Thoroughbred Horse

In general usage the word ‘thoroughbred’ is used to refer to purebred horses. But this is a misnomer. Purebred are those horses (or for that matter any animal) that come from one single breed. The best racehorses are Thoroughbreds. To avoid confusion with purebred a capital “T” is used. It is a particular breed of horse.

Carefully bred horses were known in Europe for centuries but this particular breed, Thoroughbred was developed in 17th century England. Arabian stallions were imported to breed with English mares. Simultaneously during this time began the process of creating a General Stud Book and officially registering horses. All the Thoroughbreds we see today trace their ancestry to Arabian stallions.

The height of the Thoroughbred ranges from 1.2 to 17.0 hands; the color is typically dark brown, black, gray or chestnut. Roan and palomino are rare with white being the rarest of all. Sometimes the face and lower legs are marked with white. The Thoroughbred has a finely chiseled head, high withers, long neck, short back, deep chest and hindquarters, lean agile body and exquisite long legs. Thoroughbreds represent agility, speed, spirit and boldness.

There are certain preconditions for registering a Thoroughbred. Unlike other breeds the mating of the mare and stallion must be witnessed to qualify. Artificial insemination cannot be used in the case of Thoroughbreds. The reason is partly economic. It restricts the supply and maintains the high price of this breed. It cannot become common commodity.

The history of the Thoroughbreds began with three stallions being brought from the Middle East during the late 17th and early 18th centuries – Darley Arabian, Godolphin Arabina and Byerly Turk. They were mated with about 35 mares. These were followed by Unknown Arabian, Helmsley Turk, Lister Turk and Darcy’s Chestnut. Bulle Rock was the first Thoroughbred to migrate to America in 1730, imported by Samuel Gist of Virginia. Soon Maryland and Virginia became of centres of Thoroughbred breeding to be followed by South Carolina and New York.

The Thoroughbred is primarily a racehorse but it is also used for jumping and youth show and for other combined purposes – family horse, dressage horses and for polo. In races the Thoroughbred is for saddle at the gallop. Some families are famous as sprinters covering long distances.

The Thoroughbred is prone to injury. Selective breeding and using horses for racing at the age of 2 when they are not fully mature are stated to be the causes. Rearing Thoroughbreds is an industry giving employment to thousands of jockeys, trainers, grooms, kitchen staff, suppliers of food etc. Then there are vets and auctioneers as well as saddle artificial turf manufacturers. Last but not least is money spinning gambling that fattens state coffers.

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