Javascript DHTML Drop Down Menu Powered by dhtml-menu-builder.com
Javascript DHTML Drop Down Menu Powered by dhtml-menu-builder.com
Home - Contact – Equine Info – Outreach Programs - Owner Education – Riding Info – Sitemap
With over 300 breed types listing them all is difficult. We have included a list of the most popular breeds and some information about them. We encourage our visitors to add, edit or challenge any information which appears on this site. Simply E-mail us with your contact information and the breed information and after validating that information we will update our site and provide you with a credit. (Click here to contact us)
Horse Breed: Horse Breeds are loosely divided into three categories based on general temperament: spirited "Hot Bloods" with speed and endurance; "Cold Bloods", such as draft horses and some ponies, suitable for slow, heavy work; and "Warmbloods", developed from crosses between hot bloods and cold bloods, often focusing on creating breeds for specific riding purposes, particularly in Europe. There are over 300 breeds of horses in the world today, developed for many different uses.
Types of Horses: A "type" of horse is not a breed but is simply a term used to describe a group of breeds that are similar in appearance (phenotype) or use. A type usually has no breed registry, and often encompasses several breeds. Horses of a given type may be registered as one of several different recognized breeds, or a term may include horses that are of no particular pedigree but meet a certain standard of appearance or use.
AQPS ("Autre Que Pur-Sang"): French designation for riding horses "other than Thoroughbred," usually referring to the Anglo-Arabian, Selle Francais and other Thoroughbred crosses.
Baroque Horse: Includes heavily muscled, powerful, yet agile Classical dressage breeds such as the Lipizzaner, Friesian, Andalusian, and Lusitano.
Canadian Cutting Horse
Cob Horse
Colonial Spanish Horse: The original Jennet-type horse brought to North America, now with a number of modern descendants with various breed names.
Draft horse or Draught horse
Feral Horse: A horse living in the wild, but descended from once-domesticated ancestors. Most "wild" horses today are actually feral. The only true wild (never domesticated) horse in the world today is the Przewalski's horse.
Gaited Horse: A term used to describe any of a number of breeds with an intermediate speed four-beat ambling gait, including the Tennessee Walker, Paso Fino, and many others.
German Warmblood or ZfDP: collective term for any of the various warmblood horses of Germany, of which some may be registered with the nation-wide German Horse Breeding Society (ZfDP).
Grade Horse: A term used to describe a horse of unknown or mixed breed parentage.
Hack: A basic riding horse, particularly in the UK, also includes Show hack horses used in competition.
Heavy Warmblood: Heavy carriage and riding horses, predecessors to the modern Warmblood, several old-style breeds still in existence today.
Hunter: A specialized type of jumping horse, either a show hunter or a field hunter. Hunter horses generally do not jump higher than 4 foot. Higher (Show Jumpers) tend to be Warmbloods.
Hunter Pony: A show hunter or show jumping animal under 14.2 hands, may be actually of a horse or Pony Breed: Height determines category of competition.
Iberian horse, encompassing horse and pony breeds developed in the Iberian peninsula, including the Andalusian: Alter Real, Lusitano and others.
Mountain and moorland or "M&M": Is a general term which covers several breeds of horse native to the British Isles.
Oriental Horse: Referring to the "hot-blooded" breeds descended from the Oriental prototype under the "Four Foundations" theory.
Riding Pony: A term used in the United Kingdom to describe certain types of show ponies.
Sport horse or Sporthorse: Includes any breeds suitable for use in assorted international competitive disciplines governed by the FEI.
Stock Horse: Heavily-muscled riding horses of several different breeds, suitable for working cattle. Not to be confused with the breed Australian Stock Horse
Warmblood: A group of Sport horse breeds developed for modern Dressage and other Olympic disciplines, including the Dutch Warmblood, Hanoverian, Swedish Warmblood, Westphalian, etc.
Windsor Grey: The gray carriage horses of British Royalty.
Record keeping in the 13th century was not very good and few pedigrees were recorded and horses were classified by physical type or use. Thus, many terms for Horses in the Middle Ages did not describe breeds as we know them today, but rather described appearance or purpose.
These types included:
Basuto Pony (Also spelled Basotho Pony: The Basuto is a pony breed from Lesotho and South Africa. Imported by 17th century Dutch settlers and improved with Arab horse blood. The Basuto is considered a small horse, since it possesses horse-like characteristics, such as an exceptionally long stride. Basutos have a rather heavy head, a long neck and long, straight back, a straight shoulder, and a muscular, sloping croup. They have very tough legs and sound, very hard hooves. They can be up to 14.2 hands high (56.8 inches / 142cm), but rarely taller. Basutos can be chestnut, brown, bay, gray or black, and have white markings. They are usually surefooted, fast, and fearless.
Batak Pony: The Batak Pony is a pony breed from Indonesia. Originating in Central Sumatra, it is thought to have descended from Mongolian Horse and Arabian blood, and has continually been infused with additional Arabian blood to improve its quality. The Batak is selectively bred by the Indonesians, and is often used to upgrade the quality the horses and ponies on nearby islands.
