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History and
Origin of the Breed:
The Tennessee
Walking Horse is a member of the light breed of the equine family. It is a
composite breed that evolved from the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian, Morgan,
Standard bred, Thoroughbred and American Saddle bred. These horse breeds
were fused to make into the one breed of one of the greatest pleasure, show and
trail riding horses. The result over countless years was the Tennessee
Walking Horse, the first breed of horse to bear a state name.
For those that
think the Walking Horse is comparatively new on the equine scene, pages of
history reflect the strong influence this animal has had in the building of this
country and in the daily lives of our forefathers. Mainly used for utility
and riding stock, the Tennessee Walking Horse wide popularity for this ease of
gait and ability to stride faultlessly over hills and through the valleys of the
rocky middle Tennessee terrain. Being used as a utility animal for all
type of farm work, as well as family transportation and recreation, the old
plantation-type horse was not trained for showing in those days-it's gait was
naturally inherited.
In 1885, a
cross between a stallion called Allendorf, from the Hambletonian family of
trotters, and Maggie Marshall, a Morgan mare, produced a black colt with a white
blaze, off hind coronet and near hind sock, Black Allen, foaled in 1886.
He was later to be chosen by the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders Association as
the foundation sire of the Tennessee Walking Horse and designated as Allan F-1.
While the bloodlines of the Gray Johns, Copperbottoms, Slasher, Hals, Brooks and
Bullett families ran thick and produced a type known as the Tennessee pacer
prior to the arrival of Allan F-1 in Middle Tennessee, it was a cross between
Allen and the Tennessee Pacer that produced today's Tennessee Walking Horse.
The Tennessee
Walking Horse has impressed the nation with its gentle disposition and its
kindly manner, and continues to prove itself as one of the most versatile horses
in the land. This docile temperament, together with its smooth easy gaits,
has caused it to be much in demand in all sections of the country. It
serves nobly as an English or Western pleasure mount and has taken the young,
the aged, the timid, as well as experienced riders along pleasant paths and
trails.
The
Tennessee Walking Horse is now in all parts of the country. No longer
found only in Tennessee, registered Tennessee Walking Horses can be found in all
fifty United States and several foreign countries. Since the organization
of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' Association in 1935, nearly 300,000
horses have been registered.
Breed
Characteristics:
The Tennessee
Walking Horse generally ranges from 14.3 to 17 hands and weights 900 to 1200
lbs. The modern Tennessee Walking Horse possesses a pretty head with small
well placed ears. The horse has a long sloping shoulder, a long sloping
hip, a fairly short back and short, strong coupling. The bottom line is
longer then the top line, allowing for the long stride.
Tennessee
Walking Horses come in all colors and a variety of patterns. The diverse color
choices are sure to please any horse enthusiast. Different colors are not
discriminated against.
The Tennessee
Walking Horse performs three distinct gaits; the flat foot walk, running walk
and canter. These three are the gaits that the Tennessee Walking Horse is
famous, with the running walk being an inherited, natural gait unique to this
breed.
The Gaits
The Tennessee Walking Horse performs the flat foot walk, running walk, and
canter. These three are the gaits for which the Tennessee Walking Horse is
famous, with the running walk being an inherited natural gait unique to this
breed. Many Tennessee Walking Horses are able to perform the rack,
stepping in place, fox-trot, single foot and other variations of the famous
running walk, while this is not desirable in the show ring the above mentioned
gaits are smooth easy trail riding gaits.
The flat foot
walk is brisk, long reaching walk that can cover from 4 to 8 miles an hour.
This is a four cornered gait with each of the horse's feet hitting the ground
separately at regular intervals. The horse will glide over the track left
by the front foot with the hind foot (right rear over right front, left rear
over left front). The action of the back foot slipping over the front
track is known as over stride. Over stride is unique to the walking horse
breed. The hock should show only forward motion, with vertical hock action
being highly undesirable. A Tennessee Walking Horse will not its head in
rhythm with the cadence of it's feet. This nodding head motion, with the
over stride, are two features that are unique to the Tennessee Walking Horse.
The running
walk is the gait for which the walking horse is most noted. This extra
smooth gliding gait is basically the same as the flat walk with a marked
increase in speed. This breed can travel 10-20 miles per hour at this
gait. As the speed is increased, the horse over-steps the front track with
the back foot by 6 to 18 inches. The more "stride" the horse has the
better "walker" it is considered to be, for this give the rider a feeling that
he or she were gliding through the air propelled by some powerful but smooth
running machine. Walking horses relax certain muscles while doing the
running-walk, some nod their heads in rhythmic timing, swing their ears in
perfect motion, and some even snap their teeth. The running walk is a
smooth, easy gait for both horse and rider. The running walk is basically
the same gait as the flat walk with an increase in speed. There should be
a noticeable difference in the rate of speed between the flat walk and the
running walk but a good running walk should never allow proper form to be
sacrificed for excessive speed. A true Tennessee Walking Horse will
continue to nod while performing the running walk.
The third gait
is the canter, which is a collected gallop. The canter is performed in
much the same way as other breeds, but the walking horse seems to have a more
relaxed way of performing this gait. The canter is a forward movement
performed in a diagonal manner to the right or to the left. On the right
lead, the horse should start the gait in this order: left hind, right hind and
left fore-together-then right fore. When performed in a ring, the horse
should lead his canter with the fore leg to the inside of the ring. In the
canter the horse gives one the abundance of ease with lots of spring and rhythm,
with the proper rise and fall to afford a thrill from sitting in the saddle.
Thus the canter lifts with the front end giving a easy rise and fall motion that
is likened to a rocking chair.
The Tennessee
Walking Horse Breeders' Association of America was formed in 1935, its purpose
was to collect, record and preserve the pedigrees of the Tennessee Walking
Horse, to maintain registry, develop rules and regulations governing all aspects
of Tennessee Walking Horses, and to sponsor programs promoting this breed.
The official headquarter is in Lewisburg Tennessee.
The Tennessee
Walking Horse Stud book was closed in 1947, meaning that from 1948 forward to be
registered as a Tennessee Walking Horse, both parents must also be so
registered. The Tennessee Walking Horse was officially recognized as a
distinct breed of light horse by the United States Department of Agriculture in
1950. In 1974 the registry's official name was expanded to the Tennessee
Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association. There are
approximately 300,000 horses registered, and the Tennessee Walking Horse has
firmly established itself as one of the top ten recognized horse breeds in the
United States and has earned the distinction of the fastest growing breed.
Additional
Information
The TWHBEA
PO Box 286/ Lewisburg, TN
37091
Telephone: 1-(800) 359-1574 / (931) 359-1574
Website: twhbea.com
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Tennessee Walking Horse Information 
