I know those vet intern's and farrier's make fat cash at the track every year!

quote:

Back in England, horse racing was being revolutionized by a stallion known as The Godolphin Arabian. This horse had been imported to England in 1728 and is acknowledged as one of the three foundation sires of the Thoroughbred. Prosperous Colonial planters wondered what the blood of these four-mile racers could do for their own short sprinters.
In 1752, John Randolph of Virginia imported a grandson of The Godolphin Arabian, called Janus. When Janus was bred to Colonial mares bearing the blood of the Chickasaw horse, the result was the prototype of the American Quarter Horse. While it can not be said that Janus founded the breed, it can be argued convincingly that he shaped and formed it significantly. A long-course racer himself, Janus stamped his foals with speed over short distances, as well as the ability to pass that speed through successive generations. “Compactness of form, strength and power” were the traits associated with the get and progeny of Janus.

http://www.aqha.com/About/Cont...e/Breed-History.aspx

I suppose one could say the same thing about the prehistoric 3 toed horse if one wanted to go back that far! as all breeds Came from their off sprng. I would be gilflurted and stringhaulters to admit that England has any influence over a Texas bred horse!

I would probably opine the quarter horse came about from an Idea had by Ship Capt.Richard King of King Ranch fame, in Texas, albeit he may have been a Limy at some point in his life, some many years ago, but he claimed to be a pure blood Texas. As I recall his dream started with Morgan blood crosses and Steel Dust mares and as I recall Steel Dust had a strong Arabian background, from their get the foundation studs of the quarter horse assn. came to be, as I recollect. I had all that historical knowledge in my head many years ago, but most of it I have forgotten as time went by as it no longer had any particular influence except to scholers of the particular breeds in question. It was always an interesting topic of conversation to me and still is today but one seldom gets an opertunity to discuss the historical interest anymore. Today its a mish mass of wonderful blood lines and of course its a big business. The quarter horse of today such as Dash to Fame are basically 1/10the quarter horse and 9/10s Throughbred, they are called "Running Quarters" and they perform about every disaplane a 4 legged animal can do.

Horses I have liked over the years have all been quarter horses, and mostly roping and ranch work horses, I have been a Jack Straw fan they were the best if you could get past their temper, they liked to buck, same for Hancock horses, yet they too were some of the best I have owned..My all time best rope horse/cow horse was a direct son of Docs Oak and grandson of Doc Bars, mostly famed for Cutting horses but they were my rope choice..My next best horse was a Dash to Fame, a race horse but he also passed on some of the greats of the rodeo competition.

The one thing I am certain of is for a using or riding breed to become recognized it must first of all make its reputation on the race track,then it can expand from there. This does not include work horse breeds as that's a whole nuther ball game, but they too had a wonderful heritage in early England and Scotland,jousting and war horses even into WW1 and ww2..

the is no one breed, there are no bad breeds, just a lot of good horses.

The Quarter type was started to be breed by the colonists pretty much right off the boat. The TB type English mounts were crossed on Indian ponies and the left over Spanish mounts.
It was much later that King Ranch started to perfect the breed out west.

This from the AQHA link posted above.

But the story of the Quarter Horse begins long before Texans started tying their ropes and hard and fast to the saddle horn. The origins of the breed can be traced to Colonial America. When our forefathers weren’t dumping tea in the Boston Harbor and fighting Indians or Redcoats, they did enjoy a horse race. In the beginning, they ran the English horses with which they plowed and rode every day.

It wasn’t long before the Colonial farmers down in the Carolinas and Virginia began to trade for a faster horse that was being bred by the Chickasaw Indians. These quick Indian ponies were Spanish Barbs, brought into Florida by early Spanish explorers and colonists. This was the same horse ridden by the conquistador Cortez in the conquest of Mexico; the same that Coronado rode in his search for the golden cities in the American Southwest. This was a type of horse produced from the cross of the North African Barb and native Spanish stock following the Moorish invasion of Spain, which began in the year 710.

There is evidence that the Spanish Barbs obtained from the Chickasaws were crossed with the Colonists’ English stock as early as 1611. Over the next 150 years, the product of this breeding would come to be known as the “Celebrated American Quarter Running Horse.” The term “Quarter” refers to the distance, a quarter of a mile, most commonly run in Colonial racing, often on the main streets of small villages.

By the middle of the 18th century, it was apparent that the Colonists were in America to stay. They hadn’t all been eaten by wild animals or scalped by Indians. They had carved out their farms, plantations and towns all up and down the Atlantic seaboard. The tight-lipped Puritans of the Northeast had more time now to spend in church, and the southerners could pay more attention to their passion for fast horses.

