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Quarter Horse Research Paper

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The Quarter Horse is one of the oldest recognized breeds of horses in the United States and one of the most widely respected breeds across the horse industry. The American Quarter Horse first originated in the United States around the mid 1600’s and soon took shape as a unique and well-built horse that is the fastest over a quarter of a mile, but is also very versatile with specific breed characteristics and a legacy that will forever leave an imprint on the horse industry. The American Quarter Horse originated in the United States, thus giving it the “American” name that it is known by. However, the first Quarter Horse emerged from Arab, Turk, and Barb breeds in throughout the mid 1600’s (International Museum of the Horse, 2017). Those notable …show more content…

During the 1800’s, vast cattle ranches began to stretch across the plains (International Museum of the Horse, 2017, para. 4). The Quarter Horses’ quickness, ability to move side to side, good-natured disposition, and natural cow-sense made it ideal for the cattle industry and short distance racing (Encyclopedia Britannica, March 2008). As the American Quarter Horse continued to build a legacy for itself with its amazing talent it wasn’t until the 1940’s, almost 300 years later, an official organization was established to recognize the breed that has made a substantial impact on the horse business. The American Quarter Horse Association or AQHA holds the registry for all American Quarter Horses and plays an important role in the development of the Quarter Horse in history. However, since there was no Quarter Horse registry prior to 1940, it is possible that the purity of the breed could have not been maintained throughout the 300 years of unplanned beginning (Ensminger, 1990, p. …show more content…

An example of this would be the horse Wimpy. He was sired by Solis and out of Panda, foaled in 1935 and later raised on the King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas (Western Horseman, n.d.). Wimpy was honored as the 1941 Fort Worth Exposition and Fat Stock Show grand champion stallion (International Museum of the Horse, 2017, para. 9). He was listed as Number 1 in the very first AQHA stud book in the mid 1940’s and he sired 170 foals that were all registered with the AQHA (International Museum of the Horse, 2017). Wimpy will forever be remembered as one of the very first American Quarter Horse stallions that revolutionized the horse industry with his excellent sons and daughters. Another horse that had a similar impact to Wimpy was Doc Bar. This chestnut stallion was foaled in 1956 on Tom Finley’s Arizona ranch by Lightning Bar and out of Dandy Doll (AQHA, n.d.). Doc Bar was originally bred to run and had Thoroughbred genetics in his pedigree; however, he only earned a total of 95 dollars in four total race starts (AQHA, n.d.). He was then purchased and turned into a halter horse and then later on a cutting horse. Doc Bar transformed the way we view halter horses in the Quarter Horse industry and he

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