A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a limited geographic region, or even feral "breeds" that are naturally selected. Depending on definition, hundreds of "breeds" exist today, developed for many different uses. 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.
The Akhal-Teke is a Turkmen horse breed. They have a reputation for speed and endurance, intelligence, and a distinctive metallic sheen. The shiny coat of the breed led to their nickname, "Golden Horses". These horses are adapted to severe climatic conditions and are thought to be one of the oldest existing horse breeds. There are currently about 6,600 Akhal-Tekes in the world, mostly in Turkmenistan, although they are also found throughout Europe and North America. Akhal is the name of the line of oases along the north slope of the Kopet Dag mountains in Turkmenistan. It has been inhabited by the Tekke tribe of Turkmens.
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses in the West Asia that resemble modern Arabians dating back 4,500 years. Throughout history, Arabian horses have spread around the world by both war and trade, used to improve other breeds by adding speed, refinement, endurance, and strong bone. Today, Arabian bloodlines are found in almost every modern breed of riding horse.
The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner is a European breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroque type, and is powerful, slow to mature and long-lived; the coat is usually gray.
The Iberian horse is a designation given to a number of horse breeds native to the Iberian peninsula. At present, some breeds are officially recognized by the FAO, while other horses believed to be native to the peninsula are not. Likewise, some modern breeds are understood from mitochondrial DNA to be descended from historic landraces, while others have origins outside the Iberian peninsula. The remaining FAO-recognized breeds are of well-known foreign blood, or are recently developed breeds.
The Barb or Berber horse is a North African breed of riding horse with great hardiness and stamina. It is closely associated with the Berber or Amazigh peoples of the Maghreb. It has influenced a number of modern breeds, including many in northern and western Africa.
The Narragansett Pacer was one of the first recorded horse breeds developed in the United States. It emerged in the 18th century (1700s), and was theorized to have been bred from a mix of English and Spanish breeds, although the exact cross is unknown. The Pacer was associated with, and bred in, the state of Rhode Island and the area of New England; as horse breeding shifted to Kentucky and Tennessee in the late 1700s, it became extinct by the 20th century.
The Garrano is an endangered breed of pony from northern Spain and Portugal, part of the Iberian horse family, mainly used as a pack horse, for riding, and for light farm work. An ancient breed, the Garrano has remained largely unchanged for thousands of years but is in decline due to predation and loss of interest in breeding for agricultural use.
The Sorraia is a rare breed of horse indigenous to the portion of the Iberian peninsula, in the Sorraia River basin, in Portugal. The Sorraia is known for its primitive features, including a convex profile and dun coloring with primitive markings. Concerning its origins, a theory has been advanced by some authors that the Sorraia is a descendant of primitive horses belonging to the naturally occurring wild fauna of Southern Iberia. Studies are currently ongoing to discover the relationship between the Sorraia and various wild horse types, as well as its relationship with other breeds from the Iberian Peninsula and Northern Africa.
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the development of a stud book. Male animals made available for breeding to outside female animals are said to be "standing at stud", or at "stud service", referencing the relatively high probability that they are kept at a stud farm.
The Kladruber is the oldest Czech horse breed and one of the world's oldest horse breeds. It is considered very rare. The chief breeder and the keeper of the studbook is the National Stud at Kladruby nad Labem in the Czech Republic where Kladrubers have been bred for more than 400 years. Kladrubers have always been bred to be a galakarossier – a heavy type of carriage horse for the court of the House of Habsburg.
The term baroque horse describes a group of horse breeds, usually descended from and retaining the distinctive characteristics of a particular type of horse that rose to prominence in Europe during the Baroque era, after significant development throughout the Middle Ages. It describes the type of agile but strong-bodied descendants of horses in the Middle Ages such as the destrier. Specific ancestors of this type include the Neapolitan horse, and the Iberian horse of Barb ancestry known in the Middle Ages as the Spanish Jennet. They are characterized by powerful hindquarters, a muscular, arched neck, a straight or slightly convex profile, and usually a full, thick mane and tail. These horses are particularly well suited for the haute ecole discipline of classical dressage.
The Andalusian, also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE, is a horse breed from the Iberian Peninsula, where its ancestors have lived for thousands of years. The Andalusian has been recognized as a distinct breed since the 15th century, and its conformation has changed very little over the centuries. Throughout its history, it has been known for its prowess as a war horse, and was prized by the nobility. The breed was used as a tool of diplomacy by the Spanish government, and kings across Europe rode and owned Spanish horses. During the 19th century, warfare, disease and crossbreeding reduced herd numbers dramatically, and despite some recovery in the late 19th century, the trend continued into the early 20th century. Exports of Andalusians from Spain were restricted until the 1960s, but the breed has since spread throughout the world, despite their low population. In 2010, there were more than 185,000 registered Andalusians worldwide.
The Spanish-Norman horse is a warmblood horse breed that is the result of crosses between two much older breeds – the Andalusian of Spain and the Percheron of France. In 1991, a registry was created in Connecticut in the United States to maintain records of the breed. The Spanish-Norman is bred primarily as a sport horse.
The Warlander is a horse of Baroque type, produced by crossing Friesian horses with horses of a purebred registered Iberian horse breed such as the Andalusian, Lusitano, or Menorquina. The ideal Warlander combines the Iberian horse's intelligence, facility for collection, flexibility, and powerful hindquarters, with the Friesian's tractability, dramatic leg action, "bone," and strong forequarters.
The Yeguada Militar de Jerez de la Frontera, known outside Spain as the Yeguada Militar, is a military Spanish stud farm headquartered in Andalusia, Spain, dedicated to horse breeding of purebred Andalusian horses and Arabian horses. Founded in 1847, it became the state military stud farm in 1893. In the 20th century, as need for cavalry horses declined, the stud's emphasis shifted to become a genetic reservoir to preserve the bloodlines of the Pure Spanish Horse and to continue to breed high quality Arabian horses, with stallions of both breeds being made available to private horse breeders to improve the horses of Spain. Today, there are two facilities located in the Jerez de la Frontera area, one primarily for stallions, the other for mares and foals, as well as multiple stallion depots across the country.
The Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the preservation of the equestrian arts, in the Portuguese tradition. It is one of the "Big Four", the most prestigious classical riding academies in the world.
The Carthusian' horse, sometimes known as Cartujano in Spanish, is a bloodline group within the Purebred Spanish horse (PRE). The earliest lineages were tracked by 1476, leading to claims its breed registry is one of the oldest in the world. The Carthusian lineage descends from a gray stallion named Esclavo, who became the property of the Carthusian monks of Andalusia. The monks made a success of this breeding, which became famous throughout Europe in the 18th century. The Carthusian horse is morphologically distinguished from other PRE lines by its lighter body and straighter head profile, with the possible presence of bony protuberances. The Carthusian coat is usually gray. The Carthusian is used as a dressage horse and is well suited to combined driving. Carthusian breeding is concentrated in its birthplace, Andalusia, around Jerez de la Frontera, Badajoz and Cordoba.
