The American Indian Horse is defined by its

breed registry A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeder ...

as a horse that may carry the ancestry of the

Spanish Barb The Spanish Barb horse is a direct descendant of the original horses brought over from Spain. It may be of any color. History Horses from the southern Iberian peninsula and horses from North Africa are linked by genetic evidence. Iberian hors ...

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...

Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, the ...

, or "Foundation"

Appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's colo ...

. It is the descendant of horses originally brought to the Americas by the Spanish and obtained by Native American people. The registry was created in 1961 when some breeders of Colonial Spanish Horse bloodlines considered the

Spanish Mustang The Spanish Mustang is an American horse breed descended from horses brought from Spain during the early conquest of the Americas. They are classified within the larger grouping of the Colonial Spanish horse, a type that today is rare in Spain. ...

breeders to be departing from the original "Indian horse"

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology (biology), morphology or physical form and structure, its Developmental biology, developmental proc ...

. The organization was started "for the purpose of collecting, recording and preserving the pedigrees of American Indian Horses." The registry also allows the "hybrids and descendants" of the original Spanish Colonial Horse to be registered. Horses registered with other breed registries to be double-registered with this organization if the horses meet the conformation requirements.

Characteristics

American Indian Horses generally range in height from and weigh between . They may be any coat color and both

pinto Pinto is a Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all Portuguese-speaking countries and is also widely present in Spanish-speaking countries, Italy, India especially in Mangalore, Karnatak ...

and

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

spotting patterns are common. They are hardy, surefooted, and no

draft horse A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less oft ...

breeding is allowed. Some may be gaited. There are five registration categories: *Class O ("Original") horses have a recorded

pedigree chart A pedigree chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence and appearance of phenotypes of a particular gene or organism and its ancestors from one generation to the next, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses. Definition The word pedigre ...

that can be traced to either one of the

registries or "various American Indian tribes and families." *Class A horses have unknown bloodlines, but meet the breed standard. This category can include

grade horse A grade horse is a horse whose parentage is unknown, unidentifiable, or of significantly mixed breeding. This differs from purebred animals of known bloodlines and also differs from deliberately crossbred animals that are produced with an intent o ...

s or horses of unknown bloodlines. Horses adopted from the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's ...

(BLM) are Class A horses. *Class AA horses are over four years old, have been inspected for their conformation and "are at least half-O in breeding or are of exceptional O type." Some horses adopted from the

(BLM) can qualify for this status. *Class M ("Modern") horses are of "modern" type. They may have registered parents from breeds that the American Indian Horse Registry considers to be descended from the original type, including

American Quarter Horses The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at ...

, Appaloosas,

American Paint Horse The American Paint Horse is a breed of horse that combines both the conformational characteristics of a western stock horse with a pinto spotting pattern of white and dark coat colors. Developed from a base of spotted horses with Quarter Hors ...

s, and horses registered with various color breed registries such as those for pinto or

palomino Palomino is a genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called t ...

horses. *Class P ("Pony") registration is for ponies that have the proper type characteristics. They might have pedigreed breeding such as the Galiceno or

Pony of the Americas The Pony of the Americas is a pony breed developed in the state of Iowa in the United States. The foundation stallion was an Arabian/ Appaloosa/Shetland pony cross. A breed registry was founded in 1954, and within 15 years had registered 12,500 ...

, or could be of unknown ancestry.

Uses

American Indian Horses are ridden in western-style classes in

horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer ...

and

Gymkhana Gymkhana () ( ur, جِمخانہ, sd, جمخانه, hi, जिमख़ाना, as, জিমখানা, bn, জিমখানা) is a British Raj term which originally referred to a place of assembly. The meaning then altered to den ...

speed events. They are also used for

pleasure riding Pleasure riding is a form of equestrianism that encompasses many forms of recreational riding for personal enjoyment, absent elements of competition. In horse show competition, a wide variety of classes are labeled pleasure classes with judging st ...

and

trail riding Trail riding is riding outdoors on trails, bridle paths, and forest roads, but not on roads regularly used by motorised traffic. A trail ride can be of any length, including a long distance, multi-day trip. It originated with horse riding, and ...

References

{{Horse breeds of Canada and the United States Horse breeds