Great American Desert it was a simple
matter to level a couple of parallel paths
for the matching of speed. The racing
blood proved to be just what was needed
to produce top ‘’cow horses’ when crossed
with the mustangs that had come up
from the Spanish horses imported into
Mexico. At last the Quarter Horse found
his permanent place in the sun as a peer
of saddle breeds and one unequalled in the
handling of the vast herds of cattle that
constituted the principal industry of the
west. The fact that he could do his work
without, in any way, detracting from his
ability as a race horse endeared him to
his owner and stimulated his continued
improvement as a type if not as an actual Clabber foaled in 1936 - son of My Texas
Dandy. Known as "the Iron Horse" for his
breed.
This is the period that produced the
legendary Steel Dust and Shiloh, as well
as many others of slightly lesser fame.
“The closing years of the 18th century,
then, marked the end of the period in
which the best Quarter Horses were
raised along the Atlantic Seaboard. Now
Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and
Illinois replace Virginia and the Carolinas
as the principal breeding centers for the
short-horse.” (Robert Denhardt “Quarter
Horses – a story of two centuries” P15)
“Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan
are important because it was from these
states that the Quarter Horse found its
way into Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois”
(Denhardt, as above P19). By the middle
of the 19th century Quarter Horses had
moved further west into Texas, Kansas,
Oklahoma and Louisiana.
county fairs, rodeos and fiestas.
The early part of the 20th century
produced the great short racers Peter
McCue, Traveler , Oklahoma Star, Joe
Reed and My Texas Dandy – horses who
were to have a profound influence on the
Quarter Running Horses of today (1956)
AS WELL AS ON THE PERFORMANCE
HORSES. With the exception of Traveler,
whose breeding is unknown, all these
horses were half Thoroughbred or better.
During the 1920s and 1930s the
automobile and tractor began to replace
the horse for many purposes and horse
breeding, except for sport, went into a
decline caused by overproduction and
low prices. Even the ranchers began to
incredible exploits on the track. He went on
lose interest in improving their stock
to become an exceptional broodmare sire.
since they could buy usable horses of
fair quality so much cheaper than they
could produce good ones. There were no
new frontiers left to conquer. At about
this time the people of America, having
pioneered and settled the land and made it
productive, found themselves with leisure
time on
their hands and began to turn to sport to
occupy it.
Thoroughbred racing was growing in
popularity very rap