Transcript:

[0:04]

[Music] 10,000 years ago, the direct ancestors to today’s domestic horses — the original wild horses — disappeared from the Americas. We don’t know exactly why. It was a time of change; this is when the mammoths and other megafauna disappeared in that part of the world. Early humans could have had an influence, but we do know horses made a comeback in the 1500s with the Spanish, and then eventually other European peoples, coming into South, Central, and North America.

[0:46]

I want to tell you the story of one of these horses that made that journey across the Atlantic — one that was found in Haiti. To start this story, I want to take you back to the Spanish community of Castile, May 1572. Castile is the center of horse breeding for Spain — lots of wonderful horses, and many modern horse breeds can trace some of their lineage back to this part of Spain, the Iberian Peninsula. In May of that year, a mare labors all night quietly in the sweet and warm Spanish air. In the pre-dawn hours, she struggles silently, but she finally gives birth to a healthy foal. With his first nicker, he announces his arrival to the world — and he should be proud, because his own origins date back to the earliest horse breeds located in southern Europe.

[1:44]

Later in his life, this foal — a colt who becomes a stallion, and probably later a gelding — matures with a strong Iberian lineage, part of a long line of excellent riding horses. He’s sold, traded to an explorer making his way to the New World. Adventure awaits them both. Carefully loaded onto a large sailing vessel, he faces about a three-week crossing of the Atlantic Ocean — a perilous journey, as rough weather could capsize the boat. Thankfully, his crossing is uneventful, and in 1575 he arrives in the city of Puerto Real, Haiti.

[2:29]

He settles down, living the life he was bred for: ridden here and there. Sadly, in his mid-teens, he suffers a serious bout of colic. There are no true veterinarians at the time, but a local specialist treats him with a home brew that has worked on other horses before. This time, it fails — he dies in the night. Eventually, his owner buries him right outside the town.

[2:58]

His story picks up 400 years later, when a team of archaeologists uncover parts of his remains. Today, they can finally tell his long-forgotten story. In this podcast, we’re going to explore him and more.

[3:14]

Secretary being led… He is… Number… The horse — and the horse is the best thing in the world, isn’t it? I’ve always loved them, ever since I was a little girl. “Everybody’s in line — and they’re off! Secretariat away very well, has good position…” The love — I never thought owning a horse could mean so much to me. “…Secretariat now taking the lead… The madness!” What kind of a horse is that? I’ve never seen a horse like that before. “Lightning now… he is moving like a tremendous machine…” Their story… Mustangs are more involved in the early development of the breed than I thought they were… “…he is going to be the Triple Crown winner!”

[4:12]

[Music] Welcome to “Mad About Horses.” I’m Dr. Chris Morton, and I’ve been an equine science researcher and educator for over 20 years. In this episode of “Mad About Horses,” we’re going to explore and talk about breeds — why do we have them, why should you care, and why they matter.

[4:34]

Horse breeds have been developed for centuries. Horses have been bred for specific purposes — from plowing fields, to riding with special gaits, to pulling carts, and now for competitions. In preparing this podcast and updating my information, I’m learning new things — this field is moving at such a rapid rate. Breeds are important because not only can a breed influence how your horse behaves, it can also dictate what you can do with them. It also impacts their health — and due to breeding, we’ve carried on some genetic diseases that are breed-specific. We’ll talk about that in this podcast and in a follow-up episode.

[5:30]

This really is a podcast for everybody. Broadly, a horse breed is a group with distinctive appearance or physical characteristics. For people outside the horse industry, it’s easier to think in terms of dogs: the differences between a poodle, a Chihuahua, and a Great Dane are obvious — those are breeds of dogs. Horses are the same, and in fact, they have more breeds than any other animal we know of. You could even argue there are more horse breeds than dog breeds, though they’re close. Both have hundreds of breeds.

[6:14]

A more specific definition of a breed: a group of horses with a common origin and certain distinguishable characteristics that are transmitted to their offspring, so the offspring possess the parents’ traits. These characteristics make a breed different from others. In essence, breed characteristics are heritable traits passed from generation to generation. That said, it can get a little muddy.

[6:55]

So there are certain breed registries where characteristics are in a gray area, and then there are other breed registries that are very, very strict. Breed registries are the organizations that govern a breed — they dictate the rules on who can and cannot be part of that breed. Most people want a registered horse with a breed association because it increases the horse’s value. Others may not care, and if a horse isn’t registered, we call that a “grade horse.” Their value is generally much less than that of a registered horse.

