Breeds and Types
In the 17th century the term “breed” did not mean what it does today. What they called breeds were really types. As an example, a “Flemish” horse normally meant that it came from Flanders, not that it was a particular breed. On the other hand, if a horse was called “Spanish” or “Friesian” certain body and temperament characteristics were expected regardless of where the horse was actually bred. These body characteristics are what horse folks call “confirmation.”
Most 17th century breeders carefully selected both sire and dam and kept records as to the animals used. The breeders had a specific confirmation and temperament in mind as they selected and bred. They did not place as great an importance on the origins of a horse as they did on its physical and mental suitability. If the object was to breed large draft horses with feathers then they selected the largest horses with draft type builds and feathers and bred them together until they achieved a strain that bred true.
An Oldenburg horse was a horse bred by Graf Johann XVI von Oldenburg (1573-1603) or his son, Graf Anton Günther von Oldenburg (1603-1667). Graf Johann and Graf Anton Günther were breeding fancy carriage horses that could also be ridden. They selected those horses that most closely matched what they intended the end product to be and bred them together. These horses were known as “Oldenburgs.” However, as Graf Anton Günther allowed tenants and others to breed their mares to his stallions, the term “Oldenburg” might also apply to animals that did not come from the Graf’s breeding program. The upshot was if the horse met the criteria of an Oldenburg, it was acceptable to almost everyone as an Oldenburg. Naturally those horses sold from the Graf’s stables commanded the higher price and some people undoubtedly got taken by smooth talking horse traders into thinking that the Oldenburg they purchase had come directly out of Graf Anton Günther’s stables instead of Bauer Schmidt’s pasture.
Today, what we know as breeds have studbooks and registries to control which animals can be called by the breed name. A studbook is a list of horses meeting the standards of the breed and being registered as that breed. Some breeds have closed studbooks; others run open studbooks.
The Thoroughbred is an example of a closed studbook. No Thoroughbred can be registered unless both of its parents are also registered Thoroughbreds. A Thoroughbred must be able to trace its ancestry back to the horses found in the General Stud Book (GSB). The GSB was established and first printed in 1808. The GSB used private records to attempt to detail all the horses that deserved the name Thoroughbred. At the beginning, in the late 17th century and early 18th century, there was no such thing as a Thoroughbred and those developing the breed had no controls on what animals could be bred. The Thoroughbred was developed in England as a light cavalry and racehorse. Reading the GSB you find horses listed as Turks, Barbs, Arabians, Royal mares (no breed specified) and others with only a descriptive name such as Old Bald Peg. At its beginnings, the Thoroughbred was a type. When that type had reached a point where it was breeding true the studbook was established and closed.
With a closed studbook the horse still has to meet the breed standards to be accepted and registered. Many closed breed books only allow certain coat colors. With Andalusians, only Gray (which ages to white), Black, and Bay are allowable colors. Closed books usually require an examination by a breed judge before the horse can be registered.
The other option is an open studbook. In most breeds today with an open studbook the term “open” is a bit of a misnomer as the registry only allows breeding to certain other registered breeds. Taking the Quarter Horse Stud Book as an example, to register a horse as a Quarterhorse both of its parents must be registered Quarterhorses or one parent must be a registered Quarterhorse and the other must be registered as one of the other acceptable breeds, such as Thoroughbred. A racing Quarterhorse may actually be 7/8ths Thoroughbred. One result of this style of open studbook that Quarterhorse confirmation has divided into racing, ranch, and show types. There is an ongoing debate among QH breeders as to the physical standards of the breed.