American Saddlebred
Encyclopedia
The American Saddlebred, formerly known as the American Saddle Horse, is a breed of horse
that was developed in Kentucky
by plantation owners. Today, in the horse show
world, they are most commonly seen under saddle in Saddle seat
style riding, and in various types of driving
, including pleasure driving
and various types of fine harness
competition. They are also occasionally seen in other disciplines including dressage
, hunter/jumper
, and western riding
. They also are popular parade
mounts and used for trail riding
due to their comfortable gait and steady temperament.
and fine harness
competition, the disciplines where the breed dominates, are flashy, high-stepping animals, with exaggerated action. Saddlebreds are sometimes used in western classes
and in the sport horse
disciplines. The Saddlebred is very sensitive and alert. The ideal American Saddlebred is well-proportioned and presents a beautiful overall picture. Large, wide-set expressive eyes and gracefully shaped ears set close together are positioned on a well-shaped head. The neck is long with a fine, clean throatlatch and is arched and well-flexed at the poll
. The American Saddlebred sports well-defined and prominent withers
, while the shoulders are deep and sloping. Well-sprung ribs and a strong level back also characterize the breed. The legs are straight with broad flat bones, sharply defined tendons and sloping pastern
s. Saddlebreds are usually black
, bay, or chesnut
, but grays
, buckskins, palomino
s, pinto
s and occasionally roan
s are also seen. The average height is , but can range from .
Saddlebreds can also be five-gaited, performing not only the walk, trot, and canter
, but also ambling
gaits known as the slow-gait and the rack. The slow gait is one of three possible four-beat gaits performed at a relatively slow speed only slightly faster than the walk, with substantial knee action. The slow gait may be the lateral, even-tempo singlefoot, the lateral, asynchronous stepping pace, or the diagonal fox trot. The rack is a ground-covering lateral four-beat gait, and is much faster, with the horse snapping their knees and hocks up quickly. Ancestors of the Saddlebred were naturally gaited, and many Saddlebreds today can learn the additional gaits.
Lordosis
, also known as swayback, low back or soft back, has been found to have a hereditary basis in Saddlebreds and a recessive mode of inheritance. The precise mutation has not yet been located, but researchers believe it to be somewhere on horse chromosome 20. The research into this condition has several values beyond just the Saddlebred breed as it may "serve as a model for investigating congenital skeletal deformities in horses and other species."
In the 18th century, American colonists crossed the Narragansett Pacer
with the Thoroughbred
. Known as the American Horse, this cross was used in the Revolutionary War, and made its way into Kentucky. In the 1800s, the breed become known as the Kentucky Saddler. It was used mainly on plantations because of its comfortable, ground-covering gaits, and sure-footed manner. It was developed into a very stylish, fancy horse: beautiful for harness, strong enough for farm work, and fast enough for match races. In the 1830s, Morgan
and Thoroughbred blood was added to give the breed more substance and action. This produced the American Saddlebred. The horse gained popularity in the 1840s. The stallion Denmark, born in 1839, became the foundation sire
, with over 60% of today's Saddlebreds tracing back to this one horse.
General Robert E. Lee
had a Saddlebred named Traveller
; Generals Ulysses S. Grant
and Stonewall Jackson
also rode Saddlebreds. After the American Civil War
ended, breeders began promoting the breed as a show horse, breeding for flash and animation, and earning the breed one its nicknames, "The Peacock of the Horse World," considered a term of admiration. One of the most famous Saddlebreds in the horse show
world was Wing Commander
(1943 – 1969). A six-time World Grand Champion, he became a leading sire of Saddlebred show horses.
were also Saddlebreds, including the horses selected to portray Mr. Ed, Flicka
and one of the horses used in National Velvet
. Saddlebreds played themselves in the film classic Gone with the Wind
, and many early action movies, like the original Zorro.
