The
principle development of the Quarter Horse was in the southwestern part of the
United
States in
Texas, Oklahoma,
New Mexico,
eastern
Colorado, and
Kansas.
Some breed historians have maintained that it is the oldest breed of horses in
the United States and that the true beginning of the Quarter Horse was in the
Carolinas and
Virginia. Nye1 has suggested that the Chickasaws secured from
the Indians were the true beginning of the Quarter Horse. These were small
blocky horses, probably of Spanish extraction, which the planters secured from
the Indians, and which were adapted for a variety of uses. The colonists were
quite interested in short races, and it was only natural that they should have
attempted to increase the speed of their horses; to this end some of the best
early Thoroughbreds that were brought to the United States included the horse
Janus, brought to the United States before the English Stud Book was
established, were instrumental in the improvement of these local running
horse. Later Imp. Sir Archy and other
Thoroughbred stallions were used.
The early improvement in the Quarter Horse-so called
because of its great speed at one quarter of a mile-and the early development
of the Thoroughbred in the United States were closely associated. Some sires
contributed notably to both breeds. Many short-distance horses were
registered in the American Stud Book as Thoroughbreds when the Stud Book was
established, even though they did not trace in all lines to imported English
stock.
It is more logical to assume that the true establishment of
the Quarter Horse took place some time later in the southwest range country,
rather than in colonial times. It was in the southwest that the true utility
value of these short-distance horses were truly appreciated. The cowman found
the Quarter Horse quick to start, easy to handle, and of a temperament
suitable for handling cattle under a wide variety of conditions. Even in the
Southwest much was unknown of the breeding of many of the horses that were
classified and registered in the 1940s as Quarter Horses. It is logical,
therefore, to conclude that until the Stud Book was established and the
pedigrees were based on fact rather than on memory and assumptions, the
Quarter Horse should have been called a type of horse rather than a breed.
The Foundation and Improvement of the Breed
A Blending of Bloodlines. It is difficult to give the exact origin of the
present-day Quarter Horse because the blending of bloodlines produce a
suitable short-distance horse started in colonial areas prior to the
Revolutionary War. This blending of bloodlines and the infusion of
Thoroughbred blood was continued in the southwestern range territory as the
cow country developed. Cowboys wanted to be well mounted. Ranchers tried to
breed the kind of horses on which these men could work cattle and that could
also be used in the age-old sport of racing. The Quarter Horse was not raced
on carefully prepared tracks but was raced on any suitable open space.
Organized races were the exception rather than the rule with many of the races
being run as a “match race” after a private wager between owner or riders.
In the Southwest country as in the East, no particular
attention was made to keep short-distance horses as a distinct breed. Fast
horses whose offspring made good cow ponies were crossed on existing stock of
mares. Many times these mares carried Spanish, Arabian, Morgan, or
Standardbred breeding, and some have been referred to as “cold blooded”
mares. The naming of horses after persons was a common practice, and often
when the horses were sold their names were changed; such practices have led to
no end of confusion in attempting to verify pedigrees after the horses,
breeders, and owners were deceased.
The Contribution of Steel Dust. The first horse of Quarter type
that attracted a great deal of attention in the Southwest was Steel Dust,
foaled in Illinois in 1843, and taken to Lancaster, Texas, in 1846. He was a
blood bay that stood 15 hands high and weighed approximately 1,200 pounds.
Steel Dust was sired by Harry Bluff and traced to Sir Archy. The popularity
of Steel Dust as a running horse and as a sire of running horses and cow
horses caused many horses that descended from him, or were of similar type, to
be called “Steel Dust” horses2. This name was quite common until
the American Quarter Horse Association was established and the name Quarter
Horse was officially adopted.
Some Other Early Sires. Other outstanding stallions were introduced
into Texas before and after Steel Dust. Among these were Cooper Bottom by Sir
Archy, foaled in Pennsylvania in 1828. In 1839 he was taken by General Sam
Houston to Texas, where his descendants were considered very fast and made
excellent cow horses. In 1849, Old Shiloh, foaled in Tennessee in 1844, was
brought to Texas. He was four generations removed in the male line of Sir
Archy. Lock’s Rondo, three generations removed in the male line from Shiloh,
was foaled in Missouri about 1866, and was taken to Texas about 1868. Later
he was also used as a sire in New Mexico.
