The American Warmblood is a horse of

warmblood Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds primarily originating in Europe and registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian spor ...

type, intended primarily for the traditional

sport horse A sport horse or sporthorse is a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term is usually applied to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving, but ...

disciplines of dressage, show jumping,

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

and

combined driving Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event * T ...

Characteristics

The American Warmblood is usually between high and may come in any

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are assoc ...

, though the solid colors are the most common. Horses of nearly all bloodlines are eligible for registration as American Warmbloods, as long as they are of a sport horse or warmblood type, and are able to meet the appropriate

studbook selection Studbook selection is a process used in certain breeds of horses to select breeding stock. It allows a breed registry to direct the evolution of the breed towards the ideal by eliminating unhealthy or undesirable animals from the population. The rem ...

or performance criteria. The emphasis is on the quality of each individual horse, for both

registration Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

and breeding approval. While the ideal horse for registration is already a warmblood type, there are no breed restrictions for American Warmbloods. Horses which are 100% hot or cold blooded are not typical, but can be registered if they are able to meet the registry's performance standards (this would include

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 ...

Arabians The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...

, and

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

s). Gaited horse breeds (like the

Tennessee Walker The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in the American South. It is ...

Missouri Fox Trotter The Missouri Fox Trotter is a horse breed that originated in the state of Missouri in the United States. It was developed in the Ozark Mountains by settlers in the early 19th century, and quickly developed into a gaited breed appreciated for i ...

, or Icelandic horses) are also non-typical, though if they are able to perform walk-trot-canter in the appropriate levels of the accepted disciplines, they too can be eligible for registration. Horses which fail to meet or have yet to meet these performance criteria may still be issued recording papers, but are not considered registered American Warmbloods until they satisfy performance or inspection standards. Breeding stock must be approved for breeding through studbook inspection, which requires mares and stallions to meet even more stringent inspection and/or performance criteria.

Breed history

There are two registries in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

which recognize American Warmbloods - the American Warmblood Society & Sporthorse Registry and the American Warmblood Registry, both of which are recognized by the

World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses The World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) connects sport horse breeding organizations with the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). The FEI is the International Olympic Committee-recognized federation for Olympic eques ...

(WBFSH). The American Warmblood is more of a "type" than a "breed". Like most of the European

s, the American Warmblood has an "open" book. There is more emphasis on producing quality sport horses, rather than the preservation of any particular bloodlines, which allows for much diversity in the bloodlines of American Warmbloods. The American Warmblood has been influenced by the European

s, the

and the Arabian, as well as some

breeds. Both registries have also begun sport pony books, creating similar performance registries for North American ponies.

References

American Warmblood Society & Sporthorse RegistryAmerican Warmblood Registry

Characteristics

Breed history

References

See also