The Hollywood connection works both ways: actors today who own Saddlebreds include William Shatner
, who, reprising his role as James T. Kirk
in Star Trek Generations, rode one of his own Saddlebreds during scenes shot with Jean-Luc Picard
(Patrick Stewart
) set in the alternative universe of the "Nexus." Another celebrity known for owning Saddlebreds and for his success as a horse show
exhibitor is Carson Kressley
, star of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
Other notable owners and exhibitors of Saddlebreds include the Don Mattingly
family (Diamond 5 Farms), Misdee Wrigley Miller (of Wrigley's gum
), Michele MacFarlane (Scripps newspapers), Elisabeth Goth (Dow Jones), the Pettry-Fergusson family (Rustoleum), Mary Gaylord McClean (Gaylord Entertainment) and many others.
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
that was developed in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
by plantation owners. Today, in the horse show
Horse show
A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...
world, they are most commonly seen under saddle in Saddle seat
Saddle seat
Saddle Seat is a style of horseback riding within the category of English riding that is designed to show off the high trotting action of certain horse breeds. The style developed into its modern form in the United States, and is also seen in Canada and South Africa...
style riding, and in various types of driving
Driving (horse)
Driving, when applied to horses, ponies, mules, or donkeys, is a broad term for hitching equines to a wagon, carriage, cart, sleigh, or other horse-drawn vehicle by means of a harness and working them in this way...
, including pleasure driving
Pleasure driving
Pleasure driving is a horse show class seen in the United States that features light breeds of horses and ponies hitched to a two or four-wheeled show cart. They are driven at a walk and two speeds of trot. Many horse breeds compete in Pleasure driving...
and various types of fine harness
Fine harness
Fine harness is a type of driving competition seen at horse shows, that feature light, refined horses with high action. Popular breeds in this event include the American Saddlebred, Morgan, Arabian, Dutch Harness Horse, and Hackney ....
competition. They are also occasionally seen in other disciplines including dressage
Dressage
Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...
, hunter/jumper
Hunt seat
Hunt seat is terminology used in the United States and Canada to refer to a style of forward seat riding commonly found at American horse shows. Along with Dressage, it is one of the two classic forms of English riding. The Hunt seat is based on the tradition of fox hunting...
, and western riding
Western riding
Western riding is a style of horseback riding which evolved from the ranching and warfare traditions brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, and both equipment and riding style evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West...
. They also are popular parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
mounts and used for trail riding
Trail riding
Trail riding sometimes called horse or pony trekking is riding outdoors on natural trails and roads as opposed to riding in an enclosed area such as a riding arena. The term may encompass those who travel on horses, on mountain bikes, or on motorcycles and other motorized all-terrain vehicles...
due to their comfortable gait and steady temperament.
Breed characteristics
The American Saddlebred with its conformation, personality, and stamina is suited to accomplish any task requested, but is most well known as the "peacock of the horse show world." The horses used for Saddle seatSaddle seat
Saddle Seat is a style of horseback riding within the category of English riding that is designed to show off the high trotting action of certain horse breeds. The style developed into its modern form in the United States, and is also seen in Canada and South Africa...
and fine harness
Fine harness
Fine harness is a type of driving competition seen at horse shows, that feature light, refined horses with high action. Popular breeds in this event include the American Saddlebred, Morgan, Arabian, Dutch Harness Horse, and Hackney ....
competition, the disciplines where the breed dominates, are flashy, high-stepping animals, with exaggerated action. Saddlebreds are sometimes used in western classes
Western riding
Western riding is a style of horseback riding which evolved from the ranching and warfare traditions brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, and both equipment and riding style evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West...
and in the sport horse
Sport horse
Sport horse, or Sporthorse, is a term used to describe a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term generally refers to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving. The precise definition varies...
disciplines. The Saddlebred is very sensitive and alert. The ideal American Saddlebred is well-proportioned and presents a beautiful overall picture. Large, wide-set expressive eyes and gracefully shaped ears set close together are positioned on a well-shaped head. The neck is long with a fine, clean throatlatch and is arched and well-flexed at the poll
Poll (horse)
The poll is a name of the part of an animal's head, alternatively referencing a point immediately behind or right between the ears. This area of the anatomy is of particular significance for the horse....
