Thoroughbred breeding first began in England due to the crusaders breeding large, heavy horses for their stamina, hard work and the ability to carry a crusader in all his armour and in the middle east horses which were lighter and agile were being bred for their speed.

During the 16th century an english captain became the owner of a Middle Eastern Stallion. He went onto breed this stallion with English mares to produce the line of Herod Thoroughbreds. This particular stallion is actually entered in the studbooks as Byerlye Turk.

The horses bred from this particular stallion and others like him are known for their wide girths, this increases lung capacity. Long shoulders and long strong hind legs which enabled them to run at extreme speed and gain ground very quickly. Basically these horses were bred for speed.

The United States Of America now has the most thoroughbreds, with approximately 50,000 new foals being registered during the last year. The industry is massive, and billions of dollars are involved. America is the forerunner in thoroughbred racing.

All thoroughbred foals have the official birthdate of the 1st January allocated to them even if they were born in June. Their racing career ususally begins at about two years of age but many do not race for long due to injuries. They are then either retired or sold.

It is a shame that many thoroughbreds are retired so early as due to their highly strung and excitable temperament they don’t really make good all rounders. A friend of mine has a retired thoroughbred at the moment who really does not want to trot, just gallop!

Tags: Horses