[7:33]

The breed registry maintains the breed register and/or studbook. They set the rules and regulations for the breed, and there are many. For example, Thoroughbreds with The Jockey Club have very strict breeding rules — mares and stallions can only mate naturally. In contrast, other registries, like the American Quarter Horse Association, allow reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer. Breed registries may also have strict physical breed characteristics. In future podcasts, we’ll likely explore these larger breeds and their specifics in more depth. But for now, this episode is about introducing the concept of breeds, starting broad and later drilling down into specifics. It’s a huge topic — too big for a single one-hour episode — so we’ll break it down.

[8:59]

One useful starting point is categorizing horses into general types. Globally, the terminology is fairly consistent, though it varies a bit by country and discipline. In general, breeds are grouped by body type:

[9:31]

Light breeds — These are riding-type horses. Examples include Arabians, developed by the Bedouin tribes of Arabia and beloved worldwide; the American Quarter Horse, common on ranches in the western United States; the Thoroughbred, known for athleticism; and the Hanoverian, seen jumping in the Olympics.

Heavy breeds — These are the draft horses, the “big boys” and “big girls.” Examples include the Shire, the largest horse in the world, used to plow English fields; the Clydesdale, famous for pulling the Budweiser beer wagon; and the Belgian, often seen pulling carriages.

Pony breeds — Favorites for many, including the Shetland pony, great for children to ride, and the miniature horse, which brings smiles to everyone who meets one.

[10:46]

A quick caveat about ponies: in the horse industry, a pony is generally any equine standing 14.2 hands or less. If you don’t know what “hands” are, you’re not alone. A hand is a measurement from the ground to the top of the withers — the bony ridge at the base of the neck, between the shoulder blades. One hand equals four inches. So 14 hands equals 56 inches at the withers.

[11:41]

Hands are counted as 1, 2, 3, then the next whole number. For example: 14.1 hands is 57 inches (14 hands = 56 inches, plus 1 inch); 14.2 is 58 inches (147 cm). Anything 14.2 hands or shorter is a pony. At 14.3 hands (59 inches), it’s considered a horse. There is no 14.4 — that becomes 15 hands (60 inches), then 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, then 16 hands, and so on.

[13:03]

The takeaway: in general, ponies are 14.2 hands or shorter; anything taller is considered a horse.

[13:09]

Now, some breed registries will not call their horses ponies, even though they measure 14 hands. There are so many different breeds out there, and they all have their own sets of rules — but this is just the general, broad stuff with horses.

[13:21]

Other terms you might hear refer to the “blood” of the horse: hot-blooded, cold-blooded, and warm-blooded. This has nothing to do with body temperature. All horses have a normal resting body temperature of around 100°F (38°C). Instead, these terms refer to temperament. A hot-blooded horse isn’t physically hotter — it’s more spirited, energetic, and light-bodied. The Arabian is the embodiment of a hot-blooded horse. Thoroughbreds, Barb horses, and Turkoman horses are also hot-bloods.

[14:16]

Warm-bloods are generally the result of crossing hot-blooded and cold-blooded horses, or they’re considered to have an even temperament. These were the original cavalry horses in Europe during the 1700s and 1800s. Today, they’re prized for athleticism — examples include the Irish Sport Horse, Dutch Warmblood, Tennessee Walking Horse, and American Quarter Horse.

[14:52]

Cold-blooded horses are our draft breeds — calm, steady, gentle giants. I’ve worked with a few and resonate with them; I’m tall myself, 6’5” (about 197 cm), and I appreciate their easygoing temperament. These are horses ready to work without fuss.

[15:32]

So, broadly, we have light breeds, heavy breeds, and pony breeds — and within that, we can further describe horses as hot-blooded, warm-blooded, or cold-blooded.

[15:45]

The next big question: how many breeds are there? Estimates vary, but we’re talking hundreds. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN reports about 786 horse breeds worldwide — roughly 10% of all livestock breeds. That’s more than the estimated 300 dog breeds, so horses dominate. Out of those, 87 are extinct.

[17:03]

One extinct breed was the Canadian Pacer, known for traveling across ice and snow. It disappeared after merging into the general Canadian Horse population. Some breeds died out because their work was no longer needed — for example, heavy farm horses nearly went extinct when machinery replaced them.

[17:49]

Of the 786 breeds, 570 are local breeds found only within one country. Sixty-three are regional transboundary breeds found in a small group of neighboring countries, such as Canada and the United States, or Australia and New Zealand. Sixty-six are international transboundary breeds — the big names you see in many countries, such as Thoroughbreds, Arabians, Andalusians, Fjords, Icelandic Horses, and Paso Finos.

