ASHA OF CANADA
BREEDING INFORMATION
BREED HISTORY
The American Saddlebred was developed to meet the American pioneer's need for a versatile farm and road horse:... beautiful yet hardy,... docile yet flashy,....and above all comfortable under saddle for days at a time. To achieve this end, Narragansett Pacers, natural and easy gaited animals developed in the colonies of Rhode Island and Virginia were selectively bred with early Thoroughbreds for their size and quality.
By 1776 an all purpose riding horse, then commonly referred to as the "American Horse" and was easily recognized as a definite type. An interesting side note is that both the Thoroughbred and the Narragansett Pacer have their origins with early Galloway and Hobby Horses that were brought to North America with the first settlers. By the 1800's as the pioneers moved west, this "American Horse" was the breed of choice by farmers and frontiersmen who followed Daniel Boone through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky.
In 1839 a very special Thoroughbred named Denmark was foaled who changed the "American Horse" forever. Over 60% of registered horses would later trace back to his son Gaines Denmark. Also over the years, some minor crosses to Morgan, Standardbred, and Hackney horses also contributed to the breed. When the US Civil War ended the breed was perhaps preserved by General Grant's order at the end of the war that confederate troops could keep their "American Saddle Horses" when they returned home.
As horse shows regained popularity after the civil war, the "American Saddle Horse" shone as their beauty, easy way of going, stamina and their ability to learn made them sought after and commercially valuable. In an effort to preserve the breed, the US registry was formed on April 7, 1891, and the American Saddlebred was born, remaining a pure breed to this day. According to "Modern Breeds of Livestock", published by Macmillan in 1980, "The conformation and style of the Saddle Horse is usually considered the most impressive of all breeds of horses, and most people regard it as the most beautiful horse existing in the world today"
As of July 25, 2016 you can email your DNA Test Kit Applications using Canadian Livestock Record Corporation's electronic form directly to CLRC registrars or to CLRC's general email.
DNA TESTING
is a private non-profit organization that has been serving the Canadian livestock industry continuously since 1905. It is incorporated under the Animal Pedigree Act, which is federal legislation that regulates the keeping of all animal pedigree records in Canada. A full listing of ASHA of Canada members, their addresses and phone numbers as well as the animal ownership can be found on the CLRC website.
Visitors may view full pedigrees by clicking on the sire or dam's listing and view complete information on those animals. All information is is verified, updated regularly and is official.