Farmer’s Weekly – 09 August 2019

horse talk

CharaCteristiCs

AQHsareknownfortheirlevel-

headedness,dependabilityand

versatility.Forthesereasons,

theyaresoughtafterforhacking,

aswellasformountedgames.

Thebreedis compact,which

allowsit toperformthefast

manoeuvresneededinreining

andcutting.Theyarethefastest

barrelracersintheworld.

TheyareusedinWesterntrail

classes,pleasureorWestern

horsemanship.Theyalso

excelinWesternandCowboy

Dressage,aswellasinEnglish

disciplinessuchaspolo,

showjumpingandeventing.

AQHAmemberscanofficially

leaseregisteredperformance

horses,broodmaresorstallions.

However,shouldyougothis

route,makesureyouinvest

ina registeredAQHthathas

testednegativeforthefive-panel

genetictestsandhasa pedigree

showinglifetimeregistration.

• DrMacis anacademic,a practising
  equineveterinariananda studowner.
  Emailherat farmersweekly@caxton.
  co.za.Subjectline:Horses. ▪FW

T

henameAmerican

QuarterHorse(AQH)is a

registeredtrademarkthat

canonlybeusedonpurebred,

registeredhorses.AnAQH

cannotberegisteredif it is a

crossbreed.Thereis alsonosuch

thingasanunregisteredAQH.

Thisis themostpopular

horsebreedintheUS,and

theAmericanQuarterHorse

Association(AQHA),basedin

Amarillo,Texas,hasmorethan

fivemillionregisteredhorses.

It servesover 350000 members

globally,includingSouthAfrica,

andstipulatespolicies,showing

rulesandbreedingrules,aswell

asdetailedconformationcriteria.

SouthAfricanscanjoin

theAQHAandtakepartin

showsandeventslocallyand

internationally.TheAQHis also

registeredwithSAStudbook.

Breedorigin

DuringhisconquestofMexico

in1521,theconquistadorHernán

CortésbroughtSpanishhorses

totheAmericas.Indigenous

Americansbeganbreedingthem,

andasearlyas1611,Chickasaw

ponieswerecrossbredwith

importedEnglishThoroughbreds.

Oneofthemostfamousof

theseimportswasJanus,a

grandsonofGodolphinArabian,

oneofthefoundingsiresof

theThoroughbred,whowas

importedin 1752 andadded

tothegeneticbackgroundof

whatwastobecometheAQH.

It is knownasthefastest

racehorseintheworld,andcan

reachspeedsofupto88km/h.

Duetoitsspeedandversatility,

theAQHwasusedforracing,

aswellascattleranching.The

progenyofoneofthebreed’s

foundingsires,SteelDust,

reportedlymadeitswayfrom

TexastoSouthAfricaduringthe

Anglo-BoerWar,afterWilliam

Anson,anEnglishmanwho

coinedthebreed’sname,sold

AQHstotheBritishgovernment.

Thetypicalcoloursofthe

AQH,suchassorrel,palomino

andline-backeddun,can

stillbeseenintheSouth

AfricanBoerperdtoday.

ComingtosouthafriCa

In1973,GaryPlayer,South

Africa’swell-knowngolfer,

importedthefirstregistered

AQHsintoSouthAfrica.

LynnMuller,a showjumper

atthetime,helpedtrainthe

importedhorses,whichwere

shownsuccessfullyinEnglish

ridingclassesandgymkhana.

Shealsocompetedinopen

showjumpingclassesonthe

AQHmareFritterbit.

Mullerstartedthediscipline

ofWesternridinginSouth

Africa,andwasinvolved

ingettingSouthAfricato

affiliatewiththeAQHA.

Shelaterfacilitatedthefirst

InternationalFederationfor

EquestrianSportsreining

showinParysin2011.

ABOVE:

TheAmerican

QuarterHorsehas

a muscularneck,

deepchest,sloping

shoulders,anda

smallheadwith

wideeyes.The

breedis usually

between14,3hh

and16hhhigh.

FLICKR

DrmAc

This breed is not only fast, but is also versatile, and can thus compete in English or Western

riding disciplines, says Dr Mac.

The American Quarter Horse

9 august 2019 farmer’sweekly 59