AMERICAN QUARTER HORSE

The Quarter Horse excels in racing over short distances-a quarter of a mile to be precise. It traces back to the horses taken abck to America by the spanish Conquistadores. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the waves of English settlers in the eastern states used the local Spanish-based stock to cross with their own,imported horses to produce a good,all-round work horse,suitable for every type of ridden wok,for tillin the land and for work in harness. Tough and stocky,these horses bacame the settlers 'right hand man'. Spreading westward, they beacme indispensable during the great days of cattle herding when the cheif requiremant was for a totally dependable moutn,one which was athletic and fearless working amoung cattle. In time these horses developed 'cow sense' and could anticipate the movements of a steer,stpping and turning at breakneck speed

BREED DESCRIPTION

Height: 14.3-16hh for mature stallions and mares
Colour: All solid colours
Conformation: Short,wide head,with small muzzle,large,wide-set,intelligent eyes and medium-length,alert ears;fairly long,flexible neck;sloping shoulders and well-defined withers;compact body with broard chest,deep girth,short back,well sprung ribs and powerful loins;broard,deep,heavy and well-muscled hindquarters with long,gently sloping croup;good limbs,with short cannons,broard,flat,low-set hocks,muscular thighs and gaskins and medium-length pasterns;oblong feet with deep,open heels.

It was the Englishman's growing enthusiasm for racing which led to these all-purpose horses being raced. It developed immensely powerful hindquarters which could propel it into flat out gallop virtually from a standing start,and the speed to sprint over short distances. Today the Quarter Horse enjoys great popularity in Western-style competitions such as barrel racing.