By Kristy Enloe

Poco Bueno * King * Harlan * Pretty Buck * Blackburn * Old Sorrel * Hired Hand * Wimpy * Hickory Bill * Peppy * Ben Hur * Traveler * Joe Hancock * Yellow Jacket * Yellow Wolf * Oklahoma Star * Joe Reed * Old Joe Bailey * Driftwood * Showdown

One of the latest trends to hit the quarter horse industry is the concentration on “foundation bloodlines” and “foundation registries”. Many may not know there are several different foundation registries with more popping up every day. The foundation registries were created to preserve the conformation of the true quarter horse. Many “old-timers” were concerned with the influx of too much Thoroughbred blood into the sound conformation and gentle disposition of the “true quarter horse” breed. Some say the Thoroughbred has become “too much of a good thing” for the quarter horse and that it has made the quarter horse a hybrid rather than an actual breed. They believe the Thoroughbred blood has reduced muscle bulk and made for a more sleek, refined boned individual, much as we see in the quarter horse pleasure classes and racing quarter horses of today. The quarters actually are hybrids and evolved from Barbs, Mustangs, Arabs, Draft Horses, Thoroughbreds and more. Today, the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) allows foals to be registered from AQHA registered parents to obtain regular registration papers, or one AQHA registered parent and one Thoroughbred registered parent to obtain appendix registration papers. The registry is closed to all other horse breeds. Interestingly, it is possible for a horse to be 7/8 thoroughbred or more registered as an AQHA quarter horse. This horse would not be eligible for a thoroughbred registry. The AQHA does not support and is not connected with the foundation registries in any way, although they will give referrals to people interested in learning more about the foundation associations. The AQHA has also invited key foundation representatives to join discussions about “old style” quarter horses and improving their competitive edge in the AQHA show ring. In 2002, the AQHA will attempt to bridge the gap by creating a series of classes for “stock” type horses. Although the AQHA can not discriminate against high percentage thoroughbreds, the classes will be geared towards the foundation type quarter horse.

There are two ways to look at foundation quarter horses. The first is conformation and disposition. Many quarter horse enthusiasts look to the foundation quarter horse as a type, rather than an actual pedigree. Some of the common terms that seem synonymous with foundation horses are the “bulldog build” or heavy muscling, strong forearms and stifles, a short back, and rarely standing above 15 hands but usually weighing in excess of 1200 lbs. The horse should have a deep muscled V in front, a shorter, wider neck is acceptable, a wide kind eye, well-defined jowls, and small wide set ears are a must. Foundation horses are generally said to have good bones and feet, meaning the width of the bones are thick, and the size of the hoof is correct to support the body of the horse. Body frames like these are believed to be less prone to injury and fatigue. A foundation quarter horse is also said to be “less hot” and more sensible about decision making. They will work hard and have natural athletic ability and intuition to get the job done in the cattle pens.

The second way to look at a foundation quarter horse is pedigree. One of the key mistakes made when labeling a horse as “foundation” is pedigree. A great horse is not automatically a foundation horse. A big name horse with AQHA accomplishments is not automatically a foundation horse. There are plenty of top quality horses that appear foundation bred to the naked eye, when in fact, a pedigree review will often show the horse to be a product of a thoroughbred sire or dam. Take the 100% thoroughbred “Three Bars” for instance. This AQHA Hall of Fame sire has impacted the quarter horse lineage as much as any, and many of his progeny are mistaken as “foundation”. By definition, most of his foals are not eligible for any of the major foundation registries listed here (There is one registry that will allow several Three Bars offspring into the registry because they were assigned low AQHA registration numbers). The following horses sired by Three Bars are not eligible: Sugar Bars, The Ole Man, Alamitos Bar, Bar Flower, Bar Money, Chicado Chick, Clabber Bar, Dandy Bar, Lightning Bar, Lucky Bars, Magnolia Bar, Mr Bar None, Nug Bar, Par Three, Rapid Bar, Three Chicks, or Tonto Bars Gill to name a few. Many of these horses are in the quarter horse “Legends” books put out by Western Horseman. When we review the leader boards for today’s halter, and performance, many go back to Three Bars. Impressive, a Three Bars grandson, can be seen in most pedigrees of the top halter horses. Doc Bar, another Three Bars descendant, is not considered a “foundation” horse, yet his progeny rule the rodeo, NCHA and NRHA circuits. These horses are certainly not “bad” horses, but they do stray from the original description of what a quarter horse was meant to be. They perform in the show ring, but not necessarily in everyday work life.

