Sable Island Horse

History
 The Sable Island Horse comes from the Sable Island, a sandbar off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. Although no one is quite sure how they came to such a remote place, many people believe that French colonists, who colonized the area in the mid 1700s, purchased a small herd horses to use in their farming settlement on the island.

 Between the years 1755 and 1763, thousands of French colonists were forced off of the Sable Island by the British, leaving their horses behind. For the next few decades, the horses remained on the island, thriving without any influence, for good ir bad, by humans. Occasionally, a few would be taken to work in the coal mines on the nearby Cape Breton Island, but other than that they were completely isolated from mankind.

A group of Sable Island Horses. credit

 However, in the early 1800s, draft horses were brought to the area to work at stations helping shipwrecked people. In the 1900s, stock horses were brought to the area and introduced into the feral herds. People began rounding the horses up and sending them to the slaughter. Consequently, the number of purebred Sable Island Horses began to decline, getting as low as 300 by the 21st century. Now, the island is a wildlife reserve, and the horses are protected by the a law as of 1960.

Breed Description and Uses
 Because the Sable Island Horses are the descendents are various breeds of horses, they can be quited diverse. They do have things in common, though. All of them are small, standing from 13 to 15.2 hands high, and seem to be genetically similar to horses on the mainland. Some of them have straight profiles, while others have concave, Arab-like faces. Most come in dark colors.

Morgan

 In 1789, a logging horse named Figure was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts. No one knew who his parents were, although some suspect the sire to be True Briton, a Thoroughbred, and believe that Friesians, Welsh Cobs, Norfolk Trotters, or even Canadian Horses to be somewhere in his lineage. Then again, these are just speculations. No one really knows for certain. 

 As a yearling, Figure was sold to Justin Morgan, a schoolteacher from Vermont, who lent the young horse to neighboring farmers to be used as a plow horse and a logging horse. It turns out that the small, 14 hands high colt was also good at racing. He would beat the fastest Thoroughbreds in match races, win trotting races, and could even out-pull heavy draft horses in log-pulling races, always winning, no matter how much extra weight was put on.

Morgans are usually found in bay,
black, and dark chestnut. They
can be used in many disciplines,
including western pleasure, like the one
above.

 It wasn't long before villagers asked for Figures stud services, breeding him mainly to Thoroughbred and Norfolk Trotter mares, although he successfully made his mark upon generations of horses, which became to be known as "Morgan's horse." Later, the name was shortened to "Morgan," which is used to this day. 

 The Morgan has large, intelligent eyes; a slightly dished profile; a crested neck, which flows smoothly into high withers; a short back, sturdy legs, powerful haunches, and stands between 14.1 and 15.2 hands high. Also, the breed is divided into two different types: the powerful, compact Morgan, which closely resembles the breed's base stallion, Figure, and the elegant, more refined type, developed more recently than he other type. Despite their physical differences, the two have three traits in common: liveliness, endurance, and a good-natured temperament. 

 Just like the Thoroughbred, the Morgan excels in many disciplines, including dressage, driving, endurance racing, eventing, show jumping, and just about any other discipline, English or Western. The fact that it is an all-round horse most likely goes back to the early development of the breed, when a farmer needed to have it ready to do harness work or another man had to use it for different purposes. 

Tennessee Walking Horse

 In the late 1800s, settlers of central Tennessee began breeding Morgans, Narragansett Pacers, and Canadian Horses, the breeds they had brought with them when they had first settled there, one with another. The outcome were several fine, elegant saddle horses with many of the good qualities from each breed. However, the one characteristic that set it apart from most other breeds was its unique gaits.

 Most people remember the Walker by its running walk, which resembles a smooth trot that is much easier to ride than other breeds' bouncy trots. Because of that, many people, such as farmers, who would spend long hours in the saddle preferred the Walker over any other breed. Tennessee Walkers are born with the unique smooth trot, and no other breed can replicate it. As the Walker does the swift running walk, which can reach up to 20 miles an hour, he would slide smoothly across the ground, his head bobbing while his hind legs overstepped, leaving prints in front of his forelegs. The running walk is a four-beat gait and the Walker can do it for miles without tiring.

Illustration of the Walker's three special gaits, the flat walk,
the running walk, and the canter.
Credit

 Another one of their special gaits is the flat walk. The flat walk is a fast, four-beat gait in which the Walker would overstride, a trait unique to the Walker. His left rear would step in front of his left front and his right rear would step over his right front. Two factors are taken into account when this gait is judged: whether the horse bobs his head to the rhythm of his footsteps and whether he overstrides, both of which are unique qualities of the Walker. 

  The final gait is a canter that resembles that of a rocking horse. The Walker steps one foot at a time, moving either to the right or to the left. For example, if he starts with a right lead, he should continue with the left hind, the right hind, the left fore, and the the right fore again, always moving his legs in a diagonal motion. This gait usually has a lot of spring to it, rising and falling much in he manner of a rocking horse. Therefore, the gait is known as the "rocking horse" or the "rocking chair" gait.

According to the illustration above, this Walker is cantering.
Notice in the illustration that the horse in the bottom right corner
is in the same position as the horse in this picture.
Credit

 Walkers are commonly dark in color, usually bay or black, though they can be chestnut, grey, palomino, or almost every other color. Their head is very intelligent looking, with bright eyes and large nostrils; their neck is arched, with sloped shoulders beneath it; their haunches are powerful; and their legs are long, coming complete with hardy hooves. 

 Walkers are show in both western and English competitions and are judged on how well they perform their distinctive gaits. Also, they are used in both leisure and trail riding.