Narragansett Pacer

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A profile drawing of a Narragansett Pacer standing, showing a shiny smooth coat, and a long natural mane.
The Narragansett Pacer, illustrated in 1895

The Narragansett Pacer was one of the first recorded horse breeds developed in the United States. It emerged in the 18th century (1700s), and was theorized to have been bred from a mix of English and

Tennessee
in the late 1700s, it became extinct by the 20th century.

Narragansett Pacer horses were owned and ridden by many famous people of the American Revolutionary War era, including President George Washington, Paul Revere, and others. The last known purebred Pacer is thought to have died around 1880, though the breed disappeared earlier from pedigrees in the late 1700s or early 1800s.

The Pacer was known as a sure-footed, dependable breed, although not flashy or always good-looking. Pacers were used for racing and general riding. They provided the foundation for several other American breeds, including the

Virginia.[1]

More recently, the Narragansett Pacer was also shown to have likely influenced the Paso Fino in a 2022 genetic study.[2]

History

Rhode Island, the state that the Narragansett Pacer originated from, located in New England.

The Narragansett Pacer had a major influence on many American

gaited horse breeds. It was especially associated with the state of Rhode Island in the early 18th century (1700s), but became extinct by the late 19th century.[3] It was known as one of the first breeds of horse developed in America.[4][5]
The origin of the breed is unknown, but it was probably developed from a cross between English "ambling" horses and Spanish breeds. The horses developed from this cross were known for their smoothness and sure-footedness over poor terrain.[3]

The English horses which contributed to the Narragansett Pacer may have been members of the

New Forest Pony, which has shared ancestry with the Celtic-type Asturcón and Pottok ponies.[8][9][2]

A

Spain, which lasted until 1559. The Royal Stud at Lyndhurst was also said to stand Spanish stallions at the time; and, like Pacers, the ponies were raced.[11]

In the early 1700s, Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor William Robinson began the serious development of Narragansett Pacer breed with a stallion named "Old Snip", speculated to be either an Irish Hobby or an Andalusian (Iberian horse), and considered to be the father of the breed.[12] As such, the Narragansett Pacer may be related to other gaited horse breeds descended from the Colonial Spanish horse, such as the Paso Fino and the Florida Cracker Horse, the later of which is supported by the 2022 genetic study. However, the study also noted that DMRT3, the allele that causes a pacing gait in horses, was "not common" in Iberian horses, theorizing that the gene came from "non-Iberian breeds".[13][2]

In 1768,

Colonial America
.

The extinction of the Narragansett Pacer as a breed was thought to be mainly due to two factors. The first of these factors was the introduction of the English Thoroughbred to the United States from England. The first Thoroughbred horse in the American Colonies was Bulle Rock, imported in 1730,[16][17] and four more important Thoroughbred stallions were imported shortly after the American Revolutionary War: Medley in 1784;[18] Shark in 1786;[19] Messenger in 1788; and Diomed in 1798. Maryland and Virginia became the centers of colonial Thoroughbred breeding during the American Revolutionary War period, along with South Carolina and New York.

Messenger, an English Thoroughbred stallion imported in 1788, whose line would be bred to Pacer and Morgan mares to produce the Standardbred horse breed.

Messenger left little impact as a sire on the American Thoroughbred, but is considered a foundation sire of the

Standardbred breed. Diomed, who won the Epsom Derby in 1780, had a significant impact on American Thoroughbred breeding through his son, Sir Archy, as well as strongly influenced the American Saddlebred through his descendant, Denmark.[20][21] John F. Wall, a racing historian, said that Sir Archy was the "first outstanding stallion we can claim as native American".[22] He was retired from the racetrack because of lack of opponents.[22]

The center of Thoroughbred breeding and racing in the United States later moved west, with

match race between Boston and Fashion in 1838 that featured bets of $20,000 from each side.[24] The last major match races before the American Civil War were both between Lexington and Lecompte. The first was held in 1854 in New Orleans, and was won by Lecompte. Lexington's owner then challenged Lecompte's owner to a rematch, held in 1855 in New Orleans and won by Lexington. Both of these horses were sons of Boston, a descendant of Sir Archy.[25] Lexington went on to a career as a breeding stallion, and led the sires list of number of winners for 14 consecutive years.[26]

Traveller, a gray Thoroughbred and Morgan cross stallion with Pacer blood, foaled in 1857. He is considered to be one of the first examples of the American Saddlebred breed.

The Thoroughbred also supplanted the Narragansett Pacer as the favored horse breed of the

American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA),[28] Traveller was sired by a Thoroughbred stallion named Grey Eagle, who was linebred to Sir Archy (by Diomed), and out of a Morgan and Thoroughbred cross mare named Flora, also a Sir Archy
descendant.

Through his dam, Flora, Traveller was descended from the

Canadian Pacer. Blackburn's Davy Crockett was inbred 3x to Justin Morgan (Figure), who had been bred to three separate Narragansett Pacer mares, who would later serve as foundation stock for the Morgan horse
.

The second factor in the breed's extinction was that Pacers were sold in large numbers to sugarcane planters in the Caribbean, thereby severely diminishing the purebred stock in the United States.[29] The few horses that were left were crossbred to create and improve other breeds, including the Morgan and the Standardbred, the latter through crossing Pacer mares to Messenger-line Thoroughbred stallions. Due to this, the pure strain of the Narragansett Pacer eventually became extinct sometime in the 1800s.[30]

North Carolina also had breeders of the Pacer, as the breeding stock was brought to the area around 1790 by pioneers.[31] The last known purebred Pacer is thought to have died around 1880.[3] As no formal breed registry or studbook was created to record Narragansett Pacer horses, identifying them is done through cross-referencing historical documents, as well as instances of crossbreeding in early pedigrees.

Characteristics

Boone's Grey John (b. 1863) ridden by his owner, former Confederate Captain Nathan Boone, in the 1880s. Grey John was considered by some to have some Narragansett Pacer blood.

The Narragansett Pacer was not exclusively a pacing horse, as evidence indicates that it exhibited an ambling gait.

gray coats, most likely from Messenger. James Fenimore Cooper described their conformation
as such: "They have handsome foreheads, the head clean, the neck long, the arms and legs thin and tapered."

Dutson states: "They are very spirited, and carry both the head and tail high. But what is more remarkable is that they amble with more speed than most horses trot, so that it is difficult to put some of them upon a gallop." Other viewers of the breed rarely called them stylish or good-looking, although they considered them dependable, easy to work with, and sure-footed.[34]

These characteristics also showed up in the Morgan horse, which is descended from Narragansett Pacer mares crossed with breed founder Justin Morgan (Figure), of English Thoroughbred stock. Compact and refined in build, the Morgan has "strong legs, an expressive head with a straight or slightly convex profile and broad forehead; large, prominent eyes; well-defined withers, laid back shoulders, and an upright, well arched neck". The back is short, and hindquarters are strongly muscled, with a long and well-muscled croup. The tail is attached high and carried gracefully and straight. Morgans appear to be a hardy and powerful horse, and the breed is well known as an easy keeper. The breed standard for height ranges from 14.1 to 15.2 hands (57 to 62 inches, 145 to 157 cm), with some individuals over and under.

Saddlebred, Standardbred, and Tennessee Walking Horse
.

As of 2019, it is estimated that only 100

gaited horse breeds
.

The Paso Fino of Puerto Rico, another likely descendant of the Narragansett Pacer, tends to be refined, standing an average of 13 to 15.2 hands (52 to 62 inches, 132 to 157 cm), but is powerful for its size.[38] It has a convex head, clean legs, and a relatively short back, with prominent withers.[39] Cannon bones tend to be short; the hooves are hard; and the Paso Fino often has a thick mane and tail. It is found in all horse colors, and there are no restrictions by the various breed associations.[40] The Puerto Rican Paso Fino is the only breed in which tiger eye was found, which usually lightens the eyes to a striking amber, yellow, or bright orange color.[41]

Of the

gaited horses descended from the Narragansett Pacer, the Morgan, Florida Cracker Horse, and Paso Fino were shown to be the most genetically similar in a 2022 study, whereas the American Saddlebred and Standardbred had more Thoroughbred influence due to higher amounts of crossbreeding.[2]

Uses and influence

St. Louis, Missouri, as he appeared at Buffalo, New York
, on 1 August 1868, pacing the last half-mile in the second heat in 1 minute 5 1/4 seconds, and the third heat one mile in the fastest time on record then: 2:14 minutes.

The breed was used for "pacing races" in Rhode Island, where the

Puritan New England did not. Pacers reportedly covered the one-mile tracks in a little more than two minutes.[3]

The Narragansett Pacer played a significant role in the creation of the

Canadian Pacer, a breed especially suited to racing over ice, and which also contributed substantially to the creation of the Standardbred.[42]

In the early 19th century, Pacer mares were bred to

trot as an intermediate gait, and thus ambling horses were frowned upon, so most Narragansett/Morgan crosses were sold to Canada, the Caribbean, and South America, so the bloodlines did not remain within the Morgan breed.[43] Other breeds indirectly influenced by the Narragansett Pacer include the Rocky Mountain Horse, a gaited breed started in Kentucky;[3] the Tiger Horse, a gaited breed with leopard complex patterning, similar to the modern-day Appaloosa, Knabstrupper, and Noriker;[44]
and more.

The Narragansett Pacer also served as

Virginia. The resulting foals from the Canadian pony sire were also gaited, indicating the sire may have had Narragansett Pacer genes: "A few island ponies pace, but they carry an infusion of the Canadian scrub blood."[45]

The Narragansett Pacer also influenced the

Spanish and Iberian horse breeds, such as the Andalusian and Lusitano; also related were the Morgan and the Florida Cracker Horse.[2]

Footnotes

  1. ISBN 979-8682856534
    . Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  2. ^
    PMID 35017609
  3. ^ a b c d e Edwards, pp. 358-359
  4. ^ a b "Colonial Horses". International Museum of the Horse. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  5. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". American Morgan Horse Association. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  6. ^ Dutson, p. 18
  7. ^ "Breed History 500s-1700s". American Saddlebred Horse Association. Archived from the original on June 29, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  8. ISSN 0931-2668
    .
  9. ^ Aberle, Kerstin S.; Distl, Ottmar (2004). "Domestication of the horse: results based on microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers" (PDF). Archiv für Tierzucht. 47 (6): 517–535. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  10. ^ "New Forest wildlife". New Forest National Park Authority. 2006. Archived from the original on October 13, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  11. ^ Macnair, Dionis. "History of the New Forest Pony". New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  12. ^ Beranger, Jeanette (August 25, 2009). "Northeastern Exposure, Part I". American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  13. PMID 22221025
    . Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  14. ^ "John McCurdy House". Connecticut Irish-American Heritage Trail. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  15. ^ "McCulloch Farm - Farm History". McCulloch Farm. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  16. ^ Robertson History of Thoroughbred Racing in America p. 16
  17. ^ Bruce The American Stud Book Volume 1 p. 10
  18. ^ "Medley". Thoroughbred Heritage Portraits. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  19. ^ "Foundation Sires of the Thoroughbred: S". Thoroughbred Heritage: Historic Sires. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  20. ^ Montgomery The Thoroughbred pp. 131–136
  21. ^ "Turf Hallmarks: Epsom Derby Stakes". Turf Hallmarks. Thoroughbred Heritage. Archived from the original on March 2, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
  22. ^ a b Wall Famous Running Horses pp. 114–115
  23. ^ Montgomery The Thoroughbred pp. 142–143
  24. ^ Montgomery The Thoroughbred pp. 143–147
  25. ^ Montgomery The Thoroughbred pp. 152–154
  26. ^ Wall Famous Running Horses p. 119
  27. ISBN 978-0-9574021-2-6
    .
  28. ^ "Breed History". American Saddlebred Horse Association. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  29. ^ a b Edwards, pp. 232-233
  30. ^ Lynghaug, p. 250
  31. ^ Dutson, p. 246
  32. ^ a b Dutson, p. 68
  33. ^ "About Saddlebreds - 10 essential facts". American Saddlebred Association of Great Britain. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  34. ^ Dutson, pp. 238-239
  35. ^ "The Morgan Horse Judging Standards" (PDF). American Morgan Horse Association. 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  36. ^ "2012 USEF Rule Book, Morgan Horse Division, Rule 102" (PDF). United States Equestrian Federation. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  37. ^ Peyre-Ferry, Marcella. "Preserving the Traditional Morgan – Only About 100 Remain". East Coast Equestrian. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  38. ISBN 9780760345269. Archived
    from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  39. ISBN 9780806138848. Archived
    from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  40. ^ "Paso Fino Breed". pfha.org. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  41. PMID 28655738. Archived
    from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  42. ^ Dutson, p. 86
  43. ^ Curtis, Joanne. "Gaited Morgans". Foundation Morgan Horse Society. Retrieved October 14, 2010.[dead link]
  44. ^ Dutson, p. 254
  45. ^ Geci, see link.
  46. ^ "American Saddlebred". International Museum of the Horse. Retrieved October 17, 2023.

References

External links
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