Back in England, horse racing was being revolutionized by a stallion known as The Godolphin Arabian. This horse had been imported to England in 1728 and is acknowledged as one of the three foundation sires of the Thoroughbred. Prosperous Colonial planters wondered what the blood of these four-mile racers could do for their own short sprinters.

In 1752, John Randolph of Virginia imported a grandson of The Godolphin Arabian, called Janus. When Janus was bred to Colonial mares bearing the blood of the Chickasaw horse, the result was the prototype of the American Quarter Horse. While it can not be said that Janus founded the breed, it can be argued convincingly that he shaped and formed it significantly. A long-course racer himself, Janus stamped his foals with speed over short distances, as well as the ability to pass that speed through successive generations. “Compactness of form, strength and power” were the traits associated with the get and progeny of Janus.

King P-1 was the first quarter horse, until that time the breed was non existent..Same with every breed, same with cattle and probably dogs. Somebody had to breed horses up and form an association was my point. All North American horses came to this country with the Spanish Conquestadores...The horse is of European foundation from the 3 toed varity. Just had to be.

American Quarter Horse, one of the oldest recognized breeds of horses in the United States. The breed originated about the 1660s as a cross between native horses of Spanish origin used by the earliest colonists and English horses imported to Virginia from about 1610. By the late 17th century, these horses were being raced successfully over quarter-mile courses in Rhode Island and Virginia, and hence received the name Quarter Horses. The Quarter Horse was bred for performance and had considerable Thoroughbred blood as well as traits of other lines. Important sires include Janus, an English Thoroughbred imported to Virginia in 1756; Steel Dust (b. 1843); and Peter McCue (b. 1895), called the most influential sire in improving the breed

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
King P-1 was the first quarter horse, until that time the breed was non existent..Same with every breed, same with cattle and probably dogs. Somebody had to breed horses up and form an association was my point. All North American horses came to this country with the Spanish Conquestadores...The horse is of European foundation from the 3 toed varity. Just had to be.

Ray,

King isn't number 1 as much as you Texans want him to be, he's P234, most serious AQHA breeder's, rider's and drugstore cowboy's know that. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
I think I will focus on getting advice elsewhere.


Wimpy is P1,

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
King P-1 was the first quarter horse, until that time the breed was non existent..Same with every breed, same with cattle and probably dogs. Somebody had to breed horses up and form an association was my point. All North American horses came to this country with the Spanish Conquestadores...The horse is of European foundation from the 3 toed varity. Just had to be.

King was 234 if I remember correctly. Wimpy was P-1.

That is correct King p234 and Wimpy 1, I stand corrected by Austin , and shunned by Norseman..

I'd like to hear why Texans didn't want Wimp as P 1. Should be enlightening.

Although not as knowledgeable as many of the posters here, I am a fan of Eventing and show jumping. Some of you may remember the death of Hickstead, perhaps the greatest showjumping horse ever! One thing seems clear, the best horses, LOVE to compete (and win)! Perhaps that is the difference between Arabians and 'the rest"? That was an excellent Wiki article IMHO.
Peter

To suggest the quarter horse isn't a son of the lone star state is just foolish...If one goes back for enough they all evolved from the prehistoric horse, but that's mudding the water..

The King Ranch bred and "named" the quarter horse, it took, was accepted, and set the standard by which all horses are judged..He was named the quarter horse because he was bred for quick starts and speed at 1/4 of a mile..Today the running quarter is very close to a thourhbred thru selective breeding..but that works both ways, just look at Secretariat he looked like a huge fat quarter horse of yesterday, well almost.

The short, stocky, roly poly, quarter horse of yesterday no longer rules the roost, the Running Quarterhorse does.

Come to think of it, about the same history can be applied to the cow. Long lean long horn, stubby fat Herefords and now a tall long leaner cow with very litter fat...How about that.

quote:

The King Ranch bred and "named" the quarter horse, it took, was accepted, and set the standard by which all horses are judged..He was named the quarter horse because he was bred for quick starts and speed at 1/4 of a mile..

King P234 has/had nothing to do with King's Ranch as most Texan's like to think because of his name.
Just because a stallion is named King doesn't mean it came from the King's Ranch, even a drugstore cowboy would also know that.
There were a lot of other breeder's of 1/4 horses beside King Ranch and a lot of them did not reveal bloodlines as a secret to win races. Perhap's you should read AQHA history of quarter horse and steel dust breedings prior to registration or registry of AQHA. Now we have NFQHA and FQHA as well.