Equine Royalty: The Thoroughbred Horse – History, Characteristics and Photos

Thoroughbred horses are undeniably awe-inspiring. The very mention of the breed name brings to mind fast runners with elegant legs, strong-hearted champions, intelligent problem-solvers and even fiery, distinct personalities.

Long associated with flat horse racing (the so-called “sport of kings”) the Thoroughbred has stood as a distinct and noble breed of horse for centuries. And while, yes, they are indeed dedicated speedsters, there is so much to learn and appreciate about these noble steeds.

From their build to their mind to their careers including racing and more, there is so much to learn about the Thoroughbred horse.

The History of the Thoroughbred

Origins of the Thoroughbred

All modern Thoroughbreds have a pretty common link in that, thanks to deliberate breeding and impeccable record keeping in the racing world, you can trace every registered Thoroughbred back to all or one of three original horses in their lineage: the Godolphin Arabian, the Darley Arabian and the Byerly Turk.

These three stallions were bred under the reigns of King James I and King Charles I to 43 Royal Mares and thus began the original official record-keeping of all foals in this new line, the English Thoroughbred. (source)

Thoroughbreds In America

The Thoroughbred then made its way to the new Americas in 1730 by way of Bulle Rock, a son of the Darley Arabian, kicking off a 45 year-long import of 186 Thoroughbreds into the colonies as the foundation of modern American Thoroughbred.

This new generation would go on to be the foundation for all modern Thoroughbred racers up through today – and still, as required, are all descended from those first three horses.

In fact, since all births are recorded and traced back through horse history, you can look up any Jockey Club registered Thoroughbred and trace their lineage for yourself. Keep going back far enough, and you will surely see at least one, if not all three, names of the trio of sires.

To be considered eligible for the Jockey Club (and a “true” Thoroughbred) the foal must be a ‘live cover’, meaning a natural conception between the stallion and the mare and thus no artificial insemination, as is most commonly used as a breeding method with other horse breeds.

In 1976 the Jockey Club was one of the first breed organizations to announce the use of scientific methods of parentage verification. A New York Times article outlined for the public how Thoroughbred stallions would soon be required to undergo blood typing in order for offspring to be registered

The Jockey Club continues this practice today, as do most modern registries, though the method has changed to DNA testing via hair samples.

Where Thoroughbreds differ from other breeds, too, is in their birthdays. Due to racing age groups, Northern hemisphere Thoroughbreds are all officially considered to be a year older on the 1st of January each year, rather than on their actual, physical birthdates.

Using January 1 as a birthday enables horses to start training and competing in age-restricted races much earlier, extending their racing careers and working towards a standardization in entries.

Physical Characteristics of the Thoroughbred

No comprehensive breed overview would be complete without painting a physical picture. And for Thoroughbreds, that means some defining characteristics as well as some ranges they can occupy.

Height

When it comes to their height, thoroughbreds generally fall somewhere between 15 hands and 17 hands, with exceptions on either side of the spectrum. The average Thoroughbred, though, tends to fall somewhere between 15.3 hands and 16 hands.

Head

Their Arabian blood contributes to a long, lean face. Not quite as “dishy” as a pure Arabian (aka have a concave face, one that swoops inward between the forehead and the nostrils) but certainly with some tapering evident.

Body

In terms of their body type and physical appearance, the Thoroughbred typically will have a deep chest, a lean and toned body and should have long, flat muscles. They are strong but toned – muscular without being stockier. They also have longer, more narrow backs with high withers, almost the exact opposite of, say, the short back and rounded withers of a quarter horse.

Their skeletal structure is made up of fine to medium bones – as they are fast and light sprinters, many racehorses have lighter skeletons than a working horse would, due to the nature of their breeding.

Overall, their body is powerful, lean and athletic.

When it comes to their coat, you can expect to find short, fine hairs. This gives them a silky feel and a shiny look, but can often mean that they are more likely to be too cold.

This fine hair combined with a lean, low-body fat percentage naturally means that they may require additional blanketing or warmth in the winter when compared to coarser haired horses.

However, since Thoroughbreds are bred for speed and athleticism rather than showing, there is no set standard of conformation to describe the ideal Thoroughbred body type.

Thoroughbred Heart

You may have heard someone refer to a horse as “having a lot of heart”. Typically that means that the horse really tries to win or is rather affectionate towards it’s owner.

Internally, Thoroughbreds are finely tune, hard-working machines. Not only do they have well-developed muscles, but they tend to have large, well-functioning lungs so that they can take it a lot of air needed to pump blood, supply oxygen to the bloodstream and keep them running faster.

In the case of the thoroughbred, “having a lot of heart” can be an actual literal rather than figurative statement. Their hearts are little miracle workers, pumping and beating furiously.

The average Thoroughbred heart is around 8.5 to 9 pounds of muscle but Secretariat’s heart was famously found to be 22 pounds! With all that extra heart muscle, it is no wonder he was able to run so fast and with so much stamina.

Identification

When it comes to identifying racehorses, too, that tracking goes beyond papers that track names, dates and physical markings. Racehorses are often tattooed on the inside of their top lip so that one horse can never be passed of as another.

This tattoo also acts as a theft deterrent. The inside of the lip is marked with a letter that corresponds to a birth year, followed by a string of numbers. This unique indicator is further proof of a Thoroughbred’s pedigree and identity.

Secretariat and the Thoroughbred Physical Deviation

Furthering Secretariat’s physical differences (while they differed from the norm, they were certainly something of an advantage to this speed machine) it was discovered that his sturdy, muscular hindquarters were the main source of his power and included a more pronouncedly sloped croup that extended the length of his femur. As a result, when he was in full stride, his hind long legs were able to reach quite far underneath himself, thus increasing his drive.

He was also wider, even longer backed and all around just bigger in body than other, more classically elegant looking Thoroughbreds with a well-made neck – all these factors together played up the best of a Thoroughbred’s traditional physical attributes and contributed to the efficiency in his heart, his lungs and his body working so well together.

With all these parts of his body formed to a physical peak, Secretariat was able to make history as the first Triple-Crown winner in a 25 year stretch, thanks to his 31-length record-breaking win at the Belmont Stakes in 1973.