American Quarter Horse History
The American Quarter Horse history is long and interesting. It’s a fully-American horse breed created in the early 17th century. First English colonists took their Irish and Scottish horses of the Hobby and Galloway lines with them to the New World. These horses were small and compact, but strong and agile. These horses were crossbred with the Mustangs and the mares of the Chickasaw Indians that originated from Arabian horses brought to America by Spanish conquistadors two centuries earlier.
The American Quarter Horse history of racing began in the early 18th century when settlers began organizing short distance racing. These competitions were very famous among all city dwellers, as they were held on the main street (the only straight ground available in cities at that time.) Since most main streets were short – a quarter mile and even less - the competitions were very dynamic. The breed successful in racing over short distances got the name Quarter Horse. These horses were titled the "Celebrated Quarter of a Mile Race Horses." Nowadays, this breed still retains the reputation of the world’s fastest athlete.
When East American cities became large and more comfortable for living, the Quarter Horse almost left its popularity, because people in big cities preferred long distance racing. Quarter-mile racing had to move west with the pioneers where the American Quarter Horse history repeated itself. Up to nowadays, this breed is popular in western horse sports. Besides racing, the American Quarter Horse was used for farm work. The settlers bred their horses to Spanish breeding stock, thus creating hardy, tough, clever, and independent range horses unequaled for their cow-sense and endurance. The western variety of the breed became heavy muscled and suited for hard work.
The American Quarter Horse Association formed in 1940 is now the biggest horse registry in the world. Nowadays, there are over three million American Quarter Horses in all parts of the world. There are many crosses of the American Quarter Horse with the Thoroughbred horses. It creates a gene flow from the Thoroughbred horses and alters the typical characteristics of both breeds. Many breeders favor the early type of the Quarter Horse and register their horses with separate breed organizations. The breed standard changed several times since the breed’s origin; nowadays, the American Quarter Horse history is not yet finished.
