Thoroughbred Horse

He is the thoroughbred horse.

What image does that bring to your mind?

Kentucky Downs. Horse muscle. Horse grace. Horse strength. Horse speed. Power.

A thoroughbred is all of that of course and so much more.

He is the hopes and dreams of horse racers and owners and breeders everywhere and has been for generations.

He is the depiction of grace and power and strength.

He is the epitome of dreams of winners. He is the wreath of roses ... the top of the mountain ... the pride and joy ... the dream attained.

He is the Thoroughbred.

The selective breeding of horses to bring about the thoroughbred breed as we know it today began in the early 1700's. Three horsemen, Thomas Darley, Lord Godolphin and Captain Robert Byerly, brought their horses ... the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerly Turk ... from the Mediterranean area to be bred with the native horse in England. This breeding produced a horse inbred with speed and strength and a less precocious nature than the original studs .. for the purpose of aristocratic horse racing. This selective breeding ... the best studs to the best mares ... has been going on since.

For many years the records of the horses' ancestries were not public ... as they were expected to prove themselves before being noted as good racers.

It wasn't until late 1700 that James Weatherby researched records and came up with over 300 horses that traced back to the original names, Darley, Godolphin and Byerly, and began a registry of his own that became The General Stud Book which is still published in England. It wasn't until late 1800 that the American Stud Book was begun in North America as racing here had proliferated to the degree that a pedigree record of American studs became a necessity.

Col. Sanders D. Bruce, a long time pedigree researcher from Kentucky began the registry that was then taken over by the Jockey Club, whose responsibility it is is to protect and maintain its integrity. It is the integrity of this registry record that the entire racing industry in North America depends on for its own integrity - the absolute assurance of the knowledge to the breeding of each registered foal.

What determines the best thoroughbred racer?

There are all the technical determinations of height and withers and leg and bone forms and widths, each of which comes together to project the image of the perfect race horse,with that image projecting the fastest and strongest horse yet on the race track.

However, the bottom line is, the most important qualities of all in that perfect thoroughbred race horse is determination and will.

If one could engineer the perfect horse according to technical information determining stride and power and speed .. it would mean nothing if the horse had no determination, will and heart.

So in the end product with all of the introspection and breeding according to what the records seem to prove, it is in the final analysis nature itself that determines the winner. That winner can go against everything that man has determined in his mind to be the perfect thoroughbred racer that picture of grace and power and speed flying across the land in all its beauty.

The thoroughbred horse ... the perfect thoroughbred horse is the goal that keeps man forever on a quest that only nature in its random beauty can ever really fully determine.

John Grayson- working with horses all his life, still sees every thoroughbred horse as the one striding across the finish line... front of the pack. Equestrian Care [http://equestriancare.blogspot.com]?

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