Often far away from the spotlights, fancy arenas, and cameras, we meet the Jacks, Rebels, Annies, Stars, Luckies, and many others that do the daily work. They do it all. These ranch horses herd cattle, do pen work, are used for branding, for roping, teach the children how to ride, are added to the neighbors' string of horses for their yearly roundup, guests ride them on outdoor trail rides, race with the daughter at the local barrel race competition and take care of a long list of other duties. On top of this, they're teaching and mentoring the offspring of the ranch's breeding program. And when colts are started under saddle these ranch horses are the best assistants you can imagine — giving that convincing amount of courage and comfort to the young pupils just like the lead ponies do on race courses.
Ranch Crossbred Traditions
"At our family's ranch, we often crossed thoroughbred types of mares with an Appaloosa stallion of my uncle's neighbor. I don't know whether that stallion was registered, but he sired great colts. The fillies weren't necessarily always used again as broodmares. In dad's opinion, the best workhorses are kinda like mules, they're a finished product, not a reproduction machine. In practice; we kept some of our offspring and we sold some. We also bought young mounts from ranches further away. All little money. It was all about having a good blood variety in our string of horses."
"We always stuck to keeping a band of workhorses that was well managed. The horses that we needed for the work plus new ones that joined the workforce and old ones that got retired. The younger ones that we started joined at about four or sometimes three years old. These three-year-old colts were often just taken along on a halter without a rider and worked for just a couple of hours. In case we needed more horses our retirees were sometimes asked to step to the plate. When we had too many working horses, dad and my uncle sold them. We always had more candidates to purchase than horses for sale."
Bonnie
"Although colts were always the preferred workhorses, I recall a mare named Bonnie. My sisters used to rope with her on brandings. She felt like an automatic. You didn't have to tell her what to do. She felt when you were still dallying, she knew when you needed to secure your seat, and she put you in a good position for the best possible catch. She was a stout mare of about 15 hands. We were told that she was half-quarter and half-thoroughbred, but later my brother learned that she was out of a solid Appaloosa."
Little Star
At the ranch where we grew up, one day a neighbor stopped by with a five-year-old red roan gelding. He was never trained as a saddle horse and it started to look like quite a challenge to school this fast-paced 14 hand hottie. Cale, our nephew who was recovering from a leg injury loved that thoroughbred crossbred from the moment he laid eyes on him. He convinced us that he'd take care of him. He saw this horse as his 'project' to get both back in the saddle. It took him four months of patient work and lots of creativity because that gelding exploded from the moment it was tied to a post and couldn't handle any pressure. Long story short — by the time Cale also himself was back in shape, a kid could ride that horse with a twine. He stayed with us until the day Cale married and moved to his wife's family ranch near Cheyenne, WY, and took Star along to the mountains and cold winters. According to Cale this horse should never have been gelded, and would have been a great stallion. He loved to picture him on that horse in the snow. Star's beautiful winter coat made him look as big as a draft horse
Why Crossbreds Are Often Healthier and More Resistant
Compared to single-breed breeding, crossbreeding horses has a number of advantages. In many cases, it turned out to be a valuable strategy for ranch horse breeding. A breeding activity with a clear focus on endurance and resistance.
One of the main advantages of crossbreeding horses is that it can result in the creation of horses that possess the best traits of both parent breeds. For example, (re-)crossbreeding a Thoroughbred with a Quarter Horse can result in a horse that has the speed and endurance of the Thoroughbred, combined with the agility and versatility of the Quarter Horse.
Crossbreeding is also used to improve the genetic diversity of the string of ranch horses, as it helps help to reduce the risk of genetic disorders and diseases. This is particularly important for breeds, and breed niches that have a small gene pool, as inbreeding can lead to the buildup of harmful genetic mutations. This has been demonstrated in various segments of the Quarter horse industry.
Another advantage of crossbreeding horses is that it can be used to create horses that are better suited for specific purposes. For example, crossbreeding an Appaloosa/ semi-draft horse cross with a not-too-hot type of Quarter horse can result in a horse that is both quite versatile as sturdy and stout, like often desired in ranch roping and as a pick-up horse at rodeos.
Crossbreeding can help to revitalize the breed and improve its overall quality. This is particularly important for breeds that were at risk of becoming extinct. This is what happened to the Appaloosa horse after the defeat of the Nez Perce in 1877. The Appaloosa breed, which also in earlier days was subject to lineage influx by adding for example warmblood horses, now also got enriched with draft horse mares that were added to the breeding pool. In more recent history both Quarter horses got added to the breed as Arabian bloodlines as well.
The American Quarter Horse's genetic makeup is defined by the American Quarter Horse Association as a combination of Spanish Barb (from Chickasaws), English stock (draft-type), Thoroughbred (imported from England), and Mustang (from west of the Mississippi). It's hard to recreate historical chronology in a precise manner, but indeed genetic research confirms the Spanish/Moorish Barb/Andaluz roots enriched with draft (also through warmblood) and thoroughbred. The Colonial Spanish horses' presence in the Mustang's DNA is aligned with the origins of the Florida Chickasaw horses.
The practice of crossbreeding in ranch breeding programs can also help to improve the hardiness and adaptability of a breed, which can make the breed more suitable for its specific biotope. The international export of Western horses indicated that when for example Texas-bred horses got exposed to the wet climates of areas in Europe, these demonstrated a proneness to rain rot and mud fever. Crossing these horses with local western crossbreds often resulted in horses with increased resistance to the local climate and characteristics of the biotope.
Overall, cross-breeding can be a powerful tool for improving the genetic makeup of horses and creating new enriched lines. However, it's important to remember that cross-breeding is not without its own set of challenges, such as ensuring proper genetic compatibility, dealing with the potential loss of certain desired traits, and the need for careful management and breeding planning.
Ranch Crossbreds — It Requires Breeder Skill, Experience, and a Keen Eye
While some successful crossbreds have been the result of good luck, many others are the consequence of a work of art. The trial and error method may lead to an ugly duck or an accidental step forward for the rough stock industry. A big tall draft blooded horse with the explosive spark of hot-high blooded horses may result in short triggered massive powers with no self-control.
Crossbreeding has been undeniably part of the western horse's history, and still today, the actual ranch workhorse workforces are often the result of cross-breeding.
Most asked—What breed of horses did the early cowboys actually ride?
Both in the early California Vaquero period, starting as early as the late 18th century, as in the later Texas cowboy culture with its iconic cattle drive period after the civil war until about the turn of the 19th century, there was no existence of western horse breed registries.
The Vaquero period was dominated by horses of Spanish descent—horses that accompanied the Spanish on their explorations and colonizations of the west. The Spanish brought Andalusian horses, barb descendants, also known as Iberian horses, to the area that's modern-day Mexico. As California was explored and colonized via a mission system, the Spanish explored their upward colonizations on horseback from modern-day Mexico way up north. The mission system was connected with missions at one-day travel horseback from each other.
The later Texas period combined horses of Spanish colonization descent that populated Texas because of Alonso de Léon's colonization methods that included natural horse and cattle breeding. These horses were enriched by an influx of Morgans, Thoroughbreds, and other breeds.
Although Texas was mainly a resource to provide horses for the American Civil War, this event also caused an influx of horses. Also, the cattle drives as such brought horses from other areas. Cowboys often returned with other horses than where they left with.
Today, the most widespread cowboy culture is the Texas-style cowboy. The preferred horses are Quarter Horses, Paints, Appaloosa and their crosses. The vaquero (Buckaroo) culture is still more oriented toward the types of Quarter Horses/Thoroughbred/Vaquero Horse with Spanish (Iberian) characteristics and appearance
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.