History & Heritage

spanish mustang breed, history of spanish mustang, canyon de chelly national monument, spanish horses

These days, importing European horses generally means flying expensive horses with high-performance Warmblood pedigrees over to North America. But importing horses to North America isn’t anything new. Horses were brought over from Europe when Spanish explorers and conquistadors sailed the ocean blue in the 15th century.

Nijinsky horse, Remarkable Horses, Northern Dancer, Flaming Page, Nijinsky II, Charles W. Engelhard, amazing horses

In the July/August 2017 issue of Canadian Horse Journal, we celebrated Canada’s 150th anniversary with stories of 20 exceptional horses that have reflected our values and fired our national pride. One of those horses was Nijinsky.

Thomas Gayford National Horse Show, jim elder 1986 mexico olympics, jim day canadian show jumping team, horse history canada, famous show  jumpers canada

In 1968, show jumping trio James Day, Jim Elder, and Thomas Gayford surprised the world by putting Canada on the podium when they won Canada’s only gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. It was the first time Canada had ever entered a team in the show jumping and, going in, the Americans, Germans, and British were the favoured medal contenders.

BC appaloosa centre, howard jackson, marylin jackson, margaret evans, horses of Pech-Merle, niseans, appaloosa history, canadian-bred appaloosas, horse from palouse river, equine history

In British Columbia, Howard Jackson, who with his wife, Marylin, owns the BC Appaloosa Centre (BCAC) in Prince George, has enjoyed a lifelong relationship with Appaloosas. Jackson was born in 1948, and in 1955 his father acquired an aged Appaloosa stallion named White Chief #36 ApHCC in a horse trade.

cloning horses, przewalski horse cloned, chernobyl prezewalski horses, viagen equine cedar park texas, margaret evans horse

On August 6, 2020, a cloned Przewalski’s horse foal was born at the Texas veterinary facility, Timber Creek Veterinary, a long-time collaborator with ViaGen Equine in Cedar Park, Texas, a world leader in cloning services. To bring a cloned Przewalski’s foal into the world, they worked together with San Diego Zoo Global’s Frozen Zoo, and Revive & Restore, a conservation organization promoting biotechnology in conservation techniques.

quarter horse genome

The Quarter Horse is renowned for its agility, speed over short distances, and calm disposition. Not only are they enormously valued as working animals on ranches and farms, Quarter Horses excel in competition where their nimbleness and responsiveness are the skills that put them on top, especially in events like reining, cutting, barrel racing, and calf roping. So where do these skills come from?

Arabian Horse Genome, arabians thoroughbreds, genetics of arabians

Genetic Study Challenges Common Beliefs - A study involving Arabian horses from 12 countries has found that some populations maintained more genetic diversity and that the breed did not contribute genetically to the modern-day Thoroughbred, contrary to popular thought.

rocky mountain horses, canadian wild horse foundation, cwhf

As the Alberta government reviews its management strategy for more than 950 wild horses that roam the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains, the newly formed Canadian Wild Horse Foundation (CWHF) is getting set to petition the federal government to declare wild horses a heritage species, focusing their goals initially on Alberta’s wild horses. “The Foundation’s main focus is to actively bring awareness (to the public) of the plight of our Canadian wild horses,” said Adrienne Calvert, Executive Director of CWHF. “We aim to educate the public on the numerous historical contributions these animals have made to our country. CWHF believes all Canadian wild horses are an iconic heritage animal that should be protected for future generations.”

brigadier horse, toronto mounted police horses, canada's police horses, royal canadian mounted police, rcmp mounted unit

Note: This article was originally published May 2006

By Karen Briggs

what is 4-h? how do I sign my child up for 4-h? 4-h riding lessons, horses in 4-h, shelagh niblock, what is a 4h project?

For over 100 years, 4-H Canada has been one of the most highly respected and widely known youth organizations in the country, offering activities and projects to nurture members’ talents and abilities, and developing leaders who impact their communities. Its core values embodied in its pledge define the profile of 4-H at every level.

Pages