The Quarter Horse

[Wellspotted]

OK, QH COTHers, what has happened to The Quarter Horse?

I know it is a fine old breed with a good history.

But recently I keep seeing ads and posters calling it the American Quarter Horse.

Of course the Quarter Horse is American.

And of course it has The American Quarter Horse Association. But that is the American association of the Quarter Horse, not the association of the American Quarter Horse.

Calling it an American Quarter Horse makes it sound as if there were a British Quarter Horse, a French Quarter Horse, and so on. But it is an American breed.

After all, people don’t go around saying The Australian Waler, or the American Tennessee Walking Horse. There is only one Waler, an Australian breed; there is only one Tennessee Walking Horse, an American breed.

So I call for a return to the use of good English when naming this good American breed.

The Quarter Horse!

[OveroHunter]

I’m not following your point. AQHA stands for American Quarter Horse Association. Are you implying that there should be a European Quarter Horse Association as well?

It’s the American Quarter Horse Association because these are horses that were bred for the first time for a specific purpose in America. They are coveted around the world and there are even American Quarter Horse Association shows in other countries.

[bugsynskeeter]

It has been the American Quarter Horse since the start of the association in the 1940s.

[7HL]

Who really cares? Guess it causes the “grammar police” to have a tantrum.

[quarterhorse4me]

No matter what you call them, I would not trade my quarter horses for anything:D and I am a member of the American Quarter Horse Association. If I were in France would I be a member of the FRENCH quarter horse association, the FRENCH AMERICAN quarter horse association or Just the AMERICAN Quarter Horse Association?----Great Horse by any name:yes:

[7HL]

@quarterhorse4me;6332858

No matter what you call them, I would not trade my quarter horses for anything:D and I am a member of the American Quarter Horse Association. If I were in France would I be a member of the FRENCH quarter horse association, the FRENCH AMERICAN quarter horse association or Just the AMERICAN Quarter Horse Association?----Great Horse by any name:yes:

http://www.afqh.org/

AQHA’s state, provincial and international affiliates are working together to promote the American Quarter Horse by sharing ideas and planning activities. By becoming a member of your AQHA Affiliate, you will have access to dozens of the best equine and educational programs in the horse industry. From educational seminars to year-end awards, show and racing programs to leadership development conferences, your AQHA Affiliate has a program for the entire family. Join your AQHA Affiliate, it could possibly be the best decision you’ve ever made.

http://www.aqha.com/About/Content-Pages/About-the-Association/Affiliates.aspx

[Ozzerati]

I can’t speak for the American Quarter Horse Association, but I’ll use my perspective from my involvement in the American Paint Horse Association to try and shed some light.

From the Paint Horse POV, there are “Paint Horses” bred in countries around the world—some of those countries have their own registries with looser breeding requirements in terms of known parentage and/or bloodlines. Using the term “American Paint Horse” signifies that the horse in question meets APHA breeding standards, regardless of where that horse is bred/owned/shown/etc. Australia, for instance, has their own Paint Horse registry that has different guidelines for registration; there’s a push in that country to get qualified horses dual-registered in both the Australian and American associations. I imagine AQHA has a similar situation.

Think of American Paint Horse and American Quarter Horse as brand names, like saying Kleenex instead of tissue.

[ParadoxFarm]

Quarter Horses are getting quite popular in Europe these days. And maybe it has something to do with that. When we import warmbloods, they are Dutch warmbloods, or Swedish warmbloods, etc. and we continue to call them that even when they are registered with the North American registries. I just think the QH is no longer America’s secret. I say keep it the American Quarter Horse. Has a nice ring to it.

[clanter]

When the American Quarter Horse Association was started in 1941 it used the American Morgan Horse Association registry as a model. Many of the founders had Morgans in their herds and were familiar with the workings of AMHA registry.