The Thoroughbred Horse: Thoroughly Bred For Distance Racing

The Thoroughbred is also known as the Thoroughbredare off the ground and the horse is airborne for that
Racehorse even though that is not their only use. Whilesingle second before he begins the gait pattern again.
they have historically been bred for racing, their 16 toPatience, training, and breeding can help instill pacing
17.3 hand height and long legs allow them to excel atand trotting gaits, as well as other desirable motions.
jumping and their graceful ways of moving helps theThoroughbreds are officially recognized in the colors of
breed to excel at most of the English disciplines suchbay, black, chestnut, dark bay, dark brown, white, gray,
as equitation and dressage.roan, and palomino. The head should be proportional to
The Thoroughbred breed includes some of the mostthe rest of the body, with a flat forehead and wide-set
valuable animals in the world. In 1985 an untestedintelligent eyes. The head, which is carried relatively low,
yearling colt named Seattle Dancer was sold atshould sit well on a neck that is longer and lighter than
auction for the record price of $13.1 million just on thein other breeds. The shoulder should be deep,
basis of his pedigree.well-muscled and sloped along the same parallel as
The Thoroughbred pedigree dates back to the latethat on which the head is carried. When seen from
1600s and may be the oldest recorded pedigree forbehind or from the front, the legs should be straight
any animal population. One of the earliest formaland move smoothly in unison through a single plane.
registries was the General Stud Book forThe Thoroughbred is one of the 5 "hot-blooded"
Thoroughbreds that began in 1791. It shows that thehorses in terms of temperament, which means they
breed descended from a group of English-bred horseshave more sensitivity and energy. But being high-strung
whose ancestry can be traced back to threegives the Thoroughbreds an edge that helps them
foundation stallions: the Darley Arabian owned bycompete successfully as race horses. Hot bloods
Thomas Darley (1703); the Godolphin Arabian "Barb"have high intelligence that allows them to be athletic,
owned by Lord Godolphin (1730); and the Byerly Turkversatile, and to learn quickly. They have agility and
owned by Captain Robert Byerly (1683). These threespeed and are generally considered spirited and bold.
stallions were imported to England from North AfricaThey tend to have long legs and a slim build and are
and the Middle East around the turn of the 17thmore physically refined than other breeds. Some
century and were bred to the strong, locally availablepedigree lines of Thoroughbred are known to be
native English mares.temperamental, if not hot-headed, while others are
The Jockey Club took over the General Stud Book inequally known for their level-headedness.
1896 and is the official registry for Thoroughbreds. TheAll Thoroughbreds are given an official birthday of
JC manages one of the most sophisticated computerJanuary 1st to keep the age groups easily defined for
operations in the country for tracking race resultsracing, regardless of the actual date of birth of the foal.
world-wide. Its database holds the names of moreThey must be registered with the Jockey Club within a
than 1.8 million horses in a master pedigree file whichyear of the actual birth date and must be DNA tested
trace back to the late 1800's.to prove their parentage. Additionally, a horse must be
According to the pedigree records, the overallnamed by February of its 2-year-old year, but even
foundation stock numbered only 80 horses, with 21 ofthat can be a challenge, since the owner must submit
those contributing a total 80% of the pedigree for6 names and it is the Jockey Club that will decide
modern Thoroughbred horses. Only 10 horses havewhich name they can have.
contributed over 50% of the genes in the currentIn addition to DNA, "night-eyes": or "chestnuts", may be
generation of Thoroughbreds and four of those horsesrequired for identification. These are horny, irregular
appear in the bloodlines of over 30% of moderngrowths that are found on the inside of a horse's legs.
Thoroughbreds. With such a small gene pool, geneticThey are just above the knees on the front legs and
problems associated with inbreeding are generallythey are near the rear of the hock on the rear legs.
expected. However, this does not appear to be theThese chestnuts are like human fingerprints since no
case in the Thoroughbred.two horses have been found to have the same set of
Now, as a result of three centuries of careful selection,these growths. Additionally, since they do not change in
Thoroughbred racehorses are the fastest horses insize or shape throughout the life of an adult horse they
the world over distances of 1-1.75 miles. They haveare extremely useful in animal identification. The
been bred to carry more than 1000 to 1300 pounds ofJockey Club often asks for a set of night-eye photos
their own body weight over extended distances,to assist in the identification of horses that have no
galloping at speeds of 35-40 miles per hour, yet stillwhite markings or for identifying gray/roans.
have the agility to respond to changes of pace orAn expert on biomechanics of the horse once noted
direction as dictated by the rider.that if there is a limit on the Thoroughbred's
The gallop is the most natural gait for theperformance, it may be on the ability of the horse to
Thoroughbred and the breed canters in a gallop calledremain sound in the face of the tremendous physical
running. The feet move in a four-beat gait, and beforestresses of racing.
the beat begins again, just for an instant, all four feet