In 1889, Traveler, a horse of unknown pedigree, was shipped
to Texas in a carload of horses, and legend has it that he had originated in
Kentucky. Traveler was apparently not considered a valuable horse because he
was used on a scraper and at one time changed hands in a crap game. Traveler
and his descendants were mated to some excellent mares, and many Quarter
Horses today trace to him in male line of descent.
The Most Influential Sire. The most famous of all sires in the
establishment of the Quarter Horse breed was Peter McCue, foaled in 1895, and
bred by Samuel Watkins of Petersburg, Illinois. Peter McCue was registered as
a Thoroughbred but evidence was later presented that he was not sired by the
horse indicated in his official pedigree but was instead sired by Dan Tucker,
who in turn traced his male line to Shiloh. Peter McCue stood for service in
Texas, western Oklahoma, and in Colorado, and most modern Quarter Horses trace
to him. Of the 11,510 Quarter Horses that have been registered prior to
January 1, 1948,3 2,304 of them traced in male line to Peter McCue
through his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons. Traveler was the only horse
that approached him in importance of male lines with 749 similar descendants
that has been registered up to that date.
The Use of Thoroughbred Sires and Mares. The outstanding sires in
the Quarter Horse type have not always been horses that traced in male lines
of descent to recognized Quarter Horses; some trace to registered
Thoroughbreds. In addition, many of the mares to which Quarter Horses have
been mated have been Thoroughbred mares or mares of other breeds, so it can
truly be said that the breed has been and still is in a formative period.
Breeders have not objected to Thoroughbred breeding provided the horses were
of the correct type.
Eighteen of the first nineteen registration numbers
assigned to horses in vol. I of the American Quarter Horse Stud Book were
saved for living horses that had proved themselves as outstanding sires of
offspring of Quarter Horse type.4 Examination of the pedigrees of
these horses indicates that many of them carried in excess of 50 per cent of
Thoroughbred breeding, and only a very few of them did not carry some known
Thoroughbred breeding rather close up in their pedigrees.
Noted Early Breeders. Many ranchers or persons interested in
short-distance racing have contributed to the development of the Quarter
Horse. Probably the first really noted improver was William Anson of
Christoval, Texas. Mr. Anson was an excellent stockman who collected a band
of horses of Quarter type. Among the best stallions he used was Harmon Baker
by Peter McCue. Mr. Anson not only bred, used and raced Quarter Horses but he
also was a student of the early history of Quarter Horses and attempted to
concentrate bloodlines that he felt were useful in racing and range horses.
Another noted Texas breeder was W.T. Waggoner of Vernon and
Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. Waggoner collected the fastest short-distance horses
that he could obtain, and it was said that whenever he found a horse faster
than any he already owned he attempted to purchase it. Many of the better
modern Quarter Horses are only a generation or two away from Waggoner breeding
because after Waggoner’s death, his estate carried on his breeding operations
for many years. In the foundation of the American Quarter Horse Stud Book,
the term Waggoner bred was considered pedigree enough for
registration-so esteemed were his horses by other breeders and by founders of
the breed association.5 Four other breeders who have had
considerable influence in the development of the Quarter Horse through their
long association with the breed and through their successful breeding
operations were: Coke T. Roberds, Hayden, Colorado; George Clegg, Alice,
Texas; S.C. Blake, Pryor, Oklahoma; and Dan Casement, Manhattan, Kansas.
Present-Day Breeders. One of the best-known breeding establishments
of Quarter Horses at the present time is the King Ranch, Kingsville, Texas.
The King Ranch raised good cattle horses for many years and obtained Old
Sorrel, a son of Hickory Bill, as a colt from George Clegg of Alice, Texas;
Old Sorrel was foaled in 1915 and died in 1945. This horse proved to be such
an outstanding cow horse and sire of cow horses that a line breeding program
was developed at the King Ranch 6 to maintain his relationship in
the herd. Considerable Thoroughbred breeding has been used in the development
of the King Ranch Quarter Horses.
It would be very difficult to mention all the breeders that
have contributed to the Quarter Horse, because many breeders have not made an
attempt to keep their horses before the public but have been content to raise
their own horses. Some breeders have preferred to keep speed as a primary
requisite and have specialized more in horses for racing than for ranch work.
