American Quarter Horse

About the breed

The American Quarter Horse (Equus ferus caballus) is a muscular riding horse from the United States, named after the quarter-mile races it was bred for and best known today from Western riding. The Slovenian breeding programme gives a height of 145–165 cm, and adults weigh about 430–600 kg according to Britannica and SIQHA. The breed is known for a calm, cooperative nature, which is why it is ridden by reining competitors and trail riders alike.

From quarter-mile races to the cowboy's horse

The Quarter Horse emerged in colonial America around the 1660s, when colonists crossed native horses of Spanish origin with English horses imported to Virginia from about 1610. According to Britannica, these horses were already racing successfully over quarter-mile courses in Rhode Island and Virginia by the late 17th century, which gave the breed its name. The Slovenian Quarter Horse Association (SIQHA) adds that the quarter-mile races were run down the main streets of towns and that the term "quarter races" first appears around 1754.

The breed also absorbed a good deal of Thoroughbred blood. Britannica lists among its key sires Janus, an English Thoroughbred imported to Virginia in 1756, along with Steel Dust and Peter McCue. When Thoroughbreds came to dominate longer distances in the early 19th century, the Quarter Horse moved west and became a stock horse. Its quickness, agility, good nature and natural cow sense made it the cowboys' favourite mount during the open-range era.

AQHA: the largest horse breeders' organisation

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) was founded in 1940 and controls the breed's stud book and registry. Britannica notes that by the late 20th century more than 2.5 million horses had been registered, making AQHA the largest horse breeders' organisation in the world at the time; SIQHA now cites more than 5 million registered horses. According to SIQHA, the official registry is kept in Amarillo, Texas.

In Slovenia the breed is managed by SIQHA, founded in 1998. It has been an official AQHA International Affiliate since May 2009, a member of the European federation FEQHA since 2012, and a recognised breeding organisation for the American Quarter Horse since June 2013. The association reports more than 750 officially registered Quarter Horses in Slovenia.

Height, weight and conformation of the American Quarter Horse

The Quarter Horse is a medium-sized, compact and heavily muscled horse. The Slovenian breeding programme gives a height of 145–165 cm. No studbook standard prescribes a weight: Britannica gives about 430–545 kg and SIQHA 500–600 kg for an adult, so any figure is an approximate range that depends on type, sex and condition.

The Slovenian breeding programme describes a compact, rectangular horse with a short, wedge-shaped head, straight profile, broad forehead, large expressive eye and small ears. The neck is of medium length and well muscled, the back short and strong, the croup long and well muscled and the hindquarters powerful. The legs are correct and sound, with medium-sized, compact hooves. Britannica sums the breed up as short and stocky, with a short, wide head and a deep, broad chest.

Coat colours recognised by AQHA

AQHA recognises 23 coat colours, and the Slovenian breeding programme defers to AQHA rules on colour. They include sorrel, chestnut, black, brown, grey, bay, palomino, buckskin, cremello, perlino, white, dun, red dun, grullo and several roans, among them red roan, bay roan and blue roan. Six colours, including smoky black and three shades of champagne, are not listed on the registration application because they must be reviewed by a colour expert.

AQHA explains that sorrel and chestnut are genetically the same red colour: a chestnut has a brownish tint, while a sorrel looks redder or copper-coloured. All the colours, the association notes, derive from two base colours, red and black, and the rest are modifications of these.

Temperament: calm, cooperative and steady

The American Quarter Horse is regarded as a calm, cooperative horse. Britannica credits it with a calm, cooperative temperament, and the Slovenian breeding goal is a horse of kind character and quiet temperament. SIQHA highlights its steady character, which makes it popular with people of all ages.

In practice this usually means a horse that meets new situations with composure and can be schooled fairly consistently. Even so, an individual horse's temperament depends on its bloodline, age, experience and the work it has had. A horse schooled for competition and used to fast turns can respond very quickly to the rider's aids, so it needs a rider who knows how to channel that responsiveness.

What Quarter Horses are used for: Western disciplines and leisure

The Slovenian breeding programme states that the main aim is to breed riding horses for all Western disciplines, with a breeding goal of a horse suited to leisure or competition. Britannica stresses that cutting cattle from a herd demands fast starting, turning and stopping, plus speed over short distances. These are exactly the qualities on display today in disciplines such as cutting and reining.

The Slovenian Equestrian Federation describes reining as the Western counterpart of dressage: the rider guides the horse through a set pattern of circles, spins (360-degree turns) and sliding stops. Slovenian riders also compete at Western shows in horsemanship, trail and ranch riding. Outside the show pen the Quarter Horse is popular for trail and leisure riding, and some Slovenian ranches use it in riding schools and for therapeutic riding.

Is a Quarter Horse suitable for beginners and children?