. The American Saddlebred sports well-defined and prominent withers
Withers
The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of a four-legged animal. In many species it is the tallest point of the body, and in horses and dogs it is the standard place to measure the animal's height .-Horses:The withers in horses are formed by the dorsal spinal processes of roughly the...
, while the shoulders are deep and sloping. Well-sprung ribs and a strong level back also characterize the breed. The legs are straight with broad flat bones, sharply defined tendons and sloping pastern
Pastern
The pastern is a part of the leg of a horse between the fetlock and the top of the hoof. It incorporates the long pastern bone and the short pastern bone , which are held together by two sets of paired ligaments to form the pastern joint...
s. Saddlebreds are usually black
Black (horse)
Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and novices frequently mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. However, some breeds of horses, such as the Friesian horse, Murgese and Ariegeois are almost exclusively black...
, bay, or chesnut
Chestnut (coat)
Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
, but grays
Gray (horse)
Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
, buckskins, palomino
Palomino
Palomino is a coat color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" base coat...
s, pinto
Pinto horse
A pinto horse has a coat color that consists of large patches of white and any other color. The distinction between "pinto" and "solid" can be tenuous, as so-called "solid" horses frequently have areas of white hair. Various cultures throughout history appear to have selectively bred for pinto...
s and occasionally roan
Roan (horse)
Roan is a horse coat color pattern characterized by an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body, while the head and "points"—lower legs, mane and tail—are more solid-colored. The roan pattern is dominantly-inherited, and is found in many horse breeds...
s are also seen. The average height is , but can range from .
Saddlebreds can also be five-gaited, performing not only the walk, trot, and canter
Canter
The canter is a controlled, three-beat gait performed by a horse. It is a natural gait possessed by all horses, faster than most horses' trot but slower than the gallop, and is used by all riders. The speed of the canter varies between 16-27 km/h , depending on the length of the stride of the horse...
, but also ambling
Ambling
The term amble or ambling is used to describe a number of four-beat intermediate gaits of horses. All are faster than a walk but usually slower than a canter or gallop...
gaits known as the slow-gait and the rack. The slow gait is one of three possible four-beat gaits performed at a relatively slow speed only slightly faster than the walk, with substantial knee action. The slow gait may be the lateral, even-tempo singlefoot, the lateral, asynchronous stepping pace, or the diagonal fox trot. The rack is a ground-covering lateral four-beat gait, and is much faster, with the horse snapping their knees and hocks up quickly. Ancestors of the Saddlebred were naturally gaited, and many Saddlebreds today can learn the additional gaits.
Lordosis
Lordosis
Lordosis is a medical term used to describe an inward curvature of a portion of the lumbar and cervical vertebral column. Two segments of the vertebral column, namely cervical and lumbar, are normally lordotic, that is, they are set in a curve that has its convexity anteriorly and concavity...
, also known as swayback, low back or soft back, has been found to have a hereditary basis in Saddlebreds and a recessive mode of inheritance. The precise mutation has not yet been located, but researchers believe it to be somewhere on horse chromosome 20. The research into this condition has several values beyond just the Saddlebred breed as it may "serve as a model for investigating congenital skeletal deformities in horses and other species."
History
Narragansett Pacer
The Narragansett Pacer was the first horse breed developed in the United States, but is now extinct. It was developed in the United States during the 18th century and associated closely with the state of Rhode Island, and it had become extinct by the late 19th century...
with the Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
. Known as the American Horse, this cross was used in the Revolutionary War, and made its way into Kentucky. In the 1800s, the breed become known as the Kentucky Saddler. It was used mainly on plantations because of its comfortable, ground-covering gaits, and sure-footed manner. It was developed into a very stylish, fancy horse: beautiful for harness, strong enough for farm work, and fast enough for match races. In the 1830s, Morgan
Morgan horse
The Morgan is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the stallion Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, the breed excels in many disciplines, and is known for its versatility....
and Thoroughbred blood was added to give the breed more substance and action. This produced the American Saddlebred. The horse gained popularity in the 1840s. The stallion Denmark, born in 1839, became the foundation sire
Foundation bloodstock
Foundation bloodstock or foundation stock are horses that are the progenitor, or foundation, of a new horse breed or a given bloodline within a breed. The term is also used in a similar manner when discussing purebred dogs...