[19:42]

Why so many horse breeds? Geopolitics played a massive role. Before cars and planes, horses were essential for transportation, agriculture, and war. Nations bred horses for specific needs — faster mounts for the cavalry, stronger animals for farming, or specialized horses for mining. Breeding centers developed, and in the past few hundred years, many of today’s breeds took shape. Some, however, trace back thousands of years.

[21:17]

This goes back to domestication, which explains why horses behave, are fed, handled, and trained the way they are today. Around 5,000 years ago, people began selecting and breeding the wild horse, Equus ferus, for traits like docility, the ability to be ridden or driven, athleticism, endurance, and the capacity to pass these traits on to offspring. Early domestic horses were smaller — pony-sized or a bit larger — but extremely hardy.

[22:30]

So we think of the Mongolian horse, and in the next podcast, when I get more into specific breeds, I’ll talk about the Mongolian horse. That’s the one we think of — that’s where we started, with a pony size roughly 14 hands, maybe 13-something — 132 cm, so under, you know, 50 inches, 52 inches, 56 inches, somewhere in that range — 130 cm to 135 cm. From that to a massive Shire horse today that stands nearly as tall as I do — like I said, I’m almost 2 meters — to a little miniature pony that stands barely under 3 feet tall at the withers, or 34 inches, they all trace back to those original horses.

[23:11]

And how do we know that? So the question is: okay, we go back to this original prototype horse — and it’s always in the genes. Genetics is changing everything. Everything we know about horses is because genetics is showing us what’s true, and it’s disrupting some of the things that we thought we believed in.

[23:38]

I know genetics can be a scary science — it’s very intense, it can be very complicated. I’ve conducted genetics research in horses. The field moves so rapidly — it’s so fast — but it is very important. Understanding genetics means we understand the history of the breeds, and again, going back to not just behavior, but their health and these specific genetic disorders that we now see in a lot of our breeds.

[24:17]

So it is important to understand how that plays into our horses today. Now, how do we trace the lineage way back to 5,000 years ago? And this is what gets me so excited about science — this is why I get really nerdy on this stuff. Like I said, I’m reading the literature and getting really excited, like, “Oh, I can’t wait to talk about this in the podcast.” But I really have to break this down a little bit so it’s easily digestible.

[24:48]

One of the ways we know this is through our maternal line DNA — our mitochondrial DNA. It impacts us and our lineages — our ancestry. That’s how we trace human migration across the world before modern transportation. And now we’re using this technology with our horses.

[25:13]

Now, to give you a brief overview of mitochondrial DNA, and not being too scientific, so just bear with me: mitochondrial DNA is in each of your cells — each cell of you, because that’s what your body’s made up of — and then the cells make up organs: your heart, your liver, your kidneys, everything, right?

[25:35]

Mitochondrial DNA we only get from mom. So your mitochondrial DNA — that’s in you, mine that’s in me — I got it from my mother. Father plays no role in transferring mitochondrial DNA. Our nuclear DNA — that makes up us — is a mix of mom and dad. This mitochondrial DNA — or that’s why they call it the maternal line DNA — is just from mom. From her egg that helped create you, held all the mitochondrial DNA.

[26:09]

Now, what that means is your mother’s mother — your grandmother — or, let’s do it to horses: the foal’s mom, her mother passed on her mitochondrial DNA to her. So the mitochondrial DNA that is in you is the exact same that was in your grandmother, and then it was her mother, and then her mother’s mother, and her mother’s mother’s mother. You can do a direct linear trace of mitochondrial DNA down the maternal line.

[26:41]

Mitochondrial DNA mutates very, very, very slowly, so it doesn’t change much at all. We can measure it through dozens and hundreds of generations, and this stretches back thousands of years. Why this is so exciting is because the mitochondrial DNA in you is very similar to your great-times-ten grandmother, or times-twenty if you could stretch it back that long. So you’re carrying history in your blood, in your cells — it’s really exciting stuff.

[27:20]

When we apply this to horses, this gives us a big insight into the horse’s history. This research started in the 1990s, and again, with the rapid development in genetics in the last 20–30 years, we understand so much more.

