Tennessee
Walking
Horse History
The Tennessee
Walking Horse, a member of the light breeds of the equine
family, is no mystery horse, nor is there anything of magic
or difficult to understand about his makeup. It is a composite
breed that evolved from the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian,
Morgan, Standardbred, Thoroughbred and American Saddlebred.
These bloods were fused into one animal in the middle Tennessee
bluegrass region, resulting in one of the greatest pleasure,
show and trail riding horses. The result, over countless
years, was the Tennessee Walking Horse - the first breed
of horse to bear a state name.
In 1885,
a cross between a stallion called Allendorf, from the Hambletonian
family of trotters, and Maggie Marshall, a Morgan mare,
produced a black colt with a white blaze, off hind coronet
and near hind sock, Black Allan, foal of 1886. He was later
to be chosen by the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' Association
as the foundation sire of the Tennessee Walking Horse and
designated as Allan F-1. While the bloodlines of the Gray
Johns, Copperbottoms, Slashers, Hals, Brooks and Bullett
families ran thick and produced a type known as the Tennessee
pacer prior to the arrival of Allan F-1 in Middle Tennessee,
it was a cross between Allan and the Tennessee Pacer that
produced today's Tennessee Walking Horse.
The Tennessee
Walking Horse is now in all parts of the country. No longer
found only in Tennessee, registered Tennessee Walking Horses
can be found in all fifty United States and several foreign
countries. And since the organization of the Tennessee
Walking Horse Breeders' Association in 1935, nearly 300,000
horses have been registered.
The Tennessee
Walking Horse performs the flat foot walk, running walk,
and canter. The running walk, the gait for which the walking
horse is most noted, is an extra-smooth gliding gait. This
breed can travel 10 to 20 miles per hour at this gait.
As the speed is increased, the horse over-steps the front
track with the back foot by from 6 to 18 inches. The more "stride" the
horse has the better "walker" it is considered
to be, for this gives the rider a feeling that he or she
were gliding through the air as if propelled by some powerful
but smooth-running machine. Walking horses relax certain
muscles while doing the running-walk, some nod their heads
in rhythmic timing, swing their ears in perfect motion,
and some even snap their teeth. The running walk is a smooth,
easy gait for both horse and rider.
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