But what about hotblood horses? These are the feistiest, fastest, most athletic horses in the world. They’re primarily used for horseracing, and many hotbloods have won competitive races around the world.
Warmbloods are common in dressage and horse jumping. If you’ve participated in these sports, you’ve probably ridden a warmblood horse.
In many cases, new warmblood varieties were created by crossbreeding other varieties. For example, owners might breed a coldblood with a hotblood. Or they might breed several generations of warmbloods with each other to produce offspring with favorable characteristics, such as a calmer temperament or greater endurance. [4] X Research source
There are dozens of warmblood breeds found all over the world, including Hanoverians, Holsteiners, Belgian Warmbloods, American Warmbloods, and Irish Sport Horses. While each warmblood breed has distinct characteristics—like an average size or coat color—they all share warmblood traits like intelligence, strength, and athleticism.
If you ever sat in a horse-drawn carriage, you were probably being pulled by a coldblood horse.
Coldblood horses were indispensable to human society right up until the 20th century, when automobiles became widespread. They were a common sight in towns, cities, and countrysides all over the world.
Coldbloods are also used for leisure riding and pulling carriages, which can provide valuable extra income for smaller farms. There are many coldblood breeds in existence today, including Shires, Suffolks, American Cream Drafts, and South German Coldbloods, to name just a few. [9] X Research source While each coldblood breed is a bit different, they all share common traits such as large builds, superior strength, and mellow temperaments.
The most most valuable thoroughbred stud horses often sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The fastest and most competitive are worth millions. [11] X Research source
Ancient peoples in the Middle East created the first hotblood horses by selectively breeding the fastest, most athletic horses they could find.
There are just a handful hotblood breeds in the world, including Thoroughbreds, Arabians, Turkomans, Barbs, and Akhal-Tekes. Thoroughbreds are considered the most elite of all horse breeds. Many winners of the world’s most prestigious horseraces have been Thoroughbreds. [15] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source
