Thoroughbred

There has been a long tradition in England of racing in one form or another and since the early 17th century racing has enjoyed royal patronage. There were running horses before the development of the Thoroughbred and these running horses were influential in the development of the Thoroughbred. The early running horses are believed to have been a combination of Spanish, Neopolitan, and Barb blood, with contributions from the Irish Hobby (predecessor to the Connemara), and various native pony breeds.

The formation of the Thoroughbred is largely attributed to three Eastern horses. The first of these was the Byerly Turk, who was captured from the Turks in battle and used by Captain Byerly as his charger during the King William wars in Ireland, and then was retired to stud in 1690 in County Durham. It is likely that the Byerley Turk, who is often quoted as being an Arabian, was in fact a Turkmene horse, probably an Akhal-Teke. He sired the horse Jig, who went on to sire the horse Herod, foaled in 1758, who himself sired an impressive line of racehorses who won over 1,000 races.

The second important foundation sire was the Darley Arabian who was imported from Aleppo in 1704, at the beginning of the reign of Queen Anne, and was responsible for the dawn of a new era of horse breeding. He stood at stud in East Yorkshire, and was perhaps the most influential of the founding stallions. Breeding between him and the mare, Betty Leedes, who was a descendent of the Leedes Arabian line herself, gave rise to the Devonshire Flying Childers, one of the fastest racehorses of the day. The same mare produced the Bleeding or Barlett's Childers, who sired Squirt, who in turn sired Marske, who was the sire of the famous Eclipse. Eclipse was possibly one of the most famous racehorses of all time and was unbeaten on the track.

The third foundation sire was the Godolphin Arabian, who was a Barb horse and not an Arabian. The Godolphin Arabian arrived in England , probably from Morocco, in 1728, and by 1730 was being used as a teaser at the Cambridgeshire stud of Lord Godolphin. A stallion called Hobgoblin was lined up to be mated with a mare called Roxana but Roxana would have nothing to do with Hobgoblin, the Godolphin Arabian was allowed to mate with her instead. The pair then gave rise to Lath, foaled 1731, who was second only in skill and fame to Flying Childers, and to Cade. Cade in turn sired the stallion Matchem, foaled in 1748, and highly influential on the breed's development.

This was how the first three great Thoroughbred lines developed through Herod, Eclipse and Matchem; the fourth notable line was through Highflyer, who was son of Herod. There were, however, obviously other notable stallions influential in the breed, and some of these were the Unknown Arabian, the Helmsly Turk, the Lister Turk, and Darcy's Chestnut. After 1770, there were no further infusions of Arabian blood. In 1773, James Weatherby was made keeper of the match book to the Jockey Club, which was formed in 1750 and continues to act as the governing body of racing in England. In in `791, An Introduction to a General Stud Book was published by Weatherby's, who were, and continue to be, the official agents of the Jockey Club. The first volume of the stud book, was published in 1808, again by Weatherby's. and continues to be published periodically today. A Thoroughbred is any horse which has its pedigree published in the studbook.

Although the Thoroughbred is most commonly associated with racing, they are incredibly versatile and adaptable, and can be used in all disciplines of riding. They are extremely popular within the eventing world, as well as showjumping and showing. The Thoroughbred can have a difficult temperament, being quick to react, and often over-react, to outside stimuli. For this reason they are generally best ridden by experienced and knowledgeable riders. A Thoroughbred crossed with other breeds of horse invariably makes an excellent riding horse, possessing the presence and ability of the Thoroughbred with a more docile and easily managed temperament. One such popular cross is that of the Irish horse and the Thoroughbred.

In appearance, the Thoroughbred should have excellent conformation, having a finely modeled head set onto an elegant, and arched neck. The shoulder should be sloping, with a defined wither, and a short, strong back. The quarters should be muscular with clean legs and let-down hicks. Their coat is often silky smooth, and can be any whole color with white markings. They stand at between 15.2 hh and 16 hh.

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