# Extinct Breed: Narragansett Pacer



## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

Neat! You need to post more of this stuff! Thank you!


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## Copperhead (Jun 27, 2012)

Its really amazing because you can definitely see this horse in the TWH's and ASB of today. Especially that neck in the TWHs... my own TWH had that same neck. He also had a strong resemblance to the front legs. Of course, other breeds came into play and whatnot, but the characteristics are still there.

Its amazing how such a popular breed became extinct so quickly.


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## gigem88 (May 10, 2011)

Wow, thanks for sharing. Loved it!


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## Coloureds4Mimi (Jul 9, 2012)

Thank you for teaching me something new OP ! I think it's quite an attractive looking little horse...


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## LadyDreamer (Jan 25, 2008)

Ah the foundation for Saddlers. Thank you for posting. This is the horse that created my breed, along with Thoroughbreds.
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## Nokotaheaven (Apr 11, 2012)

Thanks for sharing! That's really interesting! One breed you may take interest in is the Sorraia. They're not extinct, but are very uncommon, and were supposedly the actual breed of horses that the Spaniards brought over. They started many of today's american breeds. One example os an american relative is the kiger Mustang


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## FaithCat (Aug 13, 2012)

That's interesting! Thanks for posting


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## TimberRidgeRanch (Mar 6, 2012)

I think some breeds become extinct to out crossing so much that the original breed vanishes. I love the look of this breed though TY for the info!

TRR


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Thank you for having the interest to look these old breeds up

I might point out one very important word regarding this extinct horse, as it applies to Tennessee Walkers. Especially when folks complain their Walking Horse isn't "in gait" if it isn't performing the breed standard of the running walk.

That would be the word "Pacer". Pacing is in the Walking Horse gene pool and it isn't going anywhere no matter how hard humans try to breed it out. Just like they have tried to breed the Shuffle out of the Appaloosa and the Singlefoot out of the Morgan

Which segways nicely into my next comment that, for anyone not interested in TWH history, it might surprise some folks to learn that the Foundation Mare of Record for the Tennessee Walking Horse is a black Morgan Mare by the name of "Maggie Marshall". What I can't remember is if she is the three time or four time granddaughter of the famous Figure, a/k/a "Justin Morgan Had a Horse".

Great stuff on the Narragansett Pacer


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## avjudge (Feb 1, 2011)

Just FYI - and from my memory - I saw that picture in a google search a few months ago (I don't remember why, i.e. what I was searching on, but think it was some breed's history), and came across one appearance of it where its accuracy was disputed. This was because the breed supposedly died out somewhere around or before 1800 (again from memory!), whereas the picture had to be from the later half of that century. Not saying this definitely isn't what a NP looked like, just that some questions were raised about this picture. 

Anne


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

"Freedom of the Press Belongs To Those Who Own It", so whenever we go researching on things older than our grandparents (we can ask their memory banks for the truth, it can be a coin toss.

This is another link that describes the Narragansett Pacer. Regardless of it's stature, I think most articles agree the original horse was allowed to become extinct purely because it was not attractive and that it did have an influence in American breeds, including the Tennessee Walker

Naragansett Pacer Horse


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

Keep researching. You'll find the the NP started disappearing after it was use to develope what was known as the Amreican Horse (taller, pretty, faster and gaited) which was popular by the time of the American Revolution and ultimately replaced the NP soon after it's developement. Then the American Horse was replaced by the "Saddlers" or "Saddle Horses" (add your then western state of choice to the name....e.g. TN, KY, OH....Saddler or Saddle Horse) that were even sturdier and more robust than the American Horse (and the darlings of the Southern Cav and many General officers of the 1860's). Breeding for show horses has all but wiped out the stonger, sturdier horses that went into becoming the ASB and TWH we have today. Show horses don't need to be horses that are built so that they can carry 240 lbs for 50-60 miles a day for a week. And unlike many of todays ASB's the old saddlers of the 1800's didn't have to be "taught" to gait. You can still sometimes come across examples of these sturdier horses now and then, but they're becoming rare.
I've seen more "non gaiting" TWH and ASB today then I did 30-40 years ago, so I often wonder what happen to the days when it was unusual to find one that didn't gait. I still scratch my head over some ASB's having to be taught to gait. Saw my first non gaiting TWH in the past 10 years and more since then.
Must be time for someone to develope a new breed to bring back what we had over a 100 years ago (i.e. a stong, robust, natually gaited breed of horse). There's still some good foundation stock out there for making a start . If they cound do it over 200 years ago by breeding NG to TB to make the American Horse, I'm sure it can be done today with the superior stock we still have available today.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

*



Then the American Horse was replaced by the "Saddlers" or "Saddle Horses" 

Click to expand...

*I am retired to southern Middle Tennessee from the OH/PA border. When I first moved here, I would often hear the term "boy that horse really 'saddles". Or, if someone were looking a gaited horse but not a TWH, the question would be asked "does it saddle?"

I finally couldn't stand it any longer and had to ask my then-boss what that term meant. Even if he did think I asked dumb "southern" questions, he had a way not letting me know that - lol lol

He explained that Back in the Day a "Saddle Horse was a gaited horse that wasn't necessarily a Tennessee Walker. It could be somebody's back yard mutt but if it gaited (most likely a rack), it was considered a "saddler".

"lbs", that was a good explanation. I agree about the breeding flaws. Sadly we see that in any animal there are shows for. The Dobermans of today sure don't look as sturdy as my Doberman of the early 70's was:-(


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## LadyDreamer (Jan 25, 2008)

A lot of times the Saddlers that became ASBs did have to be taught to gait. They were predominately thoroughbreds. There were many of the time that thought the truest racking horse was at least 3/4 TB. The TWH and ASB were very similar in their development but worlds apart when you get to specifics. The Horses that became saddlebreds have always been strong trotting horses.
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## jaytee (Jan 31, 2012)

Here's another intersting breed not sure if they are extinct as the atricle says there are a few around

The Canadian Pacer is a horse breed of which only small numbers remain.


In the Canadian Provinces, French mares were crossed with Dutch and English stock. The bloodlines of the Canadian Pacer are not exactly known, but are thought to be descended from the French Norman horse and a strain of pacers (possibly Narragansett or an English pacer) bred in the 1820s. The Canadian Horse was extremely hardy and possessed much endurance, but did not have natural pacing ability, so it was necessary to import the Narragansett to breed it in.

The resulting Canadian Pacer was small, although larger than the Narragansett. They were described as having heads too large for their fine, lean body, and had small eyes. The Canadian Pacer influenced the Tennessee Walker, the American Saddlebred and the Standardbred.

The most notable Canadian Pacer sire was the blue roan Tom Hal, who was foaled in Canada in 1806 and then taken to Kentucky. He had a heavy influence on the three aforementioned breeds. Another influential sire was Old Pacer Pilot, foaled in 1826, who was important in the lineages of many Gaited horses.
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