What is a quarter horse and how does it differ from other kinds of horsies?

Question

What is a quarter horse and how does it differ from other kinds of horsies?

Answer 1

A quarter horse is a breed that has a more muscular "butt" than most other horses, and they are really good at "cutting" and turning on a dime, they sort of stop from a dead run by kind of squatting on the back haunches and pivot around. this works really well for cutting a certain cow or calf from the herd, and they are used in barrel racing at rodeos & shows.

Answer 2

The quarter horse is so named because it can outrun any other breed of horse in a quarter of a mile race.

This is because they've got big muscular rear ends with lots of fast-twitch muscle tissue.  Imagine a big bulky jock that can lift a ton of weight, but could never win an endurance race. The quarter horse's powerful hindquarters is what allows is to push off so hard in the beginning phases of a sprint.

Quarter horses tend to be quite muscular, especially in the hindquarters, and have a rump that is slightly higher than their shoulders. This makes them less suitable for pursuits such as dressage, but very well suited for western disciplines such as western pleasure riding and reining.

Quarter horses tend to be very mild-tempered and therefore a  good choice for young riders, beginning riders and recreational riders.

Answer 3

A Quarter Horse is any horse that meets the registration requirements of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), the organization that maintains the studbook for the breed.  Here is their website:

http://www.aqha.com/

It's true that the AQHA does have a breed standard for physical type, and that's kid of the "bible" for horses shown at halter, where conformation and type are judged.  This is the verbal description of the ideal QH:  "...is a medium sized, balanced horse, heavily muscled, with sturdy bone and foot to support his weight, and carry heavy loads during long days of work. The length of leg does not exceed the depth of the heart-girth. The large eyes are set far apart on a short head with a large jaw, and the neck is of medium length and thickness in keeping with his heavily muscled frame. All parts of his conformation are geared to allowing a horse to work hard for long hours in rough terrain, and still have the lightning burst of speed necessary to catch a cow, and the agility required to turn that cow on a dime."

This painting, by renowned equine artist Orren Mixer, is the pictorial guide to the ideal Quarter Horse:  

http://www.movar.pate.hu/~pongracz/loan....

The facts are, though, that over time, Quarter Horses have devolved into physical types that are very different.  The typical halter show Quarter Horse does tend towards both the verbal and Orren Mixer picture of what a QH should look like;  but the racing Quarter Horse is a lot more like a Thoroughbred.  No surprise:  many racing Quarter Horses are 7/8 Thoroughbred or more.  This is because of the provision the AQHA has for allowing registration of Thoroughbred crosses as "appendix-registered," which can be advanced to "permanent registration" status if they perform to certain standards.

If we're talking about a non-racing QH, we're basically talking about a horse of medium height (~15.2-16.1 hands), very solid in bone and with visibly muscular forearms, shoulders, gaskins, and hindquarters.  These QH are usually pretty cool-headed and easygoing, sensible horses that make good horses for inexperienced people.  (Sidelight:  a lot of people who love Arabian horses disparage QH's as "slow-minded" and "stupid", while a lot of people who love QH's disparage Arabians as "too flighty and nervous," "dingy" and so forth.  I have never met a serious Arab fanatic who had anything good to say about Quarter Horses, and I have never met a serious QH fanatic who had anything good to say about Arabs.  Amazing.)

Racing QH's, OTOH, are virtually indistinguishable from sprint-type Thoroughbreds, both in physical type and demeanor.  

It's a funny situation, and one decried by some lovers of the old-fashioned QH, who feel that the physical type is drifting towards being indistinguishable from the Thoroughbred.

Answer 4

The Quarter Horse is a beautiful breed with carisma and stamina.

The American Quarter Horse traces its roots back to the 1600’s. The horses in America at this time were mostly of Spanish origin, with the greatest amounts of blood from Arabian Barbs and Turk lines. In 1611 the first significant import of English horses was made to Virginia. These English horses were of native, eastern and Spanish blood.

