HORSES, thouroughbreds. Is that a breed unto itself, a race horse. Or are there types , Like arabian , ?

Dana wrote on December 29th, 2008 12:49 am :

There are not different types of thoroughbreds, how wound you get that idea?

Vicki J wrote on December 30th, 2008 5:33 am :

There are many different breeds used for racing. Thoroughbreds, Arabians, Quarter Horses, and yes, even mules. But there are differences. Quarter horses race in distances of yards because they are ot bred to race for long distance. On the other hand Thoroughbreds race in distances of furlongs because they are bred to run for further distances. For instance, a furlong is 660 feet, or 1/8 mile. The Kentucky Derby is run at a distance of 1 1/4 mile or 10 furlongs.
Palamino is a color, and any breed can be a Palamino, although it is not very common in Thoroughbreds, but more common in Quarter Horses. Hope this answers your question.

Karin C wrote on December 31st, 2008 4:31 am :

The term “Thoroughbred” is sometimes used incorrectly as a synonym for “purebred.” Writer Albert Payson Terhune, author of the “Lad: A Dog” series of books famously misused the term that way.

Thoroughbred is a specific breed of horse, all of which are descended in direct male ancestory to one of three foundation stallions that were imported from the Arabia-North Africa region in the 1600’s: the Byerly Turk, the Godolphin Arabian, or the Darley Arabian. These stallions were crossed with English mares to produce horses specifically intended for racing, both on the flat and over fences.

This website is a good source of information about the history of the Thoroughbred horse:

Not all racehorses are Thoroughbreds, though many of the racing breeds (i.e., Quarter Horses, Appaloosas, and Standardbreds) are descended from Thoroughbreds. Arabians are also raced. Some of the best Arabian show-horses are descended from Polish Arabians, where it was customary to prove a horse on the racetrack before putting him in the show ring. The great Arabian show-horse sire *Bask was raced in Poland before he was imported to the US for his show career.

In the United States, all Thoroughbreds are registered by The Jockey Club, a private organization that maintains the stud book, makes rules of racing, and performs other administrative/promotional tasks. Their website is:

In England, which is where the Thoroughbred originated, the functions The Jockey Club performs are performed by Weatherby’s. This is their website:

If you want to follow Thoroughbred racing and breeding activities, these are a couple of excellent sources:
and

all great questions have answers wrote on January 2nd, 2009 11:02 am :

Thoroughbreds are a breed of its own.

Starlight 1 wrote on January 4th, 2009 2:56 am :

Karin’s answer is mostly correct- but I don’t know where she got the idea that Appaloosas were descended from Thoroughbreds from, becasue that is completely FALSE. The Appaloosa horse was named for the part of Washington State where the breed originated- the Palouse River area. As a breed, these horses were originally bred by the Nez Pierce Native American tribe as WAR HORSES, NOT FOR RACING. The Nez Pierce had no access to fancy Thoroughbreds from other parts of the country or overseas when they developed their own breed of horses- how could they, when for centuries, Native Americans were treated as worse than slaves in many instances by the White settlers who settled in and later took over their original territory. This is why the Appaloosa is descended mainly from Mustang and some Spanish stock, and the Thoroughbred had nothing to do with the original bloodlines which were used to create this horse.

Modern Appaloosas may have some infusions of Thoroughbred or Quarter Horse genes in them, and many do- but to say that the Thoroughbred was used in the original development of the breed as a whole is a mistake. As for the rest of your question, yes, there are specific breeds of horses which are bred for and used for different purposes. Thoroughbreds are primarily bred for racing and speed sports, including steeplechasing ( racing over fences) and other high performance sports, such as show jumping and eventing. Quarter Horses also race- they take their name because of their ability as sprinters which can run a quarter mile or less in a few seconds- but they are primarily bred for and used for stock work out West, and as sport horses in other disciplines. Quarter Horses also make great all around riding and pleasure horses as well, and some have been used for sports like polo and polocross. Arabians, which are the world’s oldest horse breed, are used for racing, for speed sports, but they are most famous as endurance horses. Every horse which has ever won a major championship in the sport of endurance riding is an Arab or part Arab- they are THE BREED for this sport, because they are hardy and can survive long days of riding on little food and water. Arabians are also unique in that THEY are the breed which is used to improve other breeds, such as the Morgan, for example, or the American Saddlebred.

Palamino horses are largely a color breed- that is, a type of horse which is bred exclusively for its golden coat color. There are other examples of breeds like this, such as the American Albino horse, which is bred for its white coat color and is often seen in parades and other events. Most of the Paint and Pinto horses are also bred mainly for their color, and there are two basic kinds of Paint horses: Tobianos, which are dark colored ( usually brown or black) horses with white patches, and Overos, which have white coats as their base color, with patches of another color on them. It’s common for breeders of Paints to cross these two basic types, and the results of such breedings are called either Toveros or Ovianos, depending on which side of the family the cross occurs.

The last type of color which should be made mention of is true Albinism. Albinism is a genetic mutation which can and does happen in all mammals. It is the total abscence of pigmentation in the skin or eyes- and when it happens in a horse, the animal is born with white hair, pink skin, and pink eyes. This should NOT be confused with the American Albino horse- those horses are born with normal dark skin and eyes, and dark hooves. I knew and took lessons on a mare who was a true albino while I was in college- and she was completely normal, except for her pink skin and eyes. Some people will say that horses which are albinos are more subject to sunburn, cancer, etc, than those born normally, but I saw no evidence of this with this horse I knew. There are also those who will say that true albinism doesn’t exist in horses, which is false.

Interesting question !!

heather s wrote on January 4th, 2009 11:10 pm :

Yes it is a breed of its own, but there is also the english thoroughbred.