There are over 350 horse breeds in the world and we have featured 150 of the best known breeds below. Currently, there are over 75 million horses worldwide and they come in a tremendous variety of shapes and sizes and are clearly designed for different tasks. Horse breeds are loosely divided into three main categories based on general temperament: "hot bloods" are known to be spirited and have great speed and endurance; "cold bloods," such as draft horses and some ponies, are suitable for slow, heavy work; and finally "warmbloods," developed from crosses between hot bloods and cold bloods, which are bred for specific riding purposes, especially in Europe. In America, we have the Light Horse Breeds such as the Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, and Quarter Horses that are very athletic and used for racing and working while the Arabian Horse tends to be used for show and pleasure riding. These horses are an average of 14 to 17 hands and they weigh approximately 400 to 1,500 lbs.

Racehorse "Cigar" Kentucky Horse Park

Draft horses are considered "cold blooded", heavy horses that are built to work and pull. These breeds include the Belgian, Percheron, Clydesdale, Suffolk and Shire. Draft breeds range from approximately 16 to 19 hands high and can weigh 1,400 to 2,000 lbs.

NOTE: A "Hand" when measuring horses, is 4 inches. Horses are measured from the ground near their front hoof to the top of their withers or shoulder.

There are some registries that accept horses, ponies and mules of almost any breed or type for registration. Color is either the only criterion for registration or the primary criterion. These are called "color breeds," because unlike "true" horse breeds, there are few other physical requirements. The stud book is not limited in any fashion. Often, the color also does not always breed on, in many cases due to a genetic impossibility. Offspring born without the stated color are usually not eligible for recording with the color breed registry. The best-known color breed registries are for the following colors:

Buckskin
Palomino
Pinto horse
White

White Horses are registered in the United States with the American Creme and White Horse registry, which was once called an "Albino" registry until it was understood that true albino does not exist in horses.

There are breeds that have color that usually breeds "true" as well as distinctive physical characteristics and a limited stud book. These horses are true breeds that have a preferred color, not color breeds, and include the Friesian horse, the Cleveland Bay, the Appaloosa, and the American Paint Horse.

The Pony Breed originated from the wild horse prototypes that developed their small stature because of the confined living and grazing spaces. These ‘smaller horses’ were domesticated and bred for specific purposes all over the world. Ponies were historically used for driving carts, hauling freight and as children's mounts as well as for recreational riding. Later, ponies became competitors and performers. During the Industrial Revolution, particularly in Great Britain, ponies were used as "pit ponies," hauling heavy loads of coal up from the mines.

The Pony Breed is generally classified as standing less than 14.2 hands tall and often having thicker manes, tails and overall coats with proportionally shorter legs, heavier bones and shorter heads. Ponies have other distinct traits that make them unique, they are not simply small horses. Miniature horses are classified under the horse breeds.

Ponies are a cute and cuddly, hardworking breed that have been adored for centuries by animal lovers around the world. Ponies have also become beloved pets for many world leaders including President’s Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. President John F. Kennedy gave his daughter, Caroline, a precious pony named “Macaroni” that would happily graze on the front lawn of the White House.