The American Quarter Horse: undisputed king of Western riding

Over centuries, the American Quarter Horse has been refined into the ideal work and sport horse, thanks to its history as a cow horse. Janine Ryan looks at the Western riding disciplines that have been derived from farm work, and explains why the American Quarter Horse is perfect for this sport.

- 

The American Quarter Horse (AQH) is perhaps most widely associated with early America and the Wild West. Indeed, the history of these versatile, agile, and intelligent animals is firmly rooted in 17th-century America, when English settlers in North and South Carolina and Virginia began crossbreeding their English horses with the smaller, more nimble horses brought from Spain by European explorers. The progeny of the English-Spanish horses resulted in a compact, muscular horse known for its speed over short distances, particularly a quarter mile. This earned the breed its original name of ‘Quarter Horse’ or ‘Quarter Running Horse’.

As settlers moved westwards in the 19th century, the versatile AQH became highly valued. It possessed the stamina for long rides, the agility and ‘cow sense’ (the inherent ability to anticipate and react to cattle movements) needed for working cattle, and the speed for short sprints. As such, it was particularly important in agriculture at the time, being the preferred choice for cowboys on ranches.

Breeders in the West, particularly in Texas, further refined the Quarter Horse by crossing it with other breeds, including the Mustang, to enhance their hardiness and cow-working abilities.

Since then, the AQH’s genetics have been refined, and the modern-day AQH is a muscular, versatile horse with strong legs, sound feet, a wide chest, and good heart and lung capacity.

The AQH is generally docile, with a calm temperament. It is highly intelligent, easy to train, and retains the cow sense that the breed developed over centuries.

Not only do these characteristics make the AQH ideal for farm work but also as sports horses. They particularly shine in Western riding disciplines (perhaps more than any other horse breed), as some of these disciplines have derived entirely from farm work.