COLONEL ( P- 8)

This portrait of Colonel (P-8), foaled in 1925, was drawn from a photo of him as an aged horse. Jim Minnick, an avid polo player and professional horse procurer, was the original AQHA livestock inspector. His work through the 1940s in finding suitable horses and getting them registered is largely responsible for fixing Quarter Horse “type.” Colonel was Minnick’s favorite Quarter Horse stallion, which he used to get dozens of broodmares suitable for racing, polo and general ranch work. Interestingly, Colonel probably has the highest percentage of draft ancestry of any foundational