, with over 60% of today's Saddlebreds tracing back to this one horse.
General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
had a Saddlebred named Traveller
Traveller (horse)
Traveller was Confederate General Robert E. Lee's most famous horse during the American Civil War.-Birth and war service:...
; Generals Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
and Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
also rode Saddlebreds. After the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
ended, breeders began promoting the breed as a show horse, breeding for flash and animation, and earning the breed one its nicknames, "The Peacock of the Horse World," considered a term of admiration. One of the most famous Saddlebreds in the horse show
Horse show
A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...
world was Wing Commander
Wing Commander (horse)
Wing Commander was one of the greatest Saddlebred show horses of the 20th century. In 1948, the chestnut American Saddlebred stallion won his first Five-Gaited World Grand Championship, a title he kept for five years. In total he won 6 Five-Gaited World Grand Championships, the first of only two...
(1943 – 1969). A six-time World Grand Champion, he became a leading sire of Saddlebred show horses.
Popular culture
Many film and television horses of the Golden Age of HollywoodClassical Hollywood cinema
Classical Hollywood cinema or the classical Hollywood narrative, are terms used in film history which designates both a visual and sound style for making motion pictures and a mode of production used in the American film industry between roughly the 1910s and the early 1960s.Classical style is...
were also Saddlebreds, including the horses selected to portray Mr. Ed, Flicka
Flicka
-Chart performance:...
and one of the horses used in National Velvet
National Velvet (film)
National Velvet is a 1944 drama film, in Technicolor, based on the novel by Enid Bagnold, published in 1935. It stars Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp and a young Elizabeth Taylor....
. Saddlebreds played themselves in the film classic Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
, and many early action movies, like the original Zorro.
The Hollywood connection works both ways: actors today who own Saddlebreds include William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, who, reprising his role as James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
in Star Trek Generations, rode one of his own Saddlebreds during scenes shot with Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
(Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
) set in the alternative universe of the "Nexus." Another celebrity known for owning Saddlebreds and for his success as a horse show
Horse show
A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...
exhibitor is Carson Kressley
Carson Kressley
Carson Lee Kressley was the fashion expert on the American television program Queer Eye, where he was one of the show's "Fab Five" members. He is also the motivational host of the TV show How to Look Good Naked.-Biography:...
, star of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
Other notable owners and exhibitors of Saddlebreds include the Don Mattingly
Don Mattingly
Donald Arthur "Don" Mattingly is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
family (Diamond 5 Farms), Misdee Wrigley Miller (of Wrigley's gum
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
The William Wrigley Jr. Company is a company headquartered in the Wrigley Building in Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded on April 1, 1891, originally selling products such as soap and baking powder. In 1892, William Wrigley, Jr., the company's founder, began packaging...
), Michele MacFarlane (Scripps newspapers), Elisabeth Goth (Dow Jones), the Pettry-Fergusson family (Rustoleum), Mary Gaylord McClean (Gaylord Entertainment) and many others.
External links
- American Saddlebred Horse Association
- American Saddlebred Horse Association of Australia
- American Saddlebred Horse Association of Canada
- United Saddlebred Association-UK - Association of United Kingdom
- American Saddlebred Association of Great Britain
- American-Saddlebred.Com
- The Saddlebred Information Source
- Saddle & Bridle Magazine
- National Horsemen Magazine
- Golden American Saddlebred Horse Association
- American Saddlebred Horse Shows
- South African Saddlehorse Breeders Society