Editing Horse breeding (section)

== History of horse breeding ==
The history of horse breeding goes back millennia.  Though the precise date is in dispute, humans could have domesticated the horse as far back as approximately 4500 BCE. However, evidence of planned breeding has a more blurry history. It is well known, for example, that the Romans did breed horses and valued them in their armies, but little is known regarding their breeding and husbandry practices: all that remains are statues and artwork. Mankind has plenty of equestrian statues of Roman emperors, horses are mentioned in the [[Odyssey]] by Homer, and hieroglyphics and paintings left behind by Egyptians tell stories of pharaohs hunting elephants from chariots. Nearly nothing is known of what became of the horses they bred for hippodromes, for warfare, or even for farming.

One of the earliest people known to document the breedings of their horses were the [[Bedouin]] of the [[Middle East]], the breeders of the [[Arabian horse]]. While it is difficult to determine how far back the Bedouin passed on pedigree information via an [[oral tradition]], there were written pedigrees of Arabian horses by CE 1330.<ref name="Pyramid Society">{{cite web |url= http://www.pyramidarabians.com/news/articles/arabianmystique.html |title= Egyptian Arabians: The Mystique Unfolded |access-date= 2006-05-10 |author= Lewis, Barbara S. |work= Arabians |publisher= Pyramid Arabians |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060508005004/http://www.pyramidarabians.com/news/articles/arabianmystique.html |archive-date= 2006-05-08 }}</ref>  The [[Akhal-Teke]] of West-Central [[Asia]] is another breed with roots in ancient times that was also bred specifically for war and racing. The nomads of the [[Mongolia]]n steppes bred horses for several thousand years as well, and the [[Caspian horse]] is believed to be a very close relative of Ottoman horses from the earliest origins of the Turks in Central Asia.

The types of horse bred varied with culture and with the times. The uses to which a horse was put also determined its qualities, including smooth amblers for riding, fast horses for carrying messengers, heavy horses for plowing and pulling heavy wagons, ponies for hauling cars of ore from mines, packhorses, carriage horses and many others.

[[Middle Ages|Medieval]] Europe bred large horses specifically for war, called [[destrier]]s. These horses were the ancestors of the great heavy horses of today, and their size was preferred not simply because of the weight of the armor, but also because a large horse provided more power for the knight's lance. Weighing almost twice as much as a normal riding horse, the destrier was a powerful weapon in battle meant to act like a giant battering ram that could quite literally run down men on an enemy line.

On the other hand, during this same time, lighter horses were bred in northern Africa and the Middle East, where a faster, more agile horse was preferred. The lighter horse suited the raids and battles of desert people, allowing them to outmaneuver rather than overpower the enemy.  When Middle Eastern warriors and European knights collided in warfare, the heavy knights were frequently outmaneuvered.  The Europeans, however, responded by crossing their native breeds with [[oriental horse|"oriental" type horses]] such as the [[Arabian (horse)|Arabian]], [[Barb (horse)|Barb]], and [[Turkoman horse]]  This cross-breeding led both to a nimbler war horse, such as today's [[Andalusian horse]], but also created a type of horse known as a [[Courser (horse)|Courser]], a predecessor to the [[Thoroughbred]], which was used as a message horse.

During the [[Renaissance]], horses were bred not only for war, but for [[classical dressage|haute ecole]] riding, derived from the most athletic movements required of a war horse, and popular among the elite nobility of the time. Breeds such as the [[Lipizzan]]  and the now extinct [[Neapolitan horse]] were developed from Spanish-bred horses for this purpose, and also became the preferred mounts of cavalry officers, who were derived mostly from the ranks of the nobility. It was during this time that firearms were developed, and so the light cavalry horse, a faster and quicker war horse, was bred for "shoot and run" tactics rather than the shock action as in the Middle Ages. Fine horses usually had a well muscled, curved neck, slender body, and sweeping mane, as the nobility liked to show off their wealth and breeding in paintings of the era.

