What Are Breeds of Horses?

Over thousands of years, horses have responded to their individual environments to develop specific characteristics. For example, horses that evolved in conditions where food was scarce evolved to become small in stature and very efficient in digesting food with a low nutritional value. Groups of horses evolved into distinct "breeds," with different physical characteristics and temperaments than other groups. More recently, humans have created different breeds for specific jobs, or to accentuate certain characteristics. Nowadays, a breed is defined generally as a viable true-breeding group, and the members of the group are called "purebreds."

  1. Evolved Breeds

    • Shetland ponies evolved in the Shetland Isles in the north of Scotland. As they were physically cut off from the rest of the world, the breed remained relatively pure into recent times. The grazing in the Shetlands was of poor quality, and the ponies evolved to be very small but extremely tough to survive the Scottish winters. Another evolved breed is the Arabian, thought to be the oldest breed in the world. Having evolved to live in a harsh desert climate, Arabians have great strength and stamina. They have have black skin under their coats which provides protection from the sun, and many purebreds also have a bulge between their eyes which provides extra sinus capacity in thin desert air.

    Created Breeds

    • For centuries, man has cross-bred horses to accentuate certain characteristics. However, there are now some modern breeds of horse that are entirely "man-made." The Dutch Warmblood, for example, was created to meet a post-war need for a large sports horse, and was created by crossing Dutch draft horses with other breeds such as Thoroughbreds. Modern Dutch Warmbloods are now being further specialized into dressage and jumping types.

    Breeds for Specific Jobs

    • Some horse breeds have been carefully refined for centuries to make them suitable for specific jobs. During Britain's Victorian industrial era, ponies were needed to work down mines hauling coal out. The small size of the tunnels needed the smallest, strongest ponies, and breeders used Welsh Mountain ponies, Shetlands and other native British breeds to refine the pit pony. Thoroughbred racehorses have been selectively bred for generations to maximise their potential for speed, and draft horses such as Clydesdales have been bred for strength and a calm temperament.

    Well-known Breeds

    • In addition to the Arabian, sometimes called the forefather of horse breeds, and the Thoroughbred, famous for its racing ability, there are hundreds of other horse breeds across the world. Some of the best known include the American Quarter Horse, famous for its hardiness and athletic ability, the Welsh pony, much in demand as a children's pony, and the Appaloosa with its distinctive spotted coat.