The American Quarter Horse
Cowboys rode many breeds and colors. Palominos (color), Piebald (color) and many more. The most popular and frequently used was and is the Quarter Horse. A breed native to America. This horse is a descendant of Arabians and mustangs, and dates back to the 1600s.
What makes them such amazing work horses—which the cowboy’s horse was—is their intelligence and ‘cow sense’, their speed and hardiness.
They are a solidly built horse and also solid-colored with very little white on them. They come in many colors: roan, black, bay, dun, brown, gray and chestnut and buckskin.
One of the most famous quarter horse’s was Steel Dust and is attributed to being the father of the ranch horse. His offspring, known as steel dust horses, were much prized among drovers for their reputation as being tireless and able to travel long distances.
Peter McCue, whose bloodline is also well known, came along in the late 1890s and played a large role in the quarter horses claim to fame, supposedly running a quarter mile in twenty-one seconds.
Texas alone has over 420,000 quarter horses.
The American quarter horse, definitely a horse for a cowboy.
What’s your favorite horse?
Sandra Cox
5 comments:
Hi Sandra. I love all horses, but if I had to pick one, I'd say the Palomino, only because I like their coloring. Hugs!
actually palomino is a color and not a breed - many do breed for that color but can get bays, buckskins and grullas as well! I love all the Big horses! The colors and white come from many choice breedings! The too much white quarter horses of the early 1970's is how the "paint" breed came about!
Julie, Palominos are pretty, aren't they?
Teresa, Thanks for the shout out on palominos and paints. Appreciate it.
This is very, very interesting. I am not around horses that much but I do love them. I remember seeing Palominos running wild on our trips out west. The Clydesdales come to mind.
Seeing them in their natural habitat, running free. Wondrous. Thanks for stopping by, Denise. Happy Holidays.
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