Also known as Thoroughbreds or Thoroughbreds, the English Thoroughbred is one of the most well-known horse breeds in the world. Its agility and speed make the thoroughbred an exceptional horse widely used in the world of gallop racing. Despite their exceptional results in this discipline, these horses remain fragile animals to which special attention must be paid.
Breed History
All current English Thoroughbreds descend from three stallions, Herod, Eclipse and Matchem, themselves descendants of three Oriental stallions: Bierley turk, Godolphin arabian and Darley arabian. This selective breeding, started in the 17th century, gave birth to extremely fast horses.
Selected for racing because of its speed, the Thoroughbred has been used to train and improve breeds like the Selle-Français or the Anglo-Arab. Always used for racing, it is now very popular in other equestrian disciplines such as the Eventing.
Physical peculiarities
His head: it is very expressive, chiseled and straight, with a broad forehead. The head of the English Thoroughbred is surmounted by large ears and has very open nostrils.
Its neckline: it is well grafted, long and fine.
Its body: it is a slender, fine, harmonious and athletic horse with a long and oblique shoulder. The chest is ample and deep, the back is short and straight and the croup is level and long. The musculature is generally well defined.
Its limbs: the limbs are tall and lean, the cannons are short, the pasterns relatively long and the hooves are small.
His hair: they are often fine and sparse.
Its dress: it is generally bay, but can also be chestnut, black or sometimes gray (although this is rarer). Balzanes and white markings on the head are frequent, but of moderate size.
His gaits: they are ample and more grazing than raised.
Famous English Thoroughbred horses
The English thoroughbred breed has seen the birth of several renowned horses such as Tritonis for example, a thoroughbred of Canadian origin which, at the height of its 98 meter, was the tallest horse in the world (excluding draft horses).
Smaller but better known still, the famous Seabiscuit, a thoroughbred stallion who hit the headlines because of his incredible sporting career. A film has also been dedicated to him: Pur Sang, the legend of Seabiscuit.
Breeding
With nearly 200,000 active broodmares, the English Thoroughbred is bred all over the world, mainly in the United States, Great Britain or France, and particularly in Lower Normandy. More than 1,500 Thoroughbred breeding farms are referenced in France for nearly 6,000 births per year.
Particularly qualitative, French breeding is very well placed worldwide. The male lines of English Thoroughbreds are today dominated by that of Northern Dancer, a superb stallion now deceased.
It is the Jockey Club which keeps the register of the breeding of English Thoroughbreds. Please note that for a horse to be registered as an English Thoroughbred, the mating must take place in front of a witness.
