Breeds of Horse

Breeds of Horse and Horse Breeds of the World

What Exactly are the breeds of horse?

A breed is a group of animals with a common origin. Each group, or breed, has definite breed characteristics not commonly found in other breeds. These characteristics are fixed in the genetic makeup of the breed and will be passed from parents to offspring.

You can recognize many horse breeds by the style of their body and some popular and recognisable pleasure breeds include the Quarter Horse, Arabian Horse, Appaloosa, Morgan, Thoroughbred, American Saddle Horse and Paint Horse. Popular pony breeds for smaller riders include the Shetland and Welsh.

Horses that are crossbred are produced from mating two or more breeds and once you learn to recognise breed characteristics you can identify whether a horse is a Thoroughbred, Arabian or Quarter Horse. You will also be able to tell when certain purbred characteristics appear in crossbred horses.