The Light Horse is well known for its use in horse racing or pleasurable horse riding.
As its name shows, it is light weighted and that enabled it to move quickly and run faster
than other breeds.
Commonly it has a smart body with the average weight of 400kg~500kg.
Here are some details of typical breeds of Light Horse breeds.
The Thoroughbred was developed in early18th-century England; the Arabian or the Hunter (originated from England and used for hunting) were crossbred in order to produce a breed specially designed for horse racing. It typically stands from 160cm to170cm, weight ranges from 450kg to 500kg.
The coat colour is usually bay, dark bay, brown, black, chestnuts or dark chestnuts, but very rarely there are some white.
Thoroughbred has evolved as a result of repeated crossbred, desire for a faster horse.
It is so called 'the master piece of manmade horse' – it has a small head with long legs, sharp body but has enough muscles around chest and buttock to run faster.
However, the down side is their high injured rate and its naïve personality - very physically and mentally delicate.
The Thoroughbred bred widely throughout the world today; mainly in the Unites States,
Australia, Ireland, Japan, England, Argentina and France.
Horse who left the excellent results at the race or in the good horses of pedigree are
sometimes traded in billion dollars.
As well as for horse racing, it is also popular as a riding horse.
Many of you have already seen one of Thoroughbred horses at the horse riding clubs.
The name 'Thoroughbred' came from 'thorough' and 'bred'.
The Arabian horse breed was originated from the Arabian Peninsula, it had been improved over
2000 years in the capable hands of Bedouins (Arab nomads).
It stands between 140cm to 150cm and weight is approximately 400kg that means it is smaller
and skinnier than the Thoroughbred.
It cannot run as fast as the Thoroughbred but the Arabian have excellent durability and resisting for the severe weather.
Typical coat colours are bay, chestnuts, gray or black.
The Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world and it has been influential in the creation of the various horse breeds across the world.
Many are brought to Europe after 1500s, quite a few horse breeds, such as the Thoroughbred and the Quarter Horse, were developed on the basis of the Arabians breed,
In early modern times, Poland was the center of the improvement and then spread to Egypt and the England. The United States took over the place by the beginning of the 1900s.
There is also a horse breed called the Anglo-Arabian.
It used to be produced widely for as a racehorse but not so popular today and not produced
as much anymore.
However, the name 'Arab' might be confused with the Anglo-Arabian.
The Arabian was not so well-known in Japan, so some may not recognize the breed unless
described as the 'purebred Arab'.
The Anglo-Arabian was created by crossbreeding the Arabian and the Thoroughbred.
Originally from England but France is one of the greatest producers of the Anglo-Arabians.
The Anglo-Arabian was created to overcome the weak sides of the Thoroughbred breed; although it has an exceptional speed, it is quick tempered and weak. The Arabian, on the other hand, has good bone structure and endurance.
As a result, Anglo-Arabian managed to inherit the physical strength, gentle personality from the Arabian bloodline as well as the speed from the Thoroughbred bloodline.
It has been produced widely across Europe and has been used as a racehorse and a riding horse.
It is also suitable for show jumping competitions because it has superb jumping ability.
In pre-war time Japan, the Anglo-Arabian was recommended to produce for military purposes due to its gentle personality and robustness.
At the time, the horse racing was not performed as sports but to improve the quality of the warhorses.
However, when there is no demand for warhorses after the war, the Anglo-Arabian became not as
popular as the thoroughbred breed because of their inferior speed.
Now, really few are produced in Japan.
In Japan, a horse must have at least 25% of the Arabian blood to be considered an Anglo-Arabian and it is categorize as a Thoroughbred otherwise.
There is also crossbred Anglo-Arab with the Selle francais horse.
Akhal-Teke is a horse breed originally from Turkmenistan.
It is thought to be one of the oldest existing horse breeds, and nicknamed "Golden Horses"
due to their beautiful coat.
It usually stands between 147cm to 163cm, palomino and buckskin are the common coat colours but there are bay, black, chestnut and gray as well.
