The Foundation Quarter Horse

    * The American Quarter Horse was first bred in the 17th century in Virginia and other settlements on the East coast, making it the oldest fully bred American horse. However, the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) was not established until 1940, so it was not the first registered American breed. The American Quarter Horse began as a highly distinctive type horse. It averaged 14 to 15 hands tall, was compact & muscular, and was known for its massive hind quarters & ability to sprint over shot distances from a standing start. Early Quarter Horses have been fondly mentioned as a "bulldog" type horse. The Quarter Horse is also known for its small head, large jaws, and small fox-like ears.

    The Quarter Horse was, and still is, a very versatile horse. They can be used to for ranch work, riding, carriage work, and much, much more. Early settlers would race the horses over a quarter-mile stretch and thus the horse became known as the "Quarter Horse". As the population moved West, the Quarter Horse began to excel as a working cow horse. It was said that they could "stop on a dime and give you nine cents change back" from a full gallop.

    Over the years, as racing began to become more popular, Thoroughbred bloodlines have been mixed with the Quarter Horse to increase it's speed. As time has passed, we have lost the distinctive characteristics that make the Quarter Horse unique. For this reason, foundation registries, such as Foundation Quarter Horse Association (FQHA) and Foundation Quarter Horse Registry (FQHR),  have been established to try and help restore the old bloodlines of the American Quarter Horse.

    Our family believes that the American Quarter Horse is truly a unique & versatile breed, and so we have joined in the effort to bring back the old bloodlines. All of our breeding stock is Foundation Registered and we strive to breed horses that have 90% or more Foundation bloodlines. We have invested in a pedigree computer program to aid in the calculation of bloodlines and research pedigrees. We calculate our own pedigrees to make decisions for purchasing & breeding. If you register your horse with a Foundation registry, they can provide you with a Foundation percentage. If you would like to know how much Foundation & Linebreeding your horse has without going through a Foundation registry, we can provide this information for you. If you are interested, you can get more info on our Services page.

    All Foundation registries have different requirements and calculate Foundation percentages differently. We have found that the FQHA has the strictest requirements and calculations. Therefore, we have all of our horses registered through this association first and use their standards when we calculate Foundation percentages. To learn more about the Foundation registries you can click on the links above to go to their websites.

*Information for this article was researched using "The Encyclopedia of the Horse"