Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
American Quarter Horse
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Breed characteristics== [[File:Brauner.JPG|thumb|upright|A halter-type Quarter Horse]] The Quarter Horse has a small, short, refined head with a straight profile, and a strong, well-muscled body, featuring a broad chest and powerful, rounded hindquarters. They usually stand between {{hands|14|and|16}} high, although some [[Halter (horse show)|Halter-type]] and English hunter-type horses may grow as tall as {{hands|17}}. There are two main body types: the stock type and the hunter or racing type. The stock horse type is shorter, more compact, stocky and well-muscled, yet agile. The racing and hunter type Quarter Horses are somewhat taller and smoother muscled than the stock type, more closely resembling the [[Thoroughbred]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Light Horse: Breed Types and Uses |url=http://alabamahorsecouncil.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ANR-0899-Light-Horse-Breeds.pdf |website=Alabama Horse Council |access-date=September 9, 2019 |date=2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819005140/http://alabamahorsecouncil.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ANR-0899-Light-Horse-Breeds.pdf |archive-date=August 19, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Quarter Horses come in nearly all [[Equine coat color|colors]]. The most common color is [[sorrel (horse)|sorrel]], a brownish red, part of the color group called [[chestnut (coat)|chestnut]] by most other breed registries. Other recognized colors include [[bay (color)|bay]], [[black (horse)|black]], [[Seal brown (horse)|brown]], [[buckskin (color)|buckskin]], [[palomino]], [[gray (horse)|gray]], [[dun gene|dun]], red dun, [[grullo]] (also occasionally referred to as blue dun), red [[roan (horse)|roan]], blue roan, bay roan, [[Cream gene|perlino]], [[cremello]], and [[white (horse)|white]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteexec.aqha.com/association/registration/pdf/registrationrules_07.pdf |title=Registration rules |access-date=2010-12-21 |publisher=American Quarter Horse Association |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707154313/http://siteexec.aqha.com/association/registration/pdf/registrationrules_07.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-07 }}</ref> In the past, [[cropout|spotted color patterns]] were excluded, but now with the advent of [[DNA]] testing to verify parentage, the registry accepts all colors as long as both parents are registered.<ref>{{cite web |title=AQHA Handbook of Rules & Regulations 2008 Rule 205 (d) |url=http://www.aqha.org/association/registration/handbook.html |access-date=August 9, 2008 |author=American Quarter Horse Association |website=AQHA Website |publisher=American Quarter Horse Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007160004/http://www.aqha.org/association/registration/handbook.html |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |url-status = dead}}</ref> ===Stock type=== {{See also|Stock horse}} A stock horse is a horse of a type that is well suited for working with livestock, particularly cattle. [[Reining]] and [[cutting (sport)|cutting]] horses are smaller in stature, with quick, agile movements and very powerful hindquarters. [[Western pleasure]] show horses are often slightly taller, with slower movements, smoother gaits, and a somewhat more level topline β though still featuring the powerful hindquarters characteristic of the Quarter Horse.<ref>{{cite web |title=Light Horse Breed Types and Uses |url=http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0899/ANR-0899.pdf |website=Alabama Cooperative Extension System |access-date=March 6, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305041923/http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0899/ANR-0899.pdf |archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref> ===Halter type=== Horses shown in-hand in [[halter (horse show)|Halter]] competition are larger yet, with a very heavily muscled appearance, while retaining small heads with wide jowls and refined muzzles. There is controversy amongst owners, breeder and veterinarians regarding the health effects of the extreme muscle mass that is currently fashionable in the specialized halter horse, which typically is {{hands|15.2|to|16}} and weighs in at over {{convert|1200|lb}} when fitted for halter competition. Not only are there concerns about the weight to frame ratio on the horse's [[Horse anatomy|skeletal system]], but the massive build is also linked to [[hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (equine)|hyperkalemic periodic paralysis]] (HYPP) in descendants of the stallion [[Impressive (horse)|Impressive]] (see [[#Genetic diseases|Genetic diseases]] below). ===Racing and hunter type=== [[File:Flexion-at-poll.jpg|thumb|A Quarter Horse warming up for hunt seat competition]] Quarter Horse [[Horse racing|race horses]] are bred to sprint short distances ranging from 220 to 870 yards. Thus, they have long legs and are leaner than their stock type counterparts, but are still characterized by muscular hindquarters and powerful legs. Quarter Horses race primarily against other Quarter Horses, and their sprinting ability has earned them the nickname, "the world's fastest athlete."<ref>{{Cite book|title=The American quarter horse|last=Ellen.|first=Frazel|date=2012|publisher=Bellwether Media|isbn=978-1612115436|location=Minneapolis, MN|oclc=794554681}}</ref> The [[show hunter]] type is slimmer, even more closely resembling a [[Thoroughbred]], usually reflecting a higher percentage of appendix breeding. They are shown in hunter/jumper classes at both breed shows and in open [[United States Equestrian Federation|USEF]]-rated [[horse show]] competition.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baxter |first=Gary M. |title=Adams and Stashak's Lameness in Horses |date=2011 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=9780470961773 |edition=6th |location=Somerset |pages=Chapter 2 |oclc=927499663}}</ref>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
American Quarter Horse
(section)
Add topic