Introduction from
"Reference to Thoroughbred Roots of the Quarter Horse"
by Andrea Laycock Mattson

The primary purpose of this book is to provide pedigree information on Thoroughbred horses who are found in the backgrounds of today's Quarter Horses. Generally, this information is difficult for most horsemen to obtain, both because it requires reference materials not widely available, and because there is confusion regarding the true ancestry of many foundation Quarter Horses who either were registered Thoroughbreds (or carried significant amounts of Thoroughbred blood), but who were not designated as such in the AQHA Stud books and other books written about the early Quarter Horses.

Denying or obscuring Thoroughbred lineage during the formative years of the American Quarter Horse registry was common practice. Proponents of the "bulldog" type believed that the Quarter Horse was a unique breed of it's own, and was especially free of Thoroughbred influence. Some of the more vocal early breeders helped to establish guidelines which prohibited or discouraged horses with known Thoroughbred blood to be registered.

The deeper one digs into the roots of the Quarter Horse, the more Thoroughbred blood you will discover. This seems in sharp contrast to the widespread belief that the "old foundation horses had no Thoroughbred blood," and were superior because of it. However, research proves that this is simply not true. When you think of the greatest foundation horses, the names Traveler, Little Joe, Peter McCue, Old Sorrel, Hickory Bill, Oklahoma Star, Joe Hancock, etc. immediately come to mind. Would you believe that these are all at least half, and some nearly purely Thoroughbred? Well, maybe we should look at some closer-up sires, the "real" Quarter Horse type, such as Leo? His third generation shows 4 Thoroughbreds, which puts him in the at-least-half-Thoroughbred category. His best "nick" has been on daughters and granddaughters of Three Bars (TB).

In the early 1900's, just about any horse which measured up to the size required for riding purposes carried Thoroughbred blood, because it was the only light breed of any consequence in this country that would put adequate size on native horses. One large source of Thoroughbred blood was the United States Remount Service, which operated from 1913 through 1948, producing some 200,000 quality foals. During the peak years, they offered the services of over 700 stallions placed on ranches and farms throughout the country. The military selected many of the geldings produced under this program, but the fillies were retained by the producers, and became the foundation for ranch herds, polo horses and all-around use. There is no question that the best of these royally bred mares found their way into the Quarter Horse foundation stock. William Anson stood Bro. Compton, Dan Casement had Stormy Port, Scharbauer Cattle Company had Tallwood, CS Ranch had Donnay, Albert Mitchell had French Canadian and Lord Martin, Hal Bogle had Madder Music, M.B. Noelke had Big Jim, W. C. Frey had Toyland; the list goes on. Doc Horn in Louisiana, Sonny Basil in Oklahoma, Prince Barton in South Dakota, Buck Garrett, Highwayman, Windy City and King O'Neill 2nd in Texas, Captains Courageous in Virginia, and Sir Barton in Wyoming are some of the better known Remount stallions close up in Quarter Horse bloodlines. The Waggoner Ranch's famed "Yellow Wolf mares" were daughters and granddaughters of Strideaway. The King Ranch used many Thoroughbreds in their breeding programs, including San Vicente, Martin's Best, Chicaro, Bim Bam, Bold Venture, Depth Charge (pictured on the cover), Lion d'Or, Lovely Manners and Remolino.

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Reference to Thoroughbred Roots of the Quarter Horse