Breed Profiles

The Stylish American Saddlebred

Updated:

November 20, 2020

The American Saddlebred is the quintessential show horse. Proud and athletic, they light up any space with their presence and eye-catching looks. But the Saddlebred is also much more than a show horse. For 200 years, the breed has been a great riding horse, cavalry horse, and family companion.

The Spanish Mustang

Updated:

October 30, 2020

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These days, importing European horses generally means flying expensive horses with high-performance Warmblood pedigrees over to North America. But importing horses to North America isn’t anything new. Horses were brought over from Europe when Spanish explorers and conquistadors sailed the ocean blue in the 15th century.

The Horse from Palouse River

Updated:

September 18, 2020

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In British Columbia, Howard Jackson, who with his wife, Marylin, owns the BC Appaloosa Centre (BCAC) in Prince George, has enjoyed a lifelong relationship with Appaloosas. Jackson was born in 1948, and in 1955 his father acquired an aged Appaloosa stallion named White Chief #36 ApHCC in a horse trade.

First Successful Cloning of Przewalski’s Horse

Updated:

September 16, 2020

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On August 6, 2020, a cloned Przewalski’s horse foal was born at the Texas veterinary facility, Timber Creek Veterinary, a long-time collaborator with ViaGen Equine in Cedar Park, Texas, a world leader in cloning services. To bring a cloned Przewalski’s foal into the world, they worked together with San Diego Zoo Global’s Frozen Zoo, and Revive & Restore, a conservation organization promoting biotechnology in conservation techniques.

Investigating the Arabian Horse Genome

Updated:

August 3, 2020

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Genetic Study Challenges Common Beliefs - A study involving Arabian horses from 12 countries has found that some populations maintained more genetic diversity and that the breed did not contribute genetically to the modern-day Thoroughbred, contrary to popular thought.

The World's Favourite Horse: The American Quarter Horse

Updated:

August 2, 2019

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Practically everyone has heard of the Quarter Horse. The most populous breed worldwide, as of 2008 there were 3,189,605 Quarter Horses registered with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), making it the largest breed registry in the world.

The Gorgeous Gypsy Vanner Horse

Updated:

March 27, 2019

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Like some fantasy creature of legend or a magical steed from a fairy tale come to life, so the Gypsy Vanner Horse seems. Its enormous power and presence, made unintimidating by the gentleness of its nature, adorned with an abundance of flowing mane, tail, and feathers, make it a breed that attracts a crowd of new admirers wherever it goes.

In Praise of the Percheron

Updated:

March 21, 2019

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The Percheron demonstrates its quality of performance as a sport and pleasure horse in addition to its better-known role in transportation and agricultural work. The breed is distinguished by an elegance, style, and alertness typical of a light horse, but with the calm temperament of a large draft.

Przewalski’s Horse – Wild No More?

Updated:

February 19, 2019

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Recently, genetic research published in the journal Science showed that the Przewalski’s horse, also known as the Mongolian wild horse and the Takhi, was actually not wild as defined by its heritage but descendants of the horses first domesticated by Botai people of Kazakhstan over 5,500 years ago.

The Clydesdale Champion of Carp: Stan Carruthers

Updated:

January 24, 2019

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Born in 1940, Stan Carruthers of Carp, Ontario, was predestined to work with Clydesdales. “My grandfather was a stallioneer in Carp, and he used to have Percherons,” explains Stan. “In 1922, he sold his Percheron and bought a Clydesdale stallion. That’s how the love affair began.”