Dutson - Storeys illustrated guide to 96 horse breeds of North America

STOREYS ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO

96 Horse Breeds of North America

Judith Dutson

Photography by Bob Langrish

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Deborah Burns, Sue Ducharme, and Lisa Hiley

Editorial assistance by Candace Akins, Melinda Sheehan, and Doris Troy

Cover design and art direction by Vicky Vaughn

Cover photographs of Choctaw (front) and Rocky Mountain Horses (back) by Bob Langrish

Frontispiece photograph of North American Spotted Draft Horse by Adam Mastoon

Text design by Kent Lew

Text production by Liseann Karandisecky and Kristy L. MacWilliams

Image acquisition by Ilona Sherratt

Image management by Laurie Figary

Prepress by Kevin A. Metcalfe

Photographs by Bob Langrish, with exceptions listed on

Illustrations by Jo Anna Rissanen

Indexed by Susan Olason/Indexes & Knowledge Maps

2005 by Judith Harris Dutson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwithout written permission from the publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information. For additional information please contact Storey Publishing, 210 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247.

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Printed in China by Regent Publishing Services

10 9 8 7 6 5 4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dutson, Judith.

Storeys illustrated guide to 96 horse breeds of North America / by Judith Dutson ; photographs by Bob Langrish.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-58017-612-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-1-58017-613-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. Horse breedsNorth America. 2. HorsesNorth America. 3. Horse breedsNorth AmericaPictorial works. 4. HorsesNorth AmericaPictorial works. I. Title: Illustrated guide to 96 horse breeds of North America. II. Title.

SF290.N7D88 2005

636.1097022dc22

2005021730

This book is dedicated to all the worlds horsemen.

What do we know of the horses ancestral soul
We can only observe and be moved.
Francesca Kelly

Many, many thanks to all the friends, relatives, horsemen, and breed organizations who helped me with this project in one way or another, and especially the following people, creatures, and things.

JOHN ACKER, English teacher and friend. He will be missed. TODD ADAMS, my trusted farrier. DR. JEFF ANGLES; all good horse books need Japanese literature scholars. DREW BANBURY, friend, extreme gardener, and koi breeder. BARBARA BARROW, who doesnt care all that much about horses but was encouraging anyway. ANNE BARTLEY, friend and horseman, who made many useful suggestions. KATHARINE BRADFORD, a friend whose encouragement to write kept me going for a long time. ANN BRAMSON, publisher. GARY BOERGER, who would really rather not bale hay but does it anyway. CINDY BOWERS, who provided many fine dinners along with useful suggestions and a good bit of commentary. DR. WILLIAM DREGER, who provided political commentary and mental health evaluations. VIRGINIA HARTER, a wonderful horse friend for many, many years who was endlessly encouraging. BONNIE HENDRICKS, who wrote the masterpiece. HENRY HEYMERING, fellow Clarkie, horseshoeing historian, and famous farrier. JODY HOCH, friend and horseman, who provided many useful suggestions and listened often. DR. JOHN HUBBELL, friend, horseman, and Standardbred expert. LORIE KIPP, periodic sidekick, horseman, and friend who offered useful suggestions and looked up more than a few arcane facts. DR. CATHERINE KOHN, a horse friend since the second grade and, conveniently, a veterinary expert. ROSALIND MERCIER, who brought an elegant perspective and special treats to dinners. COLLEEN OAKES, friend and horseman, who knows all about carrying on when the world appears to be against you. JANE OREILLY, my extraordinary cousin who knows about writing, publishing, spy work, and how to keep somebody going in very long, dark times. HOPE REISINGER, my wonderful niece whose encouragement and conversation were essential. DR. LOUIS RIVAS, Andalusian breeder. FRANK RODA, who sent all sorts of useful facts about Kigers. SARA ROGERS, longtime friend and horseman, who provided much useful commentary. DR. STEPHEN SCHUMACHER, horseman, friend, and keeper of my sometimes dog. DR. FERNANDO SILVERA, a Mangalarga expert from the old country. THE OREGON HORSEMENS ASSOCIATION. SANDY WOODTHORPE, Union activist, writer, and friend. THE NATIONAL WRITERS UNION. DR. WEI LIN HSU, who needed to know a few things about horse breeds before she got into vet school and accidentally inspired this book. Sorry its several years late. GOOGLE; it never failed. This project simply would have been impossible without it. ISA AND ZING, loyal dogs.

Many thanks to my unmet but oft e-mailed friends, guides, and helpers at Storey:

BOB LANGRISH, extraordinary horse photographer. DEB BURNS, editor. LISA HILEY, associate editor. MELINDA SHEEHAN, editorial assistant. VICKY VAUGHN, in-house art director. JO ANNA RISSANEN, illustrator and horse person. ILONA SHERRATT, illustration editor. LISEANN KARANDISECKY, designer. KRISTY MACWILLIAMS, designer. LAURIE FIGARY, image manager. KEVIN METCALFE, photo editing. KENT LEW, art director.

Horse breeds are more like shifting sand dunes than one might expect. Sand dunes are inclined to stay in one general location. If looked at closely, however, especially through time-lapse photography, the shape of each can be seen to change constantly with the winds, the seasons, and the storms. Over a long enough period dunes may actually move, grow, or disappear.

The details of horse breeds are equally fluid and difficult to immobilize. The best that can be done is to document available information at one point in time, knowing that it will not stay the same forever. We have made every effort to ensure that the information presented in this book is accurate and up to date. Breed associations were contacted for the most recent population statistics, which are meant as measuring posts to indicate the relative size of a breed today.