American Western Horse Breeds

Breed: American Western Horse Breeds
Temperament: Versatile, placid but can vary
Cost: from $500 for a pet to $40,000 for a champion
Lifespan: up to 30 years
Recommended for: Beginners to experts

Western Breeds

Western breeds are all based on the American Quarter Horse and are all judged to the same standard of perfection and all compete in the same type of events.

In principle Western Breeds fall into three different groups, based on colour, these are the Quarter Horse, the Appaloosa and the Paint. Within each group there are a number of different competitive events and often the breeders specialise to produce horses which compete in just one event. The events are: Halter, Cutting, Western Pleasure and Reining. Halter events feature horses shown in the ring by lead (not ridden). Cutting events feature horses which 'zigzag' to cut individual cattle out from a herd. Western Pleasure events require horses to complete all Western gaits including the walk, the jog and the lope at a set standard. Reining events involve completing specific patterns containing circles, at different speeds and directions. It involves stopping the horse in the centre of the arena and completing 4 circle spins in either direction. The highlight of reining events is performing a sliding stop from full gallop.

The Quarter Horse

Renowned for its temperament, the Quarter Horse originally comes from America and its origin traces back to the 1600's. The name derives from the fact that the Quarter Horse was originally raced over a quarter of a mile. It was bred by crossing Arab, Barb and Turk breeds with English Horses, especially the Thoroughbred, to form a compact, heavily muscled horse.

They come in a range of colours including chestnut, bay, black, palomino and grey (but not in broken colours such as Paints and Appaloosas). Horses must be over 14 hands high (most are about 15 hands) to be officially registered as a Quarter Horse. The average lifespan of the Quarter Horse is between 25 - 30 years.

The Appaloosa

Appaloosas are the spotted form of the Quarter Horse. According to breeders and reference texts, the Appaloosa was derived from the Palouse region of northwestern US where the horses were referred to as 'a Palouse'. It was slurred into Apalouse, Apaloosie and now Appaloosa.

There are three distinctive characteristics required of all Appaloosas apart from the spotted coat pattern: (1) the eye is encircled with white like the human eye; (2) the skin is mottled irregularly with black and white particularly around the nostrils and genitalia; and (3) the hooves are narrowly striped vertically in black and white. There are several different coat patterns and markings can come in any colour, eg chestnut, palomino etc. Appaloosas have an average lifespan of 20 to 30 years.

The Paint Horse

Paint horses, are basically coloured Quarter Horses. They come in a range of colours including black & white, bay & white, brown & white, buckskin & white, chestnut & white, palomino & white and grey & white (grey & white often fades to white). Size must be over 14hh, and can be up to 17hh as an adult. Common coat patterns are Tobiano, Overo and Sabino and various combinations of these. Washing Paint horses in preparation for show can be more involved than other breeds due to the detail required to maintain the white markings.

Further Information

Australian Quarter Horse Association
Tamworth, NSW, 2340
Phone: (02) 6766 8333 Australian Appaloosa Association Ltd
Secretary - Vicky Lane
PO Box W212
West Tamworth, NSW, 2340
Phone: (02) 6765 7969 Paint Horse Association of Australia
PO Box 1008
Dubbo, NSW, 2830
Phone: (02) 6884 5513
Fax: (02) 6884 5517

Our segment was filmed at The Australian Halter Showcase at the National Equestrian Centre, Werribee Park, Victoria.

Copyright 2000 CTC Productions