In today’s world, quarter horses have developed into several lines including the “original” or “foundation” type and the “show horse”. The show quarter horse has become specialized to a specific task such as cutting, racing, jumping, pleasure, or halter. It is still true the quarter horse breed is versatile, but not so for specific horses. There are very few horses that can show and win at halter in the morning, do pleasure in the afternoon, and rope at the rodeo that night. Unfortunately, these horses just don’t exist anymore with today’s judging trends and the quality of today’s horses and horse breeders. Some horses may not be the prettiest to look at, but they can spin like a tornado or follow a cow with precision, and some, although awing to view at halter, are like riding a bike through a road filled with potholes. Thus we have diversity, and a horse for every occasion. Horses are evolving like people in sporting events. As an example, Mr. Universe will probably never play in the NBA because he is carrying too much weight to be fast and have long-term stamina, and Jill Supermodel will probably never be an Olympic gymnast because she is too tall. Perhaps the foundation registries will succeed in preserving the true original quarter horse that will provide a strong critical cross to the modern AQHA horse. Perhaps the AQHA and the money associations (NRHA, NCHA and more) will continue to move towards those that shine in a specialized area in show but are not necessarily meant to shine on the trail or climbing the hills and bluffs of cattle country. The AQHA show horse could then be crossed back to the foundation bred horse to create a new generation of show horses with better conformation and temperaments with the “dazzle” factor of the current show horses.

Breeding and Buying True Foundation Horses

As a breeder for foundation, it is important to have conformation, disposition and pedigree. There are an awful lot of horses that are advertised as “foundation” and stand 15.3 - 16.1 hands tall and weigh 1000 pounds. There are sons of Three Bars and Doc Bar that are advertised as “strong foundation breeding”. They all may be good horses, but they are not ideal foundation horses. There are of course, exceptions to rules. One must also weigh the sacrificing of conformation for the preservation of blood and the goals of the breeding program.

Be aware, a definition of foundation may not necessarily be consistent across horse breeders, sellers and buyers. If a horse is advertised as “foundation”, it is a good idea to ask what “foundation” means. Did the horse qualify for one or more foundation associations? If so, which ones? Is the horse a “foundation type” build as described above? What benefits do you gain from having the horse foundation registered? If the horse is registered foundation, and the goal is to “show foundation”, are there any foundation shows for that registry in your area? Also remember, if looking to buy a conformationally ideal foundation type horse, do not look for a 15.2 hand or taller horse specifically. Look to buy a 14.2-15.1 hand horse that has good bone underneath it. As with any horse purchase, the best fit is one you feel comfortable with and one that is conformationally sound, regardless of its fit into the foundation realm.

Foundation Registries

All in all, the foundation registries hope and try to preserve the original definitions set by the AQHA back in the 1940s and 1950s. They tend to focus more on the horse, and less on the rider/presenter. They seem to be more “in tune” to the humane treatment of the horse in the show ring. Some of the foundation associations don’t even have halter classes like those of the AQHA. Unfortunately, without visual subjective inspection on each horse, it is very difficult to quantify “foundation”.

The original foundation registry was the FQHR or Foundation Quarter Horse Registry. Since its creation, several more have been established, including several not listed in this article. Each foundation association sets guidelines for their registry requirements based on pedigree as a way to quantify “foundation”. The foundation registries have similar descriptions for the conformation requirements. However, each of the major foundation registries has a unique set of rules when determining foundation percentage. For example, the FQHR requires 75% foundation blood, NFQHA requires 80% and FQHA requires 90% foundation blood. Each of the registries also has additional specifics regarding registration eligibility requirements that differ but have not been listed here. Please see their websites and the overview below.

