Horses are one of the first pet animals that are domesticated by man. Foremost domestication of the horses was dated way back between 3000 and 4000 BC. During that period, horses were tamed mostly for milk and meat. As time passed, men started to use horses as pack animals.

Horse breeds are group of horses with some distinct characters. In horse breeding, these distinct characters are inherited in their offspring. Some typical characteristics that are considered while defining horse breed are color, facade, conformation, performance ability, toughness. Horse breeds can be categorized based on racing horse, horse with specific color and leisurely galloping horse.

Horse breeding is aimed at inheriting some specific characteristics and producing horses for definite tasks. In recent times horse breed are used to produce horses for carrying out some specific type of work. If someone needs a horse for harness racing then standard breeds will be the best option. Other horse breeds are used for the farming work, cart work, or just as pet animal.

In all, there are around 300 horse breeds till date. These horse breeds are developed according some specific needs. Some powerful horse breeds like Andalusian or Lusitano are developed for sole purpose of racing. Cleveland bay horse which is originated in England is brown in color. Some more examples of horse breed include Mustang, trakhner, Missouri fox trotter, Quarter horse, Peruvian Paso, Akhl-Teke, and Percheron.

In the contemporary horse breeding, important has been given to purebred bloodstock and breed registry. Also the standards of registration as well as definition vary as per the breeds. Each horse breeding process has its own route. Route of breed depends on the amount of change required for selected traits. Some other traits are the result of natural selection depending on the atmosphere in which they are developed.

Some times lack of knowledge of proper horse breeding timing and schedule owner are not able to take growth of their horse. This kind of problems also come across due to genetic problems of your horse. For the sack of this problems what to do and where to go for proper horse breeding are common issues. Horse is a very sensitive animal and little care less caring can be very dangerous so what you have to do go for different style of breeding like cross breeding or tube breeding or pregnancy style. Now a days all this facility are available at short location of many cities.

There is also another way for horse breeding. This is called crossbreeding. In crossbreeding, horses crossbreed with equine genre to develop hybrid. Mull is such type of hybrid which is a crossbreed of donkey (male) and mare. Also a hinny is a hybrid between a stallion and female donkey.

When you decide to domesticate a horse, you need to consider few things in order to choose correct horse breed. One should take into account height, expenditure, traits and other details about the particular breed. Each horse breed has its own special traits like riding or racing.

It would be safe to say that as long as there have been gaited horses there has been confusion as to what the 4-beat lateral gait is. What does the term “gaited horse,” mean? All actions of the horse are called gaits. The walk, trot, lope, canter and gallop are all gaits. The gaited horse has an additional gait. This gait is a smooth, non-jarring action of the hors’s leg. The “lateral gait refers to the legs on one side (lateral) moving together, as opposed to the “diagonal gait” where opposite legs work together. The trot is an example of a diagonal gait. However, in some gaits, such as the fox trot, the action is diagonal but it is still a 4-beat gait, making this gait smoother than the 2-beat gait. A 4-beat gait is when each foot hits the ground independently

Much of this confusion occurs in trying to define the gaits and in trying to judge them. The names of the gaits are used loosely and interchangeably. Different breed association call the gaits by different names. It is difficult to describe accurately the gait, because it is difficult to see what the horse is doing with each foot as he moves along. The gait will have a variety of looks, depending on collection, speed, length of stride, skill of horse and rider, as well as the breed of horse. It is not the general appearance of the horse in action that determines the gait but the specific pattern of footfall, as well as the cadence that defines the gait. The classy-looking fast moving horse often overshadows a gentle quiet horse performing his gait well. Often the classy horse will determine the standards of the breed, regardless of how well or how poorly he performs the gait or the smoothness of the gait.

This smooth moving gait has been in existence a very long time. Archaeologists have found fossilized footprints, showing a lateral 4-beat gait. Pictures drawn on cave walls have demonstrated the horse in the same lateral gait. These fossils and pictures have been dated to 3.5 million year ago (or so they say!). The “evolution” of the gaited horse is not as new as many believe.

The American gaited horse can be traced back to the early 1600′s and found primarily in the Northeast section of the USA. These horses were brought to the USA from Ireland and Scotland. They were originally Galloway and Hobbies. Early settlers were drawn to the gaited horse, as riding was the main way of travel. The smoothness of gait and the gentleness of the horse made them the popular horse of the day. The exact action of these early gaited horses, called Palfreys, is unknown, as history refers to any lateral gait merely as an “ambling” gait.

Out of these breeds came the Narragansett pacer. This breed of horse went on to be the foundation of many of today’s gaited breeds. These include the American Saddlebred, Tennessee Walker, gaited Morgan’s and other smooth gaited saddle horses, such as the Kentucky Mtn. Saddle Horse, Mtn. Pleasure Horse & Rocky Mtn. Horse. Many of these breeds also descended from the Spanish Barb or Spanish Jennet.

The Narragansett Pacer was a smaller horse and did not last long as an America breed. Many were exported to the Caribbean, Africa and Canada. They were crossed with Thoroughbreds. The bloodlines of the pacer are evident in many of the modern breeds. Some people believe that the Canadian Pacer and the Narragansett pacer are one and the same horse.

