Community Magazine February 2014

70 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE The Horse There is only one species of the domestic horse; however, there are around four hundred different breeds of it throughout the world. Most horses are domestic. The breeds that live in the wild are called feral horses. Although a feral horse is a free-roaming horse, it is not a true ‘wild’ animal since its ancestors were originally domesticated. (For example, the Mustang, a type of feral horse, is a descendent of horses brought by Europeans more than four hundred years ago.) T he breed most noted for its speed is the American Quarter horse. The Quarter Horse is considered a light horse breed. Light horse breeds generally weigh less than fifteen hundred pounds. They are typically used for pleasure riding. Due to their speed and agility, many are also used on the racetrack, in rodeo shows, and for farm work. TheAmerican Quarter Horse excels at running short distances. Clocked at speeds of up to 55 mph, it is even faster than the Thoroughbred (a breed best known for its use in horse racing) over short distances. Due to its dominance over other breeds of horses in races on the quarter-mile track, it has earned the name “the quarter miler,” or “Quarter Horse.” The American Quarter Horse, for all of its one-thousand plus pounds, is fairly short (sixty to sixty-four inches tall) and compact. It is extremely muscular, especially in its hindquarters, which is the source of the horse’s great power for running. It has a short head and a very muscular neck. The Quarter Horse was by far the most popular cattle horse in the early West. The origins of the Quarter Horse began in Virginia in the early seventeenth century, when these horses were given to American settlers by the Chickasaw Indians. The early Quarter Horses, aside from being used as riding horses, were ideal for the many tasks required for colonial life: hauling goods, pulling carriages, and farm work. When the settlers began traveling west in the 1800s, the Quarter Horse breed was the horse of choice, being used for cattle round-up due to its speed and agility. It quickly became the horse that cowboys counted on for their daily chores on the ranch. As with most activities undertaken by the early cowboys, the duties performed by them and their horses quickly turned into competition, setting the stage for rodeo riding, calf roping, team roping, and barrel racing. Today, Quarter Horses are still in demand for these events. The American Quarter Horse still remains the most popular breed in the United States today.