Here are some interesting thoughts:

1) Some foundation registries accept “unknowns” on a horse’s pedigree as 100% foundation. If the registry researches back past 1940, it penalizes horses that have good ancestral records. In bad record keeping, a horse described as “unknown”, could actually be a purebred thoroughbred. The worse the records kept on the horse’s ancestry, the higher “foundation” percentage given to the horse in those pedigrees.

2) Three Bars, along with a few other good horses, was born in 1940 - the cutoff year for many of the foundation registries. What would the definition of “Foundation” be if he had been born in 1920? His offspring would have been considered foundation in some of the registries. He may have been considered on of the great founding sires of all quarter horse enthusiasts.

3) Each registry has “special” rules when determining a horse’s eligibility

4) There are different “foundation percentage” rules for each association.

5) Some foundation registries are non-profit, some are for profit

6) Foundation registries try to get “back to the basics” of horses. Forget about the glitter and the silver. Forget about the tail extensions and fancy braids. Forget about the shaved foreheads, ears and muzzles. They evaluate the horse for what it is. There is no need to draw attention or hide blemishes.

Some of the major “Foundation” registries:

Foundation Quarter Horse Association (FQHA) web:www.fqha.com

Written, defined registration standard. Required, by FQHA definition, 90% foundation blood (no more than 10% TB added into a horses pedigree after 1940) are eligible for FQHA registration. Any Thoroughbred blood added into a Quarter Horses pedigree for foals born in the year 1941 and later will reduce their percentage of Foundation Quarter Horse. Descendants of the AQHA stallion Impressive are not eligible for FQHA registration. Horses that contain more than 10% TB blood or have any of the following genetic disorders - cryptorchidism, HYPP, or parrot mouth - are not eligible for FQHA registration.

Foundation Quarter Horse Registry (FQHR) web:www.fqhrregistry.com
Foundation Quarter Horse Registry recognizes those horses listed in the first five studbooks (first 27,000 horses registered) as Foundation bred.

Most individuals carrying 75% Foundation blood are eligible for registration. The fourth generation is critical (great grand sires and great grand dams), of that generation 75% should descend from or run to Foundation blood. No registered thoroughbred may be closer than the fourth generation.

National Foundation Quarter Horse Association (NFQHA) web:www.nfqha.com

Beginning 01/01/97 the maximum allowable Thoroughbred blood is 20%. (A horse must possess 80% Quarter Horse blood.) It does not matter what generation the TB appears in as long as the total does not exceed the allowable amount. In order to figure the TB percentage, the amount contributed by the first TB ancestor encountered on each line is added together to come up with the total Thoroughbred blood.

Each generation contributes one half as much to the pedigree as the prior one. A parent contributes 50%, a grandparent contributes 25%, a great grandparent contributes 12.5%, etc. A horse having one TB great grandparent (12.5%), one TB great great great grandparent (3.125%), and one TB great great great great grandparent (1.56%), carries 17.185% TB blood.

(12.5% + 3.125% + 1.56% = 17.185% TB Blood)

The horse in this example carries 82.815% Quarter Horse blood (which is rounded up to 83%) and is eligible for NFQHA registration.

To establish the TB in a pedigree, NFQHA researches the pedigree back ten generations, or to the parents of the first registered horse, whichever comes first on each line. Each time a TB is encountered, it is added to the total. The only two exceptions to this rule are JOE REED #3, and OKLAHOMA STAR #6. They were honored with #3 and #6, by AQHA because of their important contribution to the breed as Founding Sires. Because of this, NFQHA does not look at the TB in their parents, and they are considered 100% Quarter Horse blood.

Information for this article is meant to be a high level comparison of each association and to define facts about the registries only. Information is based on discussions with the AQHA, FQHA, FQHR and the NFQHA, as well as review of each association’s literature and web site.

The information in this article is not inclusive of all foundation registries, but focused on the most popular, highest membership associations only.

Please refer directly to each association in regards to questions, membership and registration requirements. Copyright © 2001 , Kristy Enloe

Comments about this article may be sent to:
Kristy Enloe at dkenloe@enloequarterhorses.com

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I would like to Thank Kristy Enloe for allowing me
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