The Blazer Horse is a horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

 breed developed back in the 1950s in northwestern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Tracing back to one founding stallion, this breed of horse was bred to meet demands of daily ranch work, while still being docile enough for any family member to handle. Blazers are known for being versatile at any sport competition and having gentle and intelligent dispositions.

Breed History

The Blazer horse traces back to the chestnut stallion Little Blaze, who was foaled in 1959 and was bred and owned by Neil Hinck, the founding father of the Blazer breed. Coming from a ranch family, Neil was well aware of many horse breeds. He combined the American Quarter Horse

American Quarter Horse

The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...

 and the Morgan Horse

Morgan horse

The Morgan is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the stallion Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, the breed excels in many disciplines, and is known for its versatility....

 with blood of the American Saddlebred

American Saddlebred

The American Saddlebred, formerly known as the American Saddle Horse, is a breed of horse that was developed in Kentucky by plantation owners. Today, in the horse show world, they are most commonly seen under saddle in Saddle seat style riding, and in various types of driving, including pleasure...

, and Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 to produce the strong-willed Blazer. Little Blaze himself was mainly of the Quarter and Morgan descent.

The American Blazer Horse Association was founded in 2006 for the preservation of the Blazer horse. Its stud book is still open, giving the opportunity for certain Blazer horses to be inspected and approved for registration so long as one parent is a Blazer (tracing back to Little Blaze).

Breed Characteristics

Blazer horses are usually no smaller than 13 hands and no higher than 15 hands at full maturity, and it is the standard height for the registry. Their colors include black

Black (horse)

Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and novices frequently mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. However, some breeds of horses, such as the Friesian horse, Murgese and Ariegeois are almost exclusively black...

, bay

Bay (color)

Bay is a hair coat color of horses, characterized by a reddish brown body color with a black mane, tail, ear edges, and lower legs. Bay is one of the most common coat colors in many horse breeds....

 and chestnut

Chestnut (coat)

Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...

, as well as buckskin

Buckskin

Buckskin may refer to:*Buckskin , leather made of buck hide*Buckskins, an outfit of buckskin leather*Buckskin , a color of horses similar to buckskin leather...

, palomino

Palomino

Palomino is a coat color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" base coat...

 and many shades of dun. They have a refined head, bold eyes, extreme sloping of the shoulders, short backs, round croups, long hips, and have thick bone for strength and durability.