When the new English horses were bred to the native stock, a compact horse with heavily muscled hindquarters began to develop. These horses were used for the various farm chores like plowing, pulling logs, pulling light carriages, and riding. The horses were bred to be able to do all of these things, which is where the breed’s great versatility started.

After doing chores all day the farmers would take their horses into town for friendly quarter mile races. The fastest over this distance would win, and consequently be bred more often, creating a versatile horse that could now sprint extremely fast over short distances.

As the people moved west they brought their horses with them. Many horses drove the cattle on this long trek. The people noticed how well the horses could work with the cows and the Quarter Horse made another name for itself as the perfect cow pony.



Today horses are still bred for this quality, creating a horse that is amazing to watch as it gets eye to eye with the cow, watching its every movement. Nearly independent of the rider, the horse can separate a cow from the herd, hopping back and forth as the cow turns first right and then left. This use to be a helpful tool on the open range when a cow needed separating, now it is a competitive sport called cutting. The Quarter horse can out perform other breeds in many different sports including, calf roping, barrel racing, team penning and often reining, proving to the world that it is still as versatile as it once was.

The American Quarter Horse was not recognized as an official breed until 1940 when several people got together to discuss keeping a record of the bloodlines of their horses so as not to have anymore out-crossings. The American Quarter Horse Association was created.

There were many debates on letting the thoroughbred type horses into the registry. The AQHA would only register horses after inspection for conformation and since most judges were looking for the bulldog type horse the others got excluded. Two other registries were even formed to allow them a place to register. This got very cumbersome and so eventually AQHA merged and allowed the horses that were registered in either of these registries a place in theirs.

Now the predominant picture of the Quarter Horse is still the bulldog type. It is known for its gentleness of disposition and versatility of use. This horse is often considered the perfect family horse, because of its calmness with young children, but thrill for adults especially when performing on the trail or in its many wonderful sports.



Characteristics:

Average Height:

14.3 - 16 hands

Colors:

Bay, black, brown, dun, chestnut, cremello, buckskin, palomino, grullo, sorrel, grey or roan.

Conformation:

The Quarter Horse is a stocky, broad chested breed with well-muscled hindquarters and a compact body. The head should be short and wide and the eyes wide-set. The cannons should be short and the hocks should be flat and low set.

Temperament:

Quarter horses are generally very sensible, intelligent mounts.

Members of this breed often excel in the following disciplines:

Rodeo / Ranch

Show / Pleasure

Gymkhana

Breed History:

The Quarter Horse was once known primarily as a short-distance racehorse—hence the name "Quarter Horse," derived from the quarter mile races it was famous for.

But the Quarter Horse's origins go back to a time before racing was a popular pastime. It is a truly American breed that can trace its ancestry to the 17th and 18th Centuries, when English settlers crossed their own stock with the descendants of horses brought to the New World by Spanish Conquistadors. This new breed had something the settlers needed, the inate "cow sense" that would help them manage cattle on the open plains. Today, the Quarter Horse is known for that quality above all others.

Quarter Horses are popular in rodeo, gymkhana, and any other equine sport that requires a short burst of speed and the ability to turn sharply and quickly. Its good disposition and intelligence have also made it a popular family breed.

Answer 5

It is a horse breed that farmers breed to plow the fields and use for entertainment.  It is strong but not as bulky as a draft horse (like the budwieser clydes dales).  Then at the end of their working day they would take their horses and race them for a quarter of a mile.  All breeds are different.  They were all bred for different reasons.

Answer 6

Quarter horses are generally very good tempered, and are good all around horses.  However they can run faster then a thoroughbred for 1/4 a mile (hence the name quarter horse)...soo basically they have speed.  Appendix quarter horses are built more towards english events (jumping, dressage, etc.).  Poco lobo is a pure bred quarter horse and have very defined QH features.  Compared to other breeds, the quarter horse is definitely more of an all around horse and they are very good natured.  Personally the quarter horse is one of the best breeds to have.

Hope this helps!