HAPPY OWNERS, CAPABLE HORSES
This, our last installment in a series on the American Standardbred, is a celebration—a testimonial told in manyvoices. The Standardbred is an old breed, a blend of many bloodlines: Norfolk trotter, Thoroughbred, Arabian, Canadian and Morgan, and it was the world’s first sporthorse—developed more than a half-century earlier than the European verbands, who took their ideas for performance testing directly from American trotting associations and American military endurance tests.
Usually thought of as a harness racer, and often ignored because of its propensity to pace and amble, in reality the Standardbred has repeatedly proven itself not only to be extraordinarily good-minded and trainable, but also outstandingly athletic. The breed can succeed in a wide array of performance contexts—as this article abundantly demonstrates.
A unique genetic mutation alters the development of the equine nervous system to confer the ability to amble (the DMRT3-STOP gene was explained in “‘Gait Keeper’ Genetics” (EQUUS 507). This genetic signature shows up in many breeds but is nearly universal in the Standardbred. In practical terms this means that most horses in the breed can both trot and amble. The DMRT3-STOP gene does not prevent the canter and gallop coordinations, but it appears to make diagonal coordinations at both trot and canter more difficult for the animal to “find.”
Much depends upon the horse’s dam; if she canters and trots, the foal will likely learn early to take up these gaits. Much also depends upon the horse’s training history. Standardbreds that neverwent to the track are more likely to freely offer canter. Of those with a racing background, individuals who were punished forcantering and hoppled to prevent trotting may have more difficulty later. The so-called “free-legged” pacers (horses that will pace at racing speed without breaking gait, so that they do not need to be hoppled) are quite likely to freely offer trot and canter after their racing careers.
Conformation analysis is always relevant to selecting horses for particular uses. I am certainly encouraging people to consider adopting a Standardbred, but as in all horse breeds, their conformation varies over a range. As a guide to selection (whether that be for barrel racing, Western or English pleasure, jumping or dressage), in this article I present a baker’s dozen Standardbreds along with brief comments. The finale follows, with multiple images of people enjoying their Standard-breds as they succeed in numerous activities, along with comments from many of the owners who submitted these photos at our request. Singing the praises of the American Standardbred, it turns out, is easy.
Coming next: The American Saddlebred
CONFORMATION
#1. The name and pedigree of this 11-year-old gelding are unknown; I took the photo on a trip to Australia. A former harness trotter, he now works as a field hunter with some dressage on the side. This is an excellent all-around individual who stands 16:1 hands and weighs in at about 1200 pounds. I especially admire the long and beautifully sloped pelvis, good coupling, clean well-formed joints and good bone substance.
also known as Dragon, owned by Aarene Storms: This is a lighter-bodied individual than horse #1, but still has the prominent withers, clean and well-defined shoulder bed, good coupling and well-formed joints. See the “Dressage” sidebar for images of this mare in performance and look at the spectacular picture of her free-trotting presented in
