48 cards

Horse Breed Flashcards

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American Quarter Horse

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Breeds of the Americas 12

American Paint Horse US breed with a western stock horse build and a pinto pattern of white and dark.
American Quarter Horse American sprinter, named for outrunning others over a quarter mile. The most popular US breed.
American Saddlebred US breed that took its modern type in Kentucky, where it was once called the Kentucky Saddler.
Appaloosa American breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. Body types vary widely.
Canadian horse Strong, well-muscled Canadian breed, usually dark. From horses sent from France in the 1600s.
Missouri Fox Trotter Gaited breed from the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, named for its four-beat gait, the fox trot.
Morgan One of the earliest breeds developed in the United States. All trace to one stallion, Figure.
Mustang Free-roaming horse of the western United States, from Spanish horses. Feral, not wild.
Paso Fino Gaited light horse with a smooth four-beat gait. Its two types are Puerto Rican and Colombian.
Rocky Mountain Horse Despite its name, it began in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky.
Standardbred American breed best known for harness racing, at a trot or a pace. Solid and well built.
Tennessee Walking Horse Gaited breed of the American South, known for its four-beat running-walk.

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Riding breeds of Europe, Asia and Africa 12

Akhal-Teke Turkmen breed known for speed, endurance and a metallic sheen. Most live in Turkmenistan.
Andalusian Spanish riding horse, also called the Pure Spanish Horse. A distinct breed since the 1400s.
Arabian Middle Eastern breed with a dished face and high tail carriage. One of the oldest breeds.
Barb North African riding horse of great hardiness and stamina. It has influenced other breeds.
Cleveland Bay The oldest established horse breed in England. Well-muscled and always bay in color.
Haflinger Developed in Austria and northern Italy. Fairly small, always chestnut with a flaxen mane.
Hanoverian German warmblood sport horse. Registration depends on performance rather than ancestry.
Icelandic horse Developed in Iceland. Small, hardy and long-lived, and called a horse even when pony-sized.
Lipizzan Developed in the Habsburg Empire, named for Lipica, now in Slovenia. The coat is usually gray.
Lusitano Portuguese breed named for Lusitania, the Roman name of the region. Convex face, heavy muscle.
Marwari Rare breed from the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India, with distinctive inward-curving ears.
Thoroughbred Developed in England in the 17th and 18th centuries for racing. Agile, fast and spirited.

Draft horses 12

American Cream Draft Cream-coated draft horse developed in Iowa in the early 1900s from a mare named Old Granny.
Ardennes From the Ardennes of Belgium, Luxembourg and France. A heavy-boned and very old draft breed.
Belgian Draft Draft breed from what is now central Belgium. Also called the Brabant.
Boulonnais Large but elegant French draft horse, usually gray. Nicknamed the White Marble Horse.
Breton Strong, muscular draft horse from Brittany in France, often chestnut. Types: Postier and Trait.
Clydesdale Large, powerful draft horse from Scotland, once used on farms and for road haulage.
Fjord horse From western Norway. Small but very strong, of light draft build, and always dun.
Friesian From Friesland in the Netherlands. Light draft horse with a black coat and feathered legs.
Irish Draught The national horse breed of Ireland, developed mainly for farm use.
Percheron Well-muscled French draft horse, usually gray or black, named for the old Perche province.
Shire English draft horse with a great capacity for pulling weight. It once towed canal barges.
Suffolk Punch Heavy English draft horse, always chestnut. Punch is an old word for a short, stout person.

Ponies and small horses 12

Chincoteague pony Feral herd on Assateague Island, which Virginia and Maryland share.
Connemara pony Irish pony known for athleticism, versatility and a good disposition.
Dales pony From the Yorkshire Dales of northern England. Once a packhorse for the local lead mines.
Dartmoor pony Hardy pony of Devon, England, with excellent stamina. Tin miners once used it for work.
Exmoor pony Named for Exmoor, in Devon and Somerset, England, where some still roam half wild.
Falabella An Argentine breed of small horse, among the smallest of all horse breeds.
Fell pony Riding and driving pony from the farms of northwest England. A little smaller than the Dales.
Highland pony Native Scottish pony, one of the largest mountain and moorland breeds. Now used for trekking.
New Forest pony Native to the New Forest in Hampshire, England. Valued for hardiness and sure-footedness.
Pony of the Americas Developed in Mason City, Iowa, from an Arabian, Appaloosa and Shetland cross.
Shetland pony Small, hardy pony of the Shetland Islands of Scotland. Once a pit pony, now a child's mount.
Welsh pony From Wales, in four sections, A to D, told apart mainly by height, from mountain pony to cob.

How this list was compiled: Own work: 48 horse breeds, each with the place it began and one line on its build or use, written for this page. On 2026-10-16 every card was read against the Wikipedia article on the breed (listed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_horse_breeds). Fifteen breeds were read a second time on the breed pages of The Livestock Conservancy (https://livestockconservancy.org/heritage-breeds/conservation-priority-list/): Akhal-Teke, American Cream Draft, Canadian, Cleveland Bay, Clydesdale, Dales, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Fell, Highland, Irish Draught, Lipizzan, Rocky Mountain, Shire and Suffolk Punch. Licence: own work

How it works

Horse breed flashcards for a horse club quiz or a young rider: 48 breeds in words, with no photographs. Each card turns from the breed to the place it began, with one line on its build or use under that.

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Four sets of 12 breeds

Breeds of the Americas runs from the American Quarter Horse and Morgan to the Mustang and Paso Fino. Riding breeds of Europe, Asia and Africa has the Arabian, Thoroughbred, Andalusian and Akhal-Teke. Draft horses covers the Clydesdale, Shire, Percheron and Suffolk Punch. Ponies and small horses goes from the Shetland and Welsh pony to the Falabella.

Words on both sides

These cards teach a breed by its name, its origin and a line of description, not by sight. After the first card is turned the print button appears. One set covers one sheet of Letter or A4 and the four sets cover four. With both sides printed and the paper flipped on its long edge, Scotland is behind Clydesdale.

Mustangs are feral, not wild: they descend from domesticated horses.
Draught is the British spelling of draft. The Irish Draught keeps it in its name.
Two breeds on these cards began in Iowa: the American Cream Draft and the Pony of the Americas.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between a horse and a pony?

A pony is a small horse, usually one that stays under a set height when fully grown. Beside a larger horse it tends to have a thicker coat, mane and tail, shorter legs for its size and heavier bone.

What is the oldest horse breed?

No single breed holds the title. The Arabian, the Akhal-Teke and the Fjord horse are each described as among the oldest breeds.

What is a draft horse?

A large horse bred to pull heavy loads and do farm work such as plowing. The draft set has twelve, from the Clydesdale, Shire and Percheron to two of lighter draft build, the Fjord and the Friesian.