side views of a dark brown horse, a gray dappled horse, and a much smaller chestnut horse

All
About
Horses

All About Horses

side views of a dark brown horse, a gray dappled horse, and a much smaller chestnut horse

There are over 200 different horse breeds living around the world today. Although breeds can look wildly different, they all belong to a single species: Equus caballus.

Over thousands of years, people created different breeds by mating horses that have desirable traits. That's why the look of a breed is often related to what it's used for. When these traits get passed down over many generations, a new breed is produced.

For example, about 200 years ago, English horse breeders mated light, swift Arabians with local riding horses. This created the Thoroughbred—a lean, leggy, super-speedy breed used in horse racing.

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Coat Colors button with patchwork colored horse icon
3 Basic Body Types button with horse silhouette icon
Measuring Horses button with hand and ruler icon

Explore 18 Horse Breeds!

Find out about their colors, body types, the different jobs they do, and where in the world they come from.

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