.
• Light horses are more agile and can travel at
  greater speed than draft horses.

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Draft Horses

• Draft horses are 14.2 to 17.2 hands high and
  weigh 1400 pounds or more.
• They are used for heavy work and for pulling
  loads.

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Ponies

• Ponies stand under 14.2 hands and weigh 500 to
  900 pounds
• Ponies are generally draft, heavy harness, or
  saddle type.

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Breeds

• Horses are also classified based on there origin
  of breeding and temperament.
• The three classifications are
• Cold bloods
• Hot bloods
• Warm bloods

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Cold Bloods

• In the northern regions of the world, the climate
  produced lush pastures. The horses that lived
  there became heavy, strong and slow moving. To
  help them survive the freezing weather conditions
  in winter, nature equipped these horses with long
  hair, a thick skin and a layer of fat underneath
  it.
• Most of the work and heavy draught horses of
  today fall into the category of cold-bloods.
• Cold blood horses generally have a very calm
  temperament.

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Hot Bloods

• Hot-bloods developed quite differently from their
  northern relatives. In the south, where they
  lived, there was less extremes of climate. As a
  consequence, southern horse had thin coats to
  keep them cool and comfortable in the hottest of
  weather.
• Food was in short supply, so the horses learned
  to sur-vive from poor grazing. This also made
  them lighter, although they were often few places
  for them to hide in times of trouble, so they
  became swift to escape their predators.
• Hot bloods are light boned, fast and agile, and
  highly spirited.
• Most horses with Arabian breeding fit this
  classification.
• Thoroughbreds are another example.

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Warm Bloods

• The Warmbloods are a combination of hot and cold
  blooded breeds
• Warmbloods are also lighter horses used for
  riding, they may not have the fiery temperament
  and may have a little more size than the hot
  bloods.
• The seven most common Warmbloods,
• Hanoverian,
• Holsteiner,
• Oldenburg,
• Selle Francais,
• Swedish Warmblood,
• Trakehner,
• Dutch Warmblood.

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Types and Uses

• Riding horses are generally thought of as the
  gaited horses, stock horses, and horses used for
  equine sport.
• Driving horses are horses that are used for heavy
  harness and fine harness horses and ponies.
• All purpose horses are used for family enjoyment,
  showing and ranch work.
• Miniature horses are used for driving and as
  pets. Registered miniature horses are no more
  than 34 inches at the withers.

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Donkeys

• Breeds registered by the American Donkey and Mule
  society include the following
• The Mammoth or American Standard Jack
• The Large Standard or Spanish Donkey
• The Standard Donkey or Burro
• The Miniature Mediterranean Donkey
• The American Spotted Ass.

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Mammoth Donkeys

• Are a blend of several breeds imported to the
  U.S. in the 1800s from Southern Europe.
• They are the largest of the asses with the jacks
  being 56 inches or more high.
• The foundation sire was a jack named Mammoth. His
  name was given to the breed.

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Donkeys

• The Spanish donkeys stand between 48 and 56
  inches tall.
• Burros or the Standard donkey stands between 36
  and 48 inches tall.
• The miniature Mediterranean donkey imported from
  Sicily and Sardinia must stand under 36 inches
  to qualify for registry.
• Height restriction is the only requirements for
  registration by the American Donkey and Mule
  Society.

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Donkeys

• Miniature donkeys are not only used as pets the
  are also used as companions to foals at weaning
  time to reduce foal stress.
• Miniature donkeys are also used to calm nervous
  horses, or they are placed in stalls with horses
  who are recovering from surgery.
• They do not take up much room or eat much but
  they have a great calming effect on horses.

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Donkeys

• One characteristic unique to donkeys is the black
  cross found on all donkeys.
• It consists of a dorsal stripe from the main to
  the tail and a cross stripe between the withers.
• Both Donkeys and Mules lack the horses calluses
  or chestnuts on the hind legs.

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Mules

• A mule is a cross between a Male Donkey (a Jack)
  and a Female Horse (a Mare).
• A Hinny is a cross between a Female donkey (a
  Jenny) and a Male Horse (A Stallion) A Hinny is
  similar to a mule but is smaller and more horse
  like with shorter ears and a longer head.

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Mules

• A mule has a shorter thicker head than a horse,
  long ears and the braying voice of the donkey.
• The most noticeable points are its long ears,
  short thin mane, which may stand upright like a
  donkey's or be a little longer and flop over. The
  withers are low or non-existent, the back flat,
  the body flat-sided with weaker quarters than the
  horse, and also narrower and less
  deep-shouldered. The legs are, like the donkey's,
  straight, with small, hard, dense, upright,
  straight-sided hooves. The head is a little
  narrower than the donkey's, but otherwise very
  similar.

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Mules

• Hinnies are more difficult to get then mules.
• While mules may display normal sex drive they are
  98 or 99 sterile.
• The reason they are sterile is because of a
  unbalance in the chromosome make up of a mule.
• Donkeys have 62 chromosomes
• Horses have 64 chromosomes

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Mules

• When a Horse mates with a donkey the stallion
  contributes ½ of his chromosomes (32) and the
  Jenney contributes ½ of her chromosomes (31).
• Combined they produce a mule that has 63
  chromosomes which is an odd number making it
  sterile.

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Mules

• Mules are classified as
• Draft
• Pack / Work
• Saddle
• Driving
• Jumping
• Miniature
• The type of mule produced depends on the breed of
  horse and donkey used to produce the mule.

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Mules

• A male mule is called a John
• A female Mule is called a Molly
• Mules, having hybrid vigor, can grow taller than
  both parents. Weight for weight they are stronger
  than horses, and are much longer-lived, although
  maturing slightly later. They rarely become ill
  or lame, Have better feet and can often go with
  out shoes where horses could not. Mules can
  withstand extremes of temperature, can live on
  frugal rations, have tremendous stamina and are
  exceptionally sure-footed.

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Mules

• Mules have a reputation for being obstinate and
  bad-tempered, but as with donkeys, the mule's
  legendary stubbornness is in fact a manifestation
  of its talent for self-preservation.
• If a mule takes care of itself, then it follows
  that it is also taking great care of its cargo,
  human or otherwise. It is not for nothing that
  mules are chosen rather than horses to take
  tourists down the Grand Canyon!

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Mules

• The reputation for bad temper is, due to the
  mule's untrusting nature. Until he has learnt to
  trust a person, he is worried that the person may
  do him harm, and will take defensive action by
  kicking them, should he feel the occasion merits
  it. And mules are splendid kickers - they kick
  fast and accurately and they rarely miss.
• A mules temperament suggests that you cannot
  force him to do anything, but must persuade him,
  or organize his work so that he is only asked to
  do those things which he will want to do. Failure
  to appreciate this has led to many a battle
  between man and mule, and to the mule's bad
  reputation.