After [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] retook the British throne in 1660, horse racing, which had been banned by Cromwell, was revived. The [[Thoroughbred]] was developed 40 years later, bred to be the ultimate racehorse, through the lines of three [[foundation bloodstock|foundation]] [[Arabian horse|Arabian]] stallions and one Turkish horse.

In the 18th century, [[James Burnett, Lord Monboddo]] noted the importance of selecting appropriate parentage to achieve desired outcomes of successive generations.  Monboddo worked more broadly in the abstract thought of [[species]] relationships and evolution of species. The Thoroughbred breeding hub in Lexington, Kentucky was developed in the late 18th century, and became a mainstay in American racehorse breeding.

The 17th and 18th centuries saw more of a need for fine carriage horses in Europe, bringing in the dawn of the [[warmblood]]. The warmblood breeds have been exceptionally good at adapting to changing times, and from their [[Coach_(carriage)#Coach_horses|coach horse]] beginnings they easily transitioned during the 20th century into a sport horse type. Today's warmblood breeds are frequently used in [[combined driving|competitive driving]], but are more often seen competing in [[show jumping]] or [[dressage]].

The Thoroughbred continues to dominate the horse racing world, although its lines have been more recently used to improve warmblood breeds and to develop sport horses. The [[Selle Français|French saddle horse]] is an excellent example as is the [[Irish Sport Horse]], the latter being an unusual combination between a Thoroughbred and a draft breed.

The [[American Quarter Horse]] was developed early in the 18th century, mainly for quarter racing (racing ¼ of a mile). Colonists did not have racetracks or any of the trappings of Europe that the earliest Thoroughbreds had at their disposal, so instead the owners of Quarter Horses would run their horses on roads that lead through town as a form of local entertainment. As the USA expanded West, the breed went with settlers as a farm and ranch animal, and "cow sense" was particularly valued: their use for herding cattle increased on rough, dry terrain that often involved sitting in the saddle for long hours.

However, this did not mean that the original  ¼-mile races that colonists held ever went out of fashion, so today there are three types: the stock horse type, the racer, and the more recently evolving sport type. The racing type most resembles the finer-boned ancestors of the first racing Quarter Horses, and the type is still used for ¼-mile races. The stock horse type, used in western events and as a farm and patrol animal is bred for a shorter stride, an ability to stop and turn quickly, and an unflappable attitude that remains calm and focused even in the face of an angry charging steer. The first two are still to this day bred to have a combination of explosive speed that exceeds the Thoroughbred on short distances clocked as high as 55&nbsp;mph, but they still retain the gentle, calm, and kindly temperament of their ancestors that makes them easily handled.

The [[Canadian horse]]'s origin corresponds to shipments of French horses, some of which came from Louis XIV's own stable and most likely were Baroque horses meant to be gentlemen's mounts. These were ill-suited to farm work and to the hardscrabble life of the New World, so like the Americans, early Canadians crossed their horses with natives escapees. In time they evolved along similar lines as the Quarter Horse to the South as both the US and Canada spread westward and needed a calm and tractable horse versatile enough to carry the farmer's son to school but still capable of running fast and running hard as a cavalry horse, a stockhorse, or a horse to pull a conestoga wagon.

Other horses from North America retained a hint of their mustang origins by being either derived from stock that Native Americans bred that came in a rainbow of color, like the [[Appaloosa]] and [[American Paint Horse]],   with those East of the Mississippi River increasingly bred to impress and mimic the trends of the upper classes of Europe: The [[Tennessee Walking Horse]] and [[Saddlebred]] were originally plantation horses bred for their gait and comfortable ride in the saddle as a plantation master would survey his vast lands like an English lord.

Horses were needed for heavy draft and carriage work until replaced by the automobile, truck, and tractor. After this time, draft and [[carriage]] horse numbers dropped significantly, though light riding horses remained popular for recreational pursuits. Draft horses today are used on a few small farms, but today are seen mainly for pulling and plowing competitions rather than farm work. Heavy harness horses are now used as an outcross with lighter breeds, such as the [[Thoroughbred]], to produce the modern [[warmblood]] breeds popular in [[sport horse]] disciplines, particularly at the [[Equestrian at the Summer Olympics|Olympic]] level.