Horse Breeds From
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We've handpicked our favourites to bring you a fascinating insight into their history, purpose and temperament. Which one is your favourite?
Pure breeds have bloodlines stretching back hundreds of years and are proudly documented by dedicated breed societies in order to preserve the breed characteristics such as colouring, size and distinguishing features.
Some have been bred specifically over hundreds of years to cope with work in conditions as diverse as the hot arid deserts of Arabia to the cold harsh winters of Eastern Europe.
What does "Part Bred" mean?
Part-breds or breed crosses have developed to take advantage of the best characteristics of each breed.
For example, finer looks, stamina and graceful movement of a "hot blooded horse" such as a Thoroughbred or Arabian with the hardiness and steady temperament of a native breed such as an Irish Draught Horse, Shire or Cob (often referred to as "Cold Blood").
A cross between these two distinctly different horse strains is often referred to as a "Warmblood".
These are very popular today and are widely used in Eventing and other competitive disciplines. We will look at Warmbloods such as the Hanoverian in our Breed Profile section shortly.
The Horse/Human Enduring Relationship
Down through the centuries horses have often been an indicator of the status or wealth of the owner and have featured in legend and folklore, warfare and celebration.Nowadays, horse ownership is a popular leisure and competitive activity, with renewed interest and passion in preserving some of our rarer breeds.
The Role of the Breed Society
Registration by recognised breed societies does much to ensure the conservation and purety of our equine heritage, thus protecting the magnificent variety of horses that we see across the world today.Popular Breeds of Today
Rather than provide an alphabetical list of equine breeds we wanted to showcase some of our favourites - both the rarer varieties and some we have personally owned over the years.If you like history and discovering where our horses originated, there are some real gems in this section and we hope you will enjoy reading about them as much as we have enjoyed compiling them!
We will be adding new breeds to the list on a regular basis to build our library so pop back often and pick up some information to impress your horsey friends!
- The Arab Horse - an equine legend!
- The Cleveland Bay - an endangered species among horse breeds!
- The Welsh Cob - a multi-talented powerhouse!
- The Welsh Pony - small in size - big on personality!
This information may be particularly helpful to you if you are thinking of Buying a Horse but not perhaps sure which of the Horse Breeds is best for you? Click on this link to find out now!
We would love to see your favourite Horse Pictures so we can display as many different horse breeds as possible. Click on this link to find out how you can send them to our Horse Gallery.
Alternatively, why not go to our Horse Facts page for lots of interesting snippets all about horses.
