American Standardbred
| American Standardbred | |
|---|---|
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| Important data | |
| Origin: | United States |
| Main breeding area: | Eastern USA specifically Kentucky , Canada |
| Distribution: | worldwide |
| Stick measure : | 150-165 cm |
| Colors : | mostly brown, fox and black horses |
| Main application area: | Horse racing, recreational riding, gaited horse |
The American Standardbred - also short Standardbred - or American Trotter is an American horse breed and today is the most important trotter breed worldwide in terms of performance.
Background information on horse evaluation and breeding can be found under: Exterior , interior and horse breeding .
Exterior
The Standardbred is a performance-oriented trotting horse . The breed is not very uniform as it is bred for performance rather than beauty. The height of the stick varies between 145 and 175 cm, with most horses in the range between 150 and 160 cm. The croup is very muscular, sloping and long and often overbuilt. The Standardbred's legs are dry and hard with good hooves. The straight hindquarters supports the disposition to impressive trot steps with a maximum of thrust.
Since the American Standardbred is bred for trot and pace races, the focus is on the race trab with a long suspension phase or extremely supportive pass and in any case an enormous boost from the hindquarters. The walk is very expansive, the gallop, like other gaited horse breeds, sometimes tends to four-stroke, depending on the gait disposition.
interior
As typical racehorses, they are persistent, fast, courageous and have very strong nerves.
In contrast to the French and Russian trotters , the American trotters are precocious. This means that he can already be seen on the racetrack as a two- and three-year-old, which of course considerably reduces the investments of the breeders until the first race. From an animal welfare point of view, however, it is controversial.
Breeding history
The American Standardbred breed has been bred exclusively for trot and pass races since the mid-19th century . It was officially founded in 1879 through the adoption of a set of rules by American breeders. At the time when the studbook was opened, in 1871, the breeding horses had to reach a certain speed standard in order to be registered. This practice established the name of the breed. At that time the standard for trotters was 2:30 minutes for the mile and 2:25 minutes for passers.
The breeding origin of the breed can, however, be traced back further. The origins go back to the colonists who settled New England in the 16th century and brought their English and Dutch horses with them. Spanish influences are also suspected, which is more than likely as Spanish horses were very fashionable at the time and practically influenced horse breeding across Europe. The result of this crossing, the harsh environmental conditions and the high demands on the horses was a compact, strong and durable riding horse that was able to comfortably cover long distances for the rider. Their gaits are described in historical sources as "pace". But the fact that the gears are described as being very comfortable rather suggests that they walked a broken pass or some other four-stroke variation.
Certainly the gait variations that existed were not particularly different from what the American gaited horse population shows today. With the difference that the different gaits did not lead to the separation into different breeds and that all sorts of what the Americans call "soft saddle gaits" were present in the population. Many of these horses, rarely over 140 cm tall, were also bred in Canada and sold south. By 1636, Rhode Island quickly established itself as the equine capital of New England, and the best pacers were bought, sold and bred here.
Racing soon became popular and fast horse breeding became a profitable business. Over time these horses became the most popular riding and draft horses of the colonies. Not particularly beautiful, they were sure-footed, reliable, fast and comfortable. These horses got their name from the area in which the center of their breeding was, the Narragansett Bay: Narragansett Pacer . For over 150 years these horses were the riding horse of choice in the colonies.
Soon after the American Revolution , the increased importation of English thoroughbreds , together with new ideas in animal breeding, caused a tremendous upheaval and upswing in American horse breeding. In 1788 the English thoroughbred stallion Messenger , whose father Mambrino was a star of the popular horse races over four miles, was imported to Philadelphia. There he started a revolution in horse breeding. Mated with the resilient, strong, small horses of the former colonies, Messenger brought offspring with great action, speed and perseverance in the trot. The thoroughbred influence brought more size, grace and elegance into the breed at the same time.
The combination of Narragansett Pacer and Thoroughbred not only resulted in the Standardbreds, but also the Saddlebreds , the Tennessee Walkers , the Morgans and other breeds. At the beginning of the breeding, the breeds were by no means separated from each other, and so you can find many horses in the pedigree of several breeds. Messengers great-grandson Hambletonian 10 , born in 1849, is considered the progenitor of the Standardbreds.
use
Racing
The American Standardbred is primarily bred for the racetrack. Depending on their disposition, they run either in trotting races or in pass races. The horses in the pass races achieve on average higher speeds than the usual approx. 50 km / h for the trotters. Although there are ridden races, most races are ridden with a sulky . So-called "hobbles", plastic or leather cords that are placed around the upper part of the legs, are used to support the horses in the pace races. Equivalent to the Triple Crown in US horse racing, there is also the "Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters".
Further use
Most former racehorses start a second career in the leisure sector or in other riding disciplines. In addition to dressage , jumping , and versatility , this breed can also be used for hiking and western riding . Some horses show not only a predisposition for the pass but also tölt so that they can be shown at gait tournaments.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Standard Bred . In: International Museum of the Horse. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
- ^ Maria Costantino: Handbook of horse breeds . Bassermann Verlag, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-8094-1773-4 , p. 128-129 .
- ↑ How fast is a trotter. In: My trotting sport. Retrieved May 16, 2020 .
- ↑ Standard Bred . In: International Museum of the Horse. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
- ^ Dean Hoffmann: Different breeds, different triple crowns. In: Harness Racing Update. May 8, 2018, accessed May 16, 2020 .
- ↑ Pamela Sladky: From race horse to riding horse: Trotters and gallops in the second educational path. In: Horse Review. September 22, 2016, accessed April 16, 2020 .
- ↑ Töltende trotter. In: International Gaited Horse Association. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .