The Three Types of Horses – Warmblood, Coldblood, Hot Blood
The three general categories of horses are warmblood, coldblood and hot blood. Each of the hundreds of different horse breeds fits into one of these categories.
The cold blood breeds originated in Europe. They were bred for heavy work and long hours, pulling farm equipment, carts, barges and other heavy items. They had to have both power and endurance but there was little need for speed. Consequently, they were bred to have well developed muscles, on heavy bones and large joints. They also need to have a calm, even docile nature, so that they would obey commands and would not frighten and run off with farm equipment or other loads. In response to the need to work in cold European winters, their tails, manes and coats had long, thick hair. The Shire horse and the Clydesdale are typical cold blood breeds.
Hot bloods originated mainly from the middle-east and other warm climates, where they were used for racing and riding. Instead of the cold breed qualities of power and docility, the hot bloods were bred for speed or distance riding, so had lighter legs and bodies. Due to the warmth of their native climates, they had shorter hair in their coats, manes and tails. Likewise, their blood vessels are nearer the skin surface to allow heat to be dissipated better. In temperament they are energetic and spirited, with a desire to run. Perhaps the best known breeds in this category are the Arabian (ancestor of many modern hot blood breeds) and the Thoroughbred (also used as part of the breeding program for many other breeds).
The warm blood breeds (also known as warmbloods) are between the hot and cold bloods both physically and in terms of their nature. In fact, many of the warmblood breeds are the result of mating hot bloods and cold bloods to develop a new breed with the positive characteristics of both. Their build is athletic, providing both speed and endurance, but without the power of a cold breed or the pure speed of a hot blood. They have a calm nature and are generally intelligent, making they easily trainable for sports such as show jumping and dressage. Although bred for a variety of duties in the past (such as war horses and carriage horses), today they are mainly used for sport and pleasure riding. The Friesian and Hanoverian are examples of warm breeds.
All horses have the same normal temperature (38C) so the terms cold, warm and hot have nothing to do with temperature. Rather, it refers to the body type (build for power, sport or speed), the personality (docile, calm or spirited) and their origin (cold, warm or hot climate).
Over the past hundred years we’ve seen machines replace much of the functions of horses, with farm and other equipment taking over the function of cold bloods, while modern transport has taken over the traditional employment of warmbloods. Fortunately, sports and pleasure riding have grown to partly fill this gap, with different types of activities suited to each category. In addition, even for pleasure riding, the preferred horse type depends on what you want to do. For pure speed it is the hot blood, for complex sports such as show jumping it is the warmblood, while the cold blood’s calm and reliable nature make it a favorite with many children and less confident adults.
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