[27:39]

This is what blows my mind — and hopefully it blows your mind too. Studies looking at this in maternal lineages of horses can trace it back to either 17 up to 46 maternal lines. And you take every horse today — close to 60 million or over 60 million — you can trace them all back to as few as 17 mares that were the founder populations of all modern horses. That’s 5,000 years of history down to 17. It could be up to 46 in some of the studies, but 17 — that is incredible.

[28:21]

That is why it gets exciting with science. It helps us understand — when we see a little mutation, we can measure it and go back, and start looking at the lineages of breeds. It’s going to open up a lot for researchers, and that’s why we talk about it. Because again, when we look at the genetic mutations — and I’m going to talk about some right now — they are devastating. They are devastating to the horse owner, to you, for those listening that have had to deal with this. Genetic diseases are terrible.

[28:59]

Now that we know more about it, we’re able to come up with therapies and make breeding selections, and try to avoid some of these diseases.

[29:14]

So some of the ones that are out there are hyperkalemic periodic paralysis — HYPP — in Quarter Horses; it’s a muscle disease. Severe combined immunodeficiency is seen in Arabians. One of the worst is junctional epidermolysis bullosa — JEB — seen in Belgian horses. All terrible diseases. We’ll talk about them in the future — what they are and what they do — but that’s just a snapshot. There are more out there, and that’s because we have bred horses so selectively and so intensely that we see these genetic diseases in certain breeds. That’s why it’s important.

[29:49]

Now we know we can trace horses back to as few as 17 mares. Like I talked about earlier in ancient history, we were breeding horses based on the way they were able to handle — they could go distances, they could take a rider — all of those things. That was ancient history.

[30:07]

When we go to the Middle Ages — which is about 1,500 years ago to roughly 600 years ago — horse breeding started to become more common. Think of knights and their horses and warfare — horses were selectively bred there. Draft animals started to emerge to be able to plow fields. Then you start to see ponies being developed — smaller horses to do things like pull carts and work in mines. That’s where we start to see breeding happen in a more selective manner.

[30:41]

Now in the 1500s and beyond, in the Renaissance, this is where breed registries start to emerge. In the 1700s, the Arabian Horse Club was founded in England, and in 1791 the General Stud Book was started for Thoroughbreds in England. We also start to see breed standards begin to emerge.

[31:12]

That leads us into the 1800s and 1900s, where horse breeding just explodes. With the Industrial Revolution, horse breeding became more refined and specialized as the world modernized. Breed standards were being created, and this is where we start to see a lot of these breeds explode.

[31:35]

Think about it: why in the last couple of hundred years? Well, the Industrial Revolution changed a lot. You had people living in small farming communities, out working in the field, growing food, surviving. Yes, horses were important — especially in transportation. But with industrialization, people started moving into cities and towns more, shying away from an agrarian way of life. That meant farmers had to produce more food to feed people, and you needed specific horses to do that — to plow fields, pull carts, bring produce to market.

[32:24]

Then we also see sport taking off. Recreational riding starts to become more popular. And, like we talked about earlier with genetics, you start to see horses being selectively bred for certain traits — like performance, specific coat colors, and so on. This is where you see an explosion of breed registries coming out.

[32:53]

That leads us to today, where we see horses in all shapes and sizes. Like I said, the miniature horse — tiny, 34 inches, 3 feet at the shoulder, maybe a little over that — around 200 pounds or less than 100 kilograms. To the Shire horse, which is over — some of them are over — 19 hands. I’d have trouble seeing over their shoulders at 6’5”. They weigh over a ton.

[33:23]

Then we see horses like Quarter Horses that can sprint a quarter of a mile — one of the fastest animals in that distance on Earth. Then you have Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds that can race a mile or longer, and Arabians, which are endurance horses that can go 100 miles or more. You see this wide range of horses.

[33:46]

One of the best examples of a horse bred for a specific purpose — and I think we’ve got to talk about this — is the gaited horse breeds. Horses move in what we call gaits: walk, trot, canter, gallop — those are the basic gaits. Gaited horse breeds can do special gaits — usually the “fifth gait” — or, depending on the breed, different types of gaits with different types of movement.

[34:27]

They deserve their own podcast, and they’re going to get it here soon — especially when we talk about how horses move. These are, I try to think, the Aston Martins, the Mercedes, the Rolls-Royces of the horse world. They’re supposed to make riding so comfortable that you barely even notice you’ve got a horse under you. Anybody that works a lot with gaited horses can probably attest to how specialized they are.