Bhutia Pony: Or Indian Country bred which is the common name for the inter-bred mixture of Bhutia Ponies, Spiti Ponies and Tibetan Ponies. These animals have been interbred for years so that many of the individual characteristics of the Bhutia and Spiti have been lost, and they now are categorized as "Indian Country Bred". They originated in the Himalayan region of India, and are now found in the Buhtan, Sikkim and Darjeeling regions of India. Suited to mountainous climate and terrain, they are not as able to endure humidity and heat. Lack of nutritious grasses generally affects the growth and development of the ponies, although they have become incredibly tough and self-sufficient, requiring little fodder. The conformation of these ponies is usually not superior. They have a large head and pronounced jaw, short neck, low withers, sloping quarters, and deep chest. The shoulder is a bit straight and upright, the legs, although short, are very strong.
Bhutia-type ponies range in height from 12-13.2 hh, and are usually gray in color, although a few are chestnut or roan. Spiti-type ponies usually never get taller than 12 hh, and they are usually gray or dun in color, although they may be any solid color. The ponies are kept mainly for work, mainly as pack ponies and sometimes for riding, to which their stamina and endurance serves them well. They generally have a willing and quiet temperament.
Boer Pony: The Boer Pony is a calm, tough pony originating from South Africa. This pony stands between 13.3 and 15.3 hands high, and can be black, brown, bay, chestnut, grey, roan, dun or palomino. It is often capable of five gaits: walk, trot, canter, slow gait and rack. The Boer Pony has similar origins to the Basuto pony, both having developed from the Cape Horse in the 19th century. During that time, however, the Boer Pony was also influenced by imported stock, such as Flemish, Hackney and Cleveland Bay horses. The Boer Pony did not have to survive such rough conditions as the Basuto pony did, and has consequently become a larger, better-developed animal. In the Boer wars, its great mobility and toughness helped the Boers move around and hold out against the British Empire for three years.
Bosnian Pony: The Bosnian Pony is a member of the group of horses known as the Balkan breeds, and is thought to be descended from a cross between the Tarpan and the Asian Wild Horse. The Bosnian Pony bears many similarities to both the Hucul and the Konik breeds of pony, and the triad is generally known collectively as the Balkan breeds. The breeds are all considered ancient, and the Bosnian Pony is thought to have developed through a cross between the Tarpan and the Asian Wild Horse, also known as the Przewalski horse. It is thought that there were infusions of oriental stock by the Turks during the Ottoman Empire, after which more Tarpan blood was added to make the modern Bosnian Pony breed.
Charger Horse: (Middle Ages) Medieval war horses were classified in three types: Destriers, Coursers and Rounceys. These three types of horses were often referred to generically as chargers. (Click Here For More Information)
Courser Horse: (Middle Ages) A courser is a swift and strong horse, frequently used during the Middle Ages as a warhorse. It was ridden by knights and men-at-arms. (Click Here For More Information)
Destrier Horse or "Great Horse": (Middle Ages) The Destrier is the best-known war horse of the medieval era. It carried knights in battles, tournaments, and jousts. It was described by contemporary sources as the Great Horse, due to its size and reputation. The term destrier is derived from the Vulgar Latin dextarius, meaning "right-sided" (the same root as our modern dexterous and dexterity). This may refer to the fact that it was led by the squire at the knight's right side (or led by the right hand) or to the horse's pacing (leading with the right). While highly prized by knights and men-at-arms, the destrier was actually not very common. Most knights and mounted men-at-arms rode other war horses, such as coursers and rounceys. These three types of horses were often referred to generically as chargers. (Click Here For More Information)
Irish Hobby Horse: The Irish Hobby is an extinct breed of horse native to the British Isles that developed prior to the 13th Century. The breed provided foundation bloodlines for several modern horse breeds, including breeds as diverse as the Connemara pony and the Irish Draught. Mares of Irish Hobby breeding may have been among the native horse breeds of the British Isles that provided foundation stock for the Thoroughbred. There is ample evidence that the Irish Hobby was imported into and used in England and Scotland for various activities, including racing. This quick and agile horse was also popular for skirmishing, and was often ridden by light cavalry known as Hobelars. Hobbies were used successfully by both sides during the Wars of Scottish Independence, with Edward I of England trying to gain advantage by preventing Irish exports of the horses to Scotland. Robert Bruce employed the Irish Hobby for his guerilla warfare and mounted raids, covering 60 to 70 miles a day.
Jennet (sometimes called Spanish Jennet): A Jennet or Spanish Jennet was a small Spanish horse. It was noted for a smooth naturally ambling gait, compact and well-muscled build, and a good disposition. The jennet was an ideal light riding horse, and as such spread across Europe and provided some of the foundation bloodstock for several horse breeds in the Americas.
Palfrey: A Palfrey is a type of horse highly valued as a riding horse in the Middle Ages. It is not a breed. The word "palfrey" is cognate with the German word for horse (of any type), "Pferd". Both descend from Latin "paraveredus", meaning a post horse or courier horse. The German term for a palfrey, meanwhile, is Zelter, which literally means "ambler" and is cognate with the Icelandic tölt.
Rouncey: (Middle Ages) The term rouncey (also spelt rouncy or rounsey) was used during the Middle Ages to refer to an ordinary, all-purpose horse. They were used for riding, but could also be trained for war. It was not unknown for them to be used as pack horses. (Click Here For More Information)