Differences between Quarter horses and Thoroughbreds


Differences between Quarter horses and Thoroughbreds

This is a discussion on Differences between Quarter horses and Thoroughbreds within the Horse Breeds forums, part of the Horse Breeds, Breeding, and Genetics category
  • What is the difference between quarter horses and other breeds
  • How can you tell the difference between a morgan horse

LinkBack Thread Tools
    02-16-2011, 04:36 PM
Differences between Quarter horses and Thoroughbreds

Hey everyone!! I have a quick question for you all. What are the major/minor differences or similarities between a quarter horse and a thoroughbred??
Sponsored Links
    02-17-2011, 02:22 PM
Temperament! (Keep in mind this applies to most not all)

Quarter horses were(are) bred to be less energetic, but still have stamina...they adapted into ranch horse so a term that might be used is "laid back" like there owners the cow boys(I made a funny! Haha), specially compared to the Thoroughbred. This personality makes them more beginner friendly, and easier to handle, and I've seen many who don't need a fixed riding/exercise schedule.

(I do realize Quarter horses were bred for Quarter Horse racing, I'm going off the more recent developments that led to temperament)

Thoroughbreds aren't really bred for temperament...that's incorrect but I'll try to describe what I mean. They are bred to "run", so there temperament tends to be hot because they have so much excess energy. There true personality(like we have a puppy dog one at our barn haha) can be changed by the excess energy. So you might have a very willing thoroughbred who loves attention etc. But once you start under saddle, won't be focused, will have lots of "silly's"(bucking) etc. If stalled for long periods of time with moderate work, might pick up vices like cribbing, wind-sucking, weaving(sp?) etc.
So because of this, they tend to need more exercise time, and an experienced rider who has time to work with them, and the knowledge to handle them(specially OTTB's who haven't been off for long)

(Keep in mind all this is generalization and doesn't apply to every horse of these breeds)


QH are built in tons of sizes. You can get large pony sized, you can get horse sized, you can even get like 16hh ones(usually crosses from what I've seen). They come in lots of shapes and sizes, so different ones are built for jumping, barrels, reining, eventing etc. Because of this, most(specially the ones between 14.2-15.2) are good all rounders who can show low-level everything! Or some are bred to be top or good at different disciplines. This is why they are good trial mounts(that and temperament) and all rounders, and beginner mounts.

TB's come between 15.2-16+. They are big and powerful. Not to mention clever. They tend to excel at English disciplines because of there legginess and size, that really won't give them an advantage in barrel racing since they need to make bigger and wider turns. They are generally good at jumping since the "hot" personality gives them speed and drive. People looking at these also need to beware because of "sport" injuries, arthritis etc. can be common at a young age, specially if raced.

...if I can think of more I'll add later. Feel free to add on or correct my generalizations.
    02-17-2011, 02:30 PM
Tb's are as tall as they are long... a QH can be up to 4 inches longer than he is tall ...
Muscling too
    02-17-2011, 03:20 PM
Green Broke
TB's tend to be taller on average and more "streamline" whereas the QH is generally all bulk.
TB's are also bred & built for speed & stamina over long distances whereas the QH is like cannon ball lol ton of speed off the start but they can't keep it up as well.
This is why they are great for short races, barrels, poles & quick events like that whereas the TB excells in jumping, crosscountry & distance racing.

Quick Reply
Please help keep the Horse Forum enjoyable by reporting rude posts.

Register Now


Already have a Horse Forum account?

New to the Horse Forum?

User Name:
Confirm Password:
Email Address
Please enter a valid email address for yourself.
Email Address:


Human Verification


Old Thread Warning

Thread Tools

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
big quarter horses...how do they do it??? chika1235 Horse Breeds 27 08-03-2009 07:22 PM
westphalians, quarter horses, thoroughbreds paintsrock14 Horse Breeds 8 06-16-2009 05:09 AM
Quarter Horses!!!! AQHA_lover_4ever Horse Breeds 79 01-31-2009 09:40 PM
I want to see pix of your Quarter horses! myboydoc Horse Breeds 23 01-30-2009 12:24 PM
Quarter horses Gammelquarterhorses Horse Breeds 0 12-29-2006 09:10 PM


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2015, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0