[34:53]

Some of the breeds include American Saddlebreds, Tennessee Walking Horses — one of the more popular horses around the world — the Icelandic Horse, the Racking Horse, the Peruvian Paso. There’s a whole bunch of them. They all have specialized gaits, and again, they are the specialized horses bred specifically for that purpose — for riding. Some of them do pull carts.

[35:22]

That brings me back to the opening, and that was this horse found in Haiti in the 1980s. The colonial horses that were introduced to the Americas have had a huge influence on developing not only the American Quarter Horse, but many other horse breeds around the world. This horse has been called the Caribbean Colonial Horse. The paper was published out of the University of Florida Museum of Natural History, which does a lot of great work in the United States.

[35:52]

What we know is that horses were introduced in the Caribbean in the late 1490s. They made it to mainland North America in the 1520s — near modern-day Mexico — and then Florida in 1538, when the Spaniards landed there with horses. This specimen specifically dates back to about 1580, when they estimate it died. It was a middle-aged horse. They were able to extract DNA, look at the mitochondrial DNA genome, and trace back its lineage, showing some of the earliest horses that were reintroduced to the Americas. This gives us insight into what breeds were around in the 1500s, because we don’t have a lot of data on many of our breeds.

[36:46]

With this colonial Caribbean horse, when they did that, it was fascinating what they came up with. Looking at its genetics, they were able to link it to the Chincoteague Pony — also known as the Assateague Horse — which lives on Assateague Island in the United States, particularly in the states of Virginia and Maryland. It’s one of many breeds of feral horses in the U.S.

[37:18]

It has such an interesting history — there are legends that they descended from pirates, that a pirate ship crashed and the horses got loose. Others say they’re Spanish horses from shipwrecks. Evidence points to them being brought to the islands in the 17th century by farmers. That’s 400 years ago that these animals were established on this island in the U.S. This colonial-era horse found in Haiti is its close relative, and the Chincoteague Pony probably evolved a little past that — possibly part of the same founding herds back in the day.

[38:08]

When we carry out that analysis further, there are other breeds that are very closely related: the Iranian breed, the Marwari breed, and the Caspian Pony — or Caspian Horse — which is thought to be the oldest domesticated breed in the world. Scientists estimate the Caspian Horse breed dates back about 3,000 years — maybe longer. It’s an Oriental-type horse, a Persian horse — so modern-day Iran — and it’s thought that this Caspian Horse had a major role in the development of most of our hot-blooded breeds today, which in turn influenced our warmbloods and possibly our coldbloods.

[39:05]

The Caspian Horse was an all-around horse — riding horse, chariot horse, war horse. It was actually thought to have gone extinct, but a small number were found in the mountains of northern Iran. Some horses were sent to Europe in the 1970s, and in the 1990s some went to the United States. There’s no exact population size, but it is considered a rare horse, and there are efforts to conserve it, because it’s probably the best representation of what we had thousands of years ago.

[39:36]

In the next podcast, we’re going to go deeper into some of the more popular breeds of the world. We’ll talk about some of the jobs they may do — so when I say “cow sense,” you think of a cutting horse, an American Quarter Horse; endurance racing, I think Arabian; pulling a plow, a Percheron or a Shire Horse. Then we’ll talk about the most popular breeds around the world. Take a guess — which horse do you think is living in most countries around the world? We’re going to talk about that more in the next episode — so stay tuned.

[40:17]

Breeds are so important, and I hope that gives you the broad overview. In the next episode, we’re going to drill down more. It’s a big topic to tackle, trying to explain all the different breeds and why you should care — why care about breeds, why care about specifics. I think anybody that works in the horse industry or cares about horses is going to want to know about breeds. It’s just such an important topic.

[40:54]

Just to finish out this episode, go check out madbarn.com if you haven’t. Go to the Learn tab — hundreds of articles on breeds, breed-specific guides (we’re publishing those every day), anything about genetics, nutrition, health — anything about the horse. If there isn’t a topic covered, please email me at podcast@madbarn.com. We can get an article out quickly and possibly use that as a future episode.

[41:28]

I just want to thank everybody that’s given us five-star reviews so far. We’re almost to episode 10 — that’s when I start liking to ask for those. But if you’ve really enjoyed the podcast so far and you’ve been following from the beginning, if you don’t mind just clicking that five-star review on Spotify or iTunes — some nice comments — I’ll read those. I really appreciate the feedback.

[41:53]

Check us out on social media — Instagram, Facebook, and dare I say TikTok now. We’ve got some great things on there too, pushing out as much education as we can, because we really want to make the world a better place for horses — which in turn will make the world a better place for you. So thank you for listening.