Common Breeds vs. Rare Breeds

When people talk about breed documentation, they often recommend it for rare breeds a judge may not be familiar with. In the real horse world, what’s considered common and well known depends highly on your environment. At my barn, most boarders aren’t completely sure what a Morgan is, except “short” and “buckskin.”

Below is a partial list of breeds that are common in live showing. It’s by no means comprehensive, and just because the breed is “common” doesn’t mean you should not include any documentation. In this case, I only mean that these are breeds a judge will have some familiarity with (but not necessarily know everything about the standard or rare colors that can occur.)

Akhal-Teke
American Saddlebred (ASB)
Andalusian
Appaloosa
Arabian
Belgian
Chincoteague Pony
Cleveland Bay
Clydesdale
Colorado Ranger
Connemara
Donkey (Mammoth, Standard and Miniature)
Dutch Warmblood
Fjord
Friesian
Gypsy Vanner (aka Colored Cob/Irish Tinker/Irish Cob/Drum Horse…this issue will be addressed in a future post)
Hackney
Hanoverian
Icelandic
Irish Draft
Kiger
Lipizzaner
Lusitano
Miniature Horse
Missouri Fox Trotter (MFT)
Morab
Morgan
Mule
Mustang
National Show Horse (NSH)
Nokota
Paint
Paint Pony
Paso Fino
Percheron
Peruvian Paso
Pony of the Americas (POA)
Przewalki's Horse
Quarter Horse
Quarter Pony
Rocky Mountain Horse
Shetland Pony
Shire
Spanish Mustang
Spotted Draft (aka North American Spotted Draft)
Standardbred (STB)
Suffolk Punch
Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH)
Thoroughbred (TB)
Trakehner
Welara
Welsh Ponies and Cobs (parts A-D…also another future post.)

What passes for "exotic" in Washington state.