A Quarter Horse can be a good choice for a beginner, but only with conditions. An older, well-schooled, quiet horse often makes a reliable schoolmaster for a rider learning under an instructor. A young, green or highly responsive competition horse is not a beginner's horse, whatever its breed. The same applies to children: only an experienced horse of proven calmness is suitable, and work should be supervised by a competent adult.

For experienced riders the Quarter Horse has a lot to offer, from reining and cutting competitions to long hacks. Choose on the basis of the individual horse, its schooling and its health rather than the breed's reputation.

Care: hooves, teeth, vaccination and worming

Caring for a Quarter Horse is much like caring for any riding horse and moderately demanding. The short coat needs regular brushing, the skin and legs should be checked and the hooves picked out every day. The UK Code of Practice for the welfare of horses (DEFRA) says hooves should be trimmed or re-shod as the farrier advises, usually every 4–8 weeks, and that teeth should be inspected by a vet or equine dental technician at least once a year.

The same code advises putting a parasite control programme in place in consultation with a vet, including faecal worm egg counts, and discussing vaccinations with the vet, as these depend on the horse's age and use. Keeping records of vaccinations, farrier and dentist visits is worthwhile.

Feeding: forage first

A Quarter Horse's diet should be built on forage, meaning hay and grazing. The DEFRA code points out that in a natural state horses spend 16–20 hours a day grazing and browsing, so outside working hours they should have almost constant access to grass, hay or haylage, and always fresh, clean water. According to the same source, concentrates should not exceed what the horse needs for its work or any required weight gain, and vitamins and minerals may be needed when grazing is inadequate.

With generous feeding and little exercise a horse soon puts on weight, and the DEFRA code stresses that a very overweight horse is as much a welfare concern as an underweight one. For horses carrying HYPP, the UC Davis laboratory lists a low-potassium diet, for example avoiding alfalfa, and feeding several times a day as key parts of managing the condition.

Exercise, turnout and equine company

A Quarter Horse needs daily movement and the company of other horses. The DEFRA code states that horses are herd animals that should be able to socialise with their own kind, and that isolation can harm them. All stabled horses, except those on box rest for veterinary reasons, benefit from daily turnout to graze and socialise, which can also reduce the risk of behaviours such as crib-biting and weaving.

Alongside turnout it needs regular, thoughtful ridden or in-hand work, adapted to the individual horse's age, fitness and health. A horse kept in a stable for days finds it harder to stay focused, so a steady daily routine does more good than occasional hard sessions.

Health and genetic testing

Some inherited diseases are known in the American Quarter Horse, so AQHA offers a genetic health panel covering six conditions: HYPP, HERDA, MH, PSSM1, MYHM and GBED. For horses registered or eligible for registration with AQHA, UC Davis recommends ordering the test through the AQHA registry. The Slovenian breeding programme requires breeding stallions to be tested for all six before their first offspring are registered, and an HYPP test is also compulsory for descendants of the stallion Impressive foaled in 2007 or later.

According to UC Davis, HYPP is a muscle disease causing sporadic episodes of muscle tremors or paralysis; it is inherited as a dominant trait and to date, confirmed cases have been limited to descendants of Impressive. MH and PSSM1 are also dominant, whereas HERDA and GBED are recessive, so mating two carriers gives a 25% chance of an affected foal. HERDA is a skin disease that typically appears by the age of two, often when the horse is first started under saddle, and GBED is fatal in foals. MYHM is a muscle disease inherited as a codominant trait with variable penetrance.

There is no reliable breed-specific lifespan figure for the Quarter Horse. The Merck Veterinary Manual gives an average of 25–30 years for horses in general, with health and care being decisive. AQHA's educational material recommends interpreting genetic test results in consultation with a vet.

Quarter Horse vs Paint Horse vs Thoroughbred: what is the difference?

The American Paint Horse shares the Quarter Horse type but differs in its coat pattern. SIQHA explains that the Paint's breeding goal is essentially a Quarter Horse with colour, and its registry is kept by a separate body, the American Paint Horse Association, based in Fort Worth, Texas. The Quarter Horse differs from the Thoroughbred in its stocky, muscular build and its speed over short distances: Britannica notes that Thoroughbreds ran better over longer distances, which is why they overshadowed it in racing in the early 19th century.

Who the American Quarter Horse suits

The Quarter Horse suits riders interested in Western riding, working a horse out on the trail or looking for a calm, dependable partner for leisure riding. It is less suited to anyone after a horse for speed over long distances, where Thoroughbreds took over as early as the 19th century. It needs a stable or open barn with daily turnout, other horses for company, good hay, regular work, a farrier and a vet. AQHA keeps the breed's studbook, the genetic panel is covered in the health section, and it makes sense to keep records of the horse's health care.

Pros & cons