Transcript Breeds and Classes of Horses

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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Ponies
 Ponies stand under 14.2
hands and weigh 500
to 900 pounds
 Ponies are generally
draft, heavy harness, or
saddle type.
Breeds
 Horses are also classified based on there origin of
breeding and temperament.
 The three classifications are…
 Cold bloods
 Hot bloods
 Warm bloods
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.
Hot Bloods
 Hot-bloods developed quite differently from their northern
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Mammoth Donkeys
 Are a blend of several
breeds imported to the
U.S. in the 1800’s 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.
Donkey’s
 The Spanish donkeys stand between 48
and 56 inches tall.
 Burro’s 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.
Donkey’s
 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.
Donkey’s
 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.
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.
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 nonexistent, 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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Mules
 Mules have a reputation for being obstinate and badtempered, 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!
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.