It has a straight profile, long year, almond shaped eyes, long back; overall, it is a long and slim horse.
Needless to say, the most distinctive feature of this breed is a metallic sheen.
This shiny cost can be seen on bay, palomino and buckskin coat colour type.
Almost 70% of the land of its home country, Turkmenistan, is covered by Karakum desert, it is thought that their coat colour worked as camouflage into the sandy landscape.
Also it was adapted to severe Turkmenistan climatic conditions and it is very tough and resilient - able to survive with a little food and water.
There are currently approximately 6,600 Akhal-Tekes in the world, mostly in Turkmenistan, they are also found throughout Russia, Europe, Australia and North America. It is particularly popular in Russia and there is a national farm to breed the Akhal-Tekes.
Throughout its long history, the Akhal-Teke has influenced many other breeds, including Byerley Turk that is the one of the three ancestors of Thoroughbred.
It is not just a beautiful horse but also very athletic. The breed is known for its endurance, thanks to their marathon runner-like slim body.
Due to its natural athleticism, it is good at dressage, show jumping and endurance riding.
It considered as a very noble creature and believed that it will become emotionally attached to only one person.
The Lipizzaner is a horse breed which first produced in 16th century Austria.
It was named after its birth place, Lipizzaner Farm.
It was born as a result of crossbreeding with the Karst, which originated from the Andalusian (Spanish native horse from 13th century, The Arabian and The Barb) and the Italian Neapolitan horse which is also rooted to the Andalusian.
Most Lipizzaner measures between 150cm to160cm, the coat is mostly gray but bay, chestnut and
roan can also be found.
It is physically strong, flexible, mentally patient and intelligent horse.
One of the most important reasons to breed this horse at the royal farm was to supply noble horses to the Austrian royal family.
It was also used for military purposes in between 16th to 18th century and recognized as one of the best warhorses.
Even now, the Lipizzaner is popular as a riding horse and famous for dressage performance at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria.
As it has a strong body, especially with its strong hindquarters, made it possible to improve their advanced movements such as the passage (uplifting trot) and piaffe.
Spanish Riding School uses highly trained Lipizzaners in public performances that are exceptionally elegant and artistic.
It is possible to see their morning trainings at the Spanish Riding School, why don't you visit them if you are lucky enough to visit Europe?
The Trakehner is originally developed at the Prussian State (current North Germany) in 18th century.
In Japan, it is also called Trakehnen but it was mistaken with the name of the Trakehnen Farm where Trakehner was first produced.
The Prussian state established the Trakehnen Farm in order to develop rival horses against Lipizzaners which was produced in Austria.
The Trakehnen Farm was a huge nationally-owned farm with over 500 mares, aimed to train and
produce high quality of horses.
The Trakehner was produced as a result of cross breeding with the local Schweige and the
Polish originated Arabian.
It was also recognized as the one of the best warhorses in the mid-18th century because the Trakehner has both excellent speed and endurance.
Although the Thoroughbred became the fastest-running horse in the mid-19th century, the Trakehner is still bred for dressage.
The Andalusian is a Spanish native horse; a native horse from the Iberian peninsula was crossbred with a large horse from the Northern Europe native or the North African native Barb in 700s.
It stands approximately 150cm to 160cm, the most of its coat colour is gray but bay and black are also common.
It is also known as the Spanish horse, it has been used as a traditional horse for the Matador.
It is a very elegant and royal breed and it has been used as a official horse for royal families in England and Denmark as well as in Spain.
Alongside with the Arabian breed, it has a great contribution to other horse breeds. Varieties of breed had produced on the basis of the Andalusian.
The Andalusian's back is fairly long, massive chest and the mane and tail are thick and long.
It has strong hindquarters and flexible joints that enable its energetic gait.
Together with its submissive personality, it is suitable for high performance.
The Andalusian is also produced in Japan, you can see the Andalusian horse dance at the places like Bajikoen.
