Byerley Turk Horse Characteristics

According to its portrait, the Byerley Turk could be called a horse in a plain brown wrapper. This foundation sire of the Thoroughbred breed appears to have been one color (dark brown) all over, with no lighter areas or white markings. He was captured by a British officer from the Turks after a battle in Eastern Europe (which battle is not entirely certain), and his general appearance is described as "Arabian" in documents of the time (ca. 1688). The cross-breeding of this stallion and two other legendary foundation sires, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian, with mares from England and western Europe, created the modern Thoroughbred, which retains many distinctly Arabian characteristics.

  1. Head

    • The Arabian head is short, with a dished profile, large wide-set eyes, a wide jaw and a dainty muzzle with large and flaring nostrils. The modern Thoroughbred has a longer head that is less wedge-shaped, but retains the wide-spread jaw and large nostrils, which allow maximum air intake for greater speed and endurance. The modern Thoroughbred tends to have larger ears than its Arabian ancestors, which is evident in the portrait of the Byerley Turk, where the ears appear almost disproportionately tiny.

    Neck

    • The Arabian's neck is shortish and usually carried arched, while the Thoroughbred's is longer, but both are well-muscled, with a clean taper into the wide-set jaws for an unobstructed trachea and free breathing. The Byerley Turk is portrayed with the crested neck of a stallion, but a very clean throatlatch.

    Body

    • The Arabian has a barrel (chest) that is deep -- measured from top to bottom -- and well-sprung ribs, giving it a rounder appearance than the Thoroughbred, which has been bred into a leaner, narrower build for racing speed. In the portraits, the Byerly Turk appears to have a chest depth more like that of a modern Thoroughbred than an Arabian, and the barrel size is difficult to judge from the side view.

    Legs

    • Both Arabian and Thoroughbred have clean legs with prominent tendons and large joints. The hooves of an Arabian tend to be large for the size of the horse, with strong walls and a concave sole, while many modern Thoroughbreds have foot troubles because of thinner hoof walls and flat soles. The Byerley Turk's portrait shows extremely slender legs and small hooves, although this may be attributed to the style of equine portraiture in vogue at the time.

    Size

    • Arabians tend to be smaller at 14 to 15 hands (a hand is 4 inches) than Thoroughbreds at 16 to 17 hands, which have been bred bigger for the work they do. In its portrait, the Byerley Turk appears of Arabian size compared to its handler, when you consider that men were smaller then than they are now.