AQHA’s Guess That Horse contest takes place each Wednesday at 1 p.m. CST.

The American Quarter Horse Hesa Skipa Star, correctly identified by Jessie.

Today’s winner will receive a one-year subscription to The American Quarter Horse Journal.

The contest will start at 1 p.m. CST. At that time, the photo and first hint are given.

When the contest is live, 10 hints will be posted, one at a time, every few minutes on this page.

Refresh your browser periodically for new hints.

Please post your guesses into the comments box below.

The first person to correctly identify the full registered name of the American Quarter Horse pictured wins the prize.

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AQHA now offers a panel test for five genetic tests.

Completing the genetic panel test helps breeders make informed decisions. Journal photo.

From The American Quarter Horse Journal

Genetic diseases cause emotional and financial pain for horse owners and breeders. To help breeders make informed decisions, AQHA now offers a panel test for five genetic diseases – glycogen branching enzyme deficiency, heredity equine regional dermal asthenia, hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, malignant hyperthermia and polysaccharide storage myopathy.

When the test is ordered, AQHA will send a DNA kit, and the owner will mail it to the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California-Davis for testing. Once the tests are complete, AQHA will notify the owners and put the results on the horse’s record and certificate of registration.

The tests cost $85 for members and $125 for nonmembers. For the panel test in conjunction with the DNA test required for most breeding stock, the cost is $105 for members.

Stay tuned to AQHA.com for upcoming information about ordering the panel test.

The effects of these diseases are wide-ranging, from mild and manageable to severe and terminal. Passing these diseases on to successive generations often causes unnecessary suffering and also leads to financial losses for breeders.

Teach your Quarter Horse from the ground up with AQHA’s FREE Horse Training Fundamentals with expert advice from AQHA Professional Horseman Ken McNabb.

GBED: Glycogen Branching Enzyme Deficiency

Disorder: An autosomal recessive disease caused by mutation in the GBE1 gene. Read the rest of this entry »

Early-day breeders debated about type.

Poco Bueno was an early influence of Quarter Horse body types. AQHA file photo.

By Vohn E. Penn in The American Quarter Horse Journal

Editor’s Note: In the early days of AQHA, there was much dissention among members as to what, exactly, was an American Quarter Horse. Some favored the short, stout cow ponies nicknamed “bulldog” horses, while others were strongly in favor of the infusion of Thoroughbred blood to create a faster, leaner version of our breed. Let’s listen in to the debate as it raged in 1950. This article was first printed in the April 1950 edition of the Journal.

There’s an old saying that, “The less you say, the less chance you run of exposing your ignorance.” I respect that proverb a great deal. Nevertheless, I’m willing to risk my reputation for average intelligence in an effort to end this infernal discussion of type. Nothing aggravates me quite so much as the expressions “Racing Type,” “Bulldog Type,” “Ranch Type,” and so on. Read the rest of this entry »

You don’t have to look hard to find Doc Bar progeny at the National Finals Steer Roping.

Larneds Ricoche Doc and Dan Fisher. Photo by Dan Hubbell

There’s no doubting the fact that the 1956 chestnut stallion Doc Bar had speed and cow sense wrapped up into one very talented package. His direct offspring earned more than $3 million in the cutting arena and more than 8,800 AQHA points. And today, horses that trace to him are found in win pictures around the world — and in rodeo arenas, as well.

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In the midst of a successful racing career, this mare became one good mama.

Buy this photo of Miss Night Bar!

By Richard Chamberlain

There was a saying among old-time breeders of Quarter Horses that went, “Good horses, like good men, have good mothers.”

If you subscribe to that theory, then you would likely accept as fact that Miss Night Bar was a good mother.

Most Quarter Horse people remember Miss Night Bar as the mother of Jet Deck. And true enough, when Jet Deck made a name for himself, the glory was more than abundant, spilling over to everything else connected with him, his mother included. Read the rest of this entry »