Good Western Racing Horses

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     Whenever the term "Western horse" is used, most people picture a rough-and-tumble rodeo - an event full of color but so full of danger, too, that no youngster would be permitted to enter the regular events. What few people realize is that many small, country horse shows have classes open to Western horses. The wide range of these local shows gives them their importance to the show world, and if you own a Western horse, you should pay attention so you'll know about the shows in time to enter your horse.

In case you strongly prefer western riding, you don't have to worry about being left out of the fun - or change your style simply because you thought all horse shows were exclusively for English riders. "Well," you may be thinking, "all I have to do, then, is to pick out the kind of horse I want and then use a western saddle and bridle on him. That's just fine."

But it isn't quite as simple as that! You wouldn't advise a person about to go on a hunt to use an American saddle horse on the chase. You'd suggest he use a thoroughbred - or a horse with thoroughbred characteristics. The same standards of suitability hold true if you're picking out a Western horse for yourself. Suppose that, during your excursions to find a horse, a big, long-limbed thoroughbred strikes you as a handsome animal - one you'd like to own. After all, you reason, he has speed, courage, stamina - just right for a Western horse.

Strictly in terms of breeds, the Morgan and the Arabian offer good Western horse prospects.

Both are small horses and have plenty of strength and endurance. The Morgan is compact and therefore good at making fast turns, stops and starts. The Arabian is traditionally a desert horse and so is capable of working on little food and foraging for himself. Also, he has a perfect canter.

However good Morgans and Arabians may be, an important western breed we haven't yet talked about is the quarter horse. Every Westerner will boast of the qualities of this breed, but the fact is that the quarter horse had his beginnings in the East - in Virginia.

In the late 1600's, Virginia gentlemen enjoyed racing their stock but there were no big race tracks available. They would use stretches of road near the towns - the road lap usually being about a quarter of a mile long. The distance became standardized and men began to breed horses especially for these quarter-mile races. Usually the breeder combined imported English horses either with the speedy little runners developed by the Chickasaw Indians or with a Rhode Island variety which had come down from New England and competed successfully against earlier Virginia horses.

Then a horse named Janus, an English racer with thoroughbred bloodlines, was imported and began to transmit his characteristics to all his offspring. In time, the entire breed was influenced by the speed and power he passed on to his foals, and, as sprinters, Quarter horses became unbeatable. Then, when racetracks were built, the Easterners gave up the quarter Horse in favor of thoroughbred racing on longer tracks. But ranchers and cowboys soon discovered that the compactness of the quarter horse enabled him to turn quickly and stop short. In fact, many people who want a Western horse get a quarter horse. Western horses come in all shapes and sizes, you just need to find the one that's right for you.