FIVE FUN FACTS OF MY FAVORITE HORSE BREEDS ~THOROUGHBRED

Hi Horse Pals,

Happy Valentine's Day!!  In honor of the day of 'love', I have chosen a breed my sister and I love, the Thoroughbred!  Quite apart from being the world's supreme racehorse, the Thoroughbred has played a vital part in the upgrading of numerous old horse and pony breeds and in establishing as many new ones.  

THOROUGHBRED

(This color above is a rare one in the Thoroughbreds)

Fact #1: The Thoroughbred originated in Great Britain and its genetic origin is Arabian.  The "foundation" stallions of the breed were: the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian. They were bred to native sprinting mares -- very probably Scottish Galloways -- and the resultant foals were the first Thoroughbreds.

Fact #2:  In addition to racing, Thoroughbreds compete in eventing, show jumping, and dressage at the highest levels of international competition, including the Olympics. They are also used as show hunters, steeplechasers, and in western riding speed events such as barrel racing.   Thoroughbreds can also be seen as mounted police, on polo and fox hunting fields.

Fact #3:  The first Thoroughbred horse brought to America was Bulle Rock, imported in 1730 by Samuel Gist of Hanover County, Virginia.

Fact #4:  The Thoroughbred comes in all solid colors, the most common being bay, chestnut and brown and the height ranges from 15.2 16.3 hands.

Fact #5:  There are many famous Thoroughbreds and here are just a few racehorses: Secretariat ~ in 1973, the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Citation in 1948, won 16 of 21 starts, fourth all-time money winner. Tied or broke 5 track records. Secretariat sold for an all-time high of $6,080,000.

Native Dancer ~ this silver gray horse won 21 of 22 races in his career. Owned by Alfred G. Vanderbilt, best two-year-old of 1952 and champion three-year-old in 1953, retired in 1954. Sired Raise A Native, Majestic Prince and Kauai King. 

I hope you love the Thoroughbred as much as I do!  To give you all a bit more time to guess, I will start featuring a new breed every other week.  Here is a clue for the next horse or pony breed:)  This breed is known for its stamina and endurance.  Good luck!

Your Horse Pal,

@raya 

Comments

[Gilly]

I LOVE Secretariat The New Movie!!!!

[Araya]

Hi Horse Pals ~
It's the Barb! Great guessing! It could have been any of those breeds, that's for sure! Make sure to check out the fun facts and beautiful shots of the Barb. And let us know which breed you'd like to see highlighted next!
Your Horse Pal,
@raya

[Maya]

Is it the Saddlebred or Standardbred? I love your Thoroughbred photos!

[Abby]

The Tennessee Walker is a great endurance horse so that's my guess!

[Araya]

Hi Cayce ~
Thanks for the book recommendation, I will add it to our book list and check it out, it sounds great.
We had a sale for Valentine's day for horse rescue and it went great! We had a great Love-day!
Talk to you soon,
Your Horse Pal,
@raya

[Caycd]

Cool. Hope ya'll had a good Valentine's Day. I have a book recommendation for you. It's called "That Horse Whiskey!". It's about a 13 year old girl named Lainey and she doesn't get a horse for her birthday like her dad promised so she decides to get a job to earn the money to buy a horse.

[Jake]

Is it the Clydesdale? I would guess the Arabian but you've already highlighted that breed. Your Arabian photos are awesome. I love horses!!

[Kaitlyn]

My guess for the next breed is the Waler horse. Walers are known for their "go all day" stamina and are great horses for long trail rides.

[Julie]

Nice post - and beautiful pictures. Interesting that the thoroughbred originated here - I didn't know that!!

[Tamara]

Based on your clue about stamina and endurance, my guess is the Mustang. The Thoroughbreds in your post are so beautiful!

[Alfred Vanderbilt]

What a nice article about thoroughbreds. Thanks for posting it and for remembering the great Native Dancer. He was special!