It appears that the pacer was at the lateral end of the scale, in action, and had a pace/pace pair of genes. When crossed with trotting horses, tot/trot pair of genes, the gait began moving towards the diagonal end of the scale. This is when the Fox Trot showed up. This is one reason that breeding should be a major issue in the gaited horse. We need to find the combination that produces a truly comfortable gait, thus reducing some of the frustration in finding the consistency of smoothness desired.

The Southwest corner of the USA, dating back to the late 1400′s, brought in the Spanish Barb and the Spanish Jennets. These horses, commonly called Palfreys, were considered the finest and most beautiful horses in the world. A commonly held belief is that they went on to produce the Paso Fino and the Peruvian breeds. This Spanish influence is believed to have also been involved in the development of the Mountain horse in Kentucky. Tradition has it that the foundation stock for theses horses came from the Colorado and New Mexico areas.

The Icelandic horse has been kept in seclusion in Iceland for nearly a thousand years. This practice of isolation has preserved the appearance of the original Celtic horse and is one of the oldest breeds in the world.

A lot of cross breeding, inbreeding and selective breeding have brought the modern gaited horses to where they are today. It is hard to trace the exact lines of any particular breed of gaited horse. Regardless of the origins of the lateral gait, and the differences among breeds, the smoothness of the gaited horse is highly prized and is again taking a prominent part in American society. Most American gaited horses exhibit beauty, gently disposition, a willing mind along with a natural 4-beat gait.

The Peruvian Paso Horse is unquestionably the smoothest ride of any equine breed. However it is critical to know the factors contributing to this desirable trait; some are highly desirable and others due to improper conformation and eventual weakness. Distinguishing between these elements is essential in breeding and purchasing for long term soundness and proper breeding.

First let’s dispense with the negative factors that can contribute to a smooth ride. Long and highly flexible pasterns will provide a “spring cushion” that enhances smoothness but is frequently an early sign of weak suspensory ligaments and are not conducive to long term soundness. Some of these horses have such excess flexibility that the fetlocks make contact with the ground with each step. This is not desirable and few such horses will remain sound with long term or intensive work. The other conformation factor enhancing smoothness and over reach is excessive angulation in the hock; commonly referred to as “sickle hocked’. This helps a horse reach forward with the rear foot but doesn’t't increase the stride and can lead to problems in the hock area due to excess leverage on the hock. An additional factor for smoothness is good timing in the gait but without a long stride. These horses tend to remain sound but cannot cover ground with optimal efficiency or speed and is one of the principal differences in the Peruvian Paso Horse and the Paso Fino. Paso Fino Horses attain smoothness by excellent timing in their four beat bait but most lack the stride to move in gait with the speed of a Peruvian Horse.

The essential elements in conformation for an efficient fast and smooth gait and maintaining soundness are first a long hip angled about 45 degrees down with a sloping croup and low tail set. This conformation allows the horse to naturally reach well forward with each step and ” drive well with the hind quarters”. Each step should ideally reach under the center of gravity of the rider, cover several feet and should at least cap the front hoof position of the ipsilateral front leg. It is even better to over reach the hoof print of the front leg. This means the horse is taking a long powerful stride from the rear quarters and this provides many advantages. The other essential factor in conformation is a long shoulder with an angle of 45 degrees and a loose movement in the shoulder girdle. This enables good “advance” in the forequarter and is essential for ideal coordination of a long stride and over reach in the rear.

The requirements for a world class trail horse are stamina, soundness, energy, courage, intelligence and a smooth gait. The Peruvian Horse has been bred for hundreds of years for these qualities. They also possess a unique feature in the movement of their forequarters that enable them to make a long smooth stride without transmitting a rough vertical jolt to the rider. No other breed possesses this wonderful characteristic. When combined with proper conformation and drive from the rear quarters their gait for comfortable and efficient riding on a trail or ranch is ideal. The combination of the four beat timing, termino in the front and powerful over reach from the rear is truly incomparable.

The breed was evolved in Peru for the Iberian horses imported with the Contistadores and were later refined with selective breeding as horses for owners and supervisors to cover large distances each day without the uncomfortable bouncing effect of the trotting breeds. Andalusian, Barb and the Spanish Jennet were the principal breeds used in developing the Peruvian Paso. A small infusion of Fresian blood and perhaps a bit of Arabian genes was also utilized. Horses from these breeds with a natural inclination for a four beat gait and termino were selectively bred. Athletic ability, soundness, a bold attitude and proud carriage were also valued. The Peruvian Paso horse was developed well before the concept of motor vehicles for practical use on the large coastal agricultural Haciendas of Peru, similar to the needs of Plantations in North America for comfortable and efficient horses like the Tennessee Walking Horse. In other portions of Central and South America the Paso Fino breed was developed from virtually the same genetic material of the Iberian horses. However, the other countries did not breed for the wonderfully efficient movement in the front quarters “termino” that enables the Peruvian Horse to have a long stride and cover more distance without sacrifice of smoothness in gait.

The Peruvian Paso Horse is also very sure footed and they love to explore the open trail. Persons new to an experience with gaited breeds appear to have a strong preference for the Peruvian Paso due to the natural smooth gait and other qualities instilled from so many generations of selective breeding.