American Warmblood Horse

The American Warmblood is a horse of warmblood type, intended primarily for the traditional sport horse disciplines of (dressage, show jumping, eventing) and combined driving.

Characteristics

The American Warmblood is usually between 15 and 17 hands high and all colors are accepted, though the solid colors are the most common. Horses of nearly all bloodlines are eligible for registration as American Warmbloods, as long as they are of a sport horse or warmblood type, and are able to meet the appropriate studbook selection or performance criteria.

The emphasis is on the quality of each individual horse, for both registration and breeding approval. Horses which are 100% hot or cold blooded are not eligible for registration, but may be "Nominated" if they are able to meet the registry's standards (this would include draft horses, Arabians, and Thoroughbreds).

Breeding stock must be approved for breeding through studbook inspection, which requires mares and stallions to meet even more stringent inspection and/or performance criteria.

Horses which fail to meet these criteria may still be issued recording papers, but are not considered registered American Warmbloods.

Breed history

There are two registries in the United States which recognize American Warmbloods - the American Warmblood Society and the American Warmblood Registry, both of which are recognized by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH).

The American Warmblood is more of a "type" than a "breed". Like most of the European warmbloods, the American Warmblood has an "open" book. There is more emphasis on producing quality sport horses, rather than the preservation of any particular bloodlines, which allows for much diversity in the bloodlines of American Warmbloods.

The American Warmblood has been influenced by the European warmbloods, the Thoroughbred and the Arabian, as well as some draft horse breeds.