There are hundreds of different breeds of horses, but they are grouped into three broad categories: cold blood, warm blood and hot blood.
Cold Blood. In Europe, horses were originally bred for farm work and as working horses. Their main function was to pull things (e.g. plow, cart, barges, forest logs). They were bred for strength and endurance, able to pull heavy objects and to work many hours each day. This resulted in breeds with big muscles, on heavy frames, with large joints. Such horses also needed to be calm an obedient; the last thing you wanted was a horse running off with a cart or farm equipment. Their coats, manes and tail hair were thick and long to protect them from the European winters. Such horses are not fast, but are very solid working horses. Sample breeds are the Shire and the Clydesdale.
The hot bloods are from warmer climates, in particular the middle-east, where they were bred for racing and riding. They have much lighter bodies, legs and joints than the cold bloods, as they are build for speed and distance rather than for raw power. Having been developed in warm regions, they have relatively short coats, manes and tail hair so that they can shed heat better. For the same reason, they have lots of blood vessels near the surface of the skin, to improve heat dissipation. All of these factors support their speed and racing success. Likewise, they are spirited horses with a desire to run, the very opposite of the calm and docile temperament of cold bloods. The Arabian and the Thoroughbred are classic hot blood breeds.
Warm Blood (also known as warmblood). These breeds fall between hot and cold bloods in terms of both build and temperament. In some cases, the breeds have originated by crossing a cold blood breed with a hot blood breed. They have an athletic build and performance similar to a hot blood, but a calmer disposition and easy trainability which one associates with a cold blood. Due to their physical characteristics and solid temperament, they are used mainly for riding and sports (e.g. show jumping, dressage). Example warm blood breeds are the Friesian and Hanoverian.
All horses have the same normal temperature (38C) so the terms cold, warm and hot have nothing to do with temperature. Rather, it refers to the body type (build for power, sport or speed), the personality (docile, calm or spirited) and their origin (cold, warm or hot climate).
Over the past hundred years we've seen machines replace much of the functions of horses, with farm and other equipment taking over the function of cold bloods, while modern transport has taken over the traditional employment of warmbloods. Fortunately, sports and pleasure riding have grown to partly fill this gap, with different types of activities suited to each category. In addition, even for pleasure riding, the preferred horse type depends on what you want to do. For pure speed it is the hot blood, for complex sports such as show jumping it is the warmblood, while the cold blood's calm and reliable nature make it a favorite with many children and less confident adults. - 29953
Cold Blood. In Europe, horses were originally bred for farm work and as working horses. Their main function was to pull things (e.g. plow, cart, barges, forest logs). They were bred for strength and endurance, able to pull heavy objects and to work many hours each day. This resulted in breeds with big muscles, on heavy frames, with large joints. Such horses also needed to be calm an obedient; the last thing you wanted was a horse running off with a cart or farm equipment. Their coats, manes and tail hair were thick and long to protect them from the European winters. Such horses are not fast, but are very solid working horses. Sample breeds are the Shire and the Clydesdale.
The hot bloods are from warmer climates, in particular the middle-east, where they were bred for racing and riding. They have much lighter bodies, legs and joints than the cold bloods, as they are build for speed and distance rather than for raw power. Having been developed in warm regions, they have relatively short coats, manes and tail hair so that they can shed heat better. For the same reason, they have lots of blood vessels near the surface of the skin, to improve heat dissipation. All of these factors support their speed and racing success. Likewise, they are spirited horses with a desire to run, the very opposite of the calm and docile temperament of cold bloods. The Arabian and the Thoroughbred are classic hot blood breeds.
Warm Blood (also known as warmblood). These breeds fall between hot and cold bloods in terms of both build and temperament. In some cases, the breeds have originated by crossing a cold blood breed with a hot blood breed. They have an athletic build and performance similar to a hot blood, but a calmer disposition and easy trainability which one associates with a cold blood. Due to their physical characteristics and solid temperament, they are used mainly for riding and sports (e.g. show jumping, dressage). Example warm blood breeds are the Friesian and Hanoverian.
All horses have the same normal temperature (38C) so the terms cold, warm and hot have nothing to do with temperature. Rather, it refers to the body type (build for power, sport or speed), the personality (docile, calm or spirited) and their origin (cold, warm or hot climate).
Over the past hundred years we've seen machines replace much of the functions of horses, with farm and other equipment taking over the function of cold bloods, while modern transport has taken over the traditional employment of warmbloods. Fortunately, sports and pleasure riding have grown to partly fill this gap, with different types of activities suited to each category. In addition, even for pleasure riding, the preferred horse type depends on what you want to do. For pure speed it is the hot blood, for complex sports such as show jumping it is the warmblood, while the cold blood's calm and reliable nature make it a favorite with many children and less confident adults. - 29953
About the Author:
Duber Stewart is the author of Warmblood and Cold Blood Horses and many other articles at his Horses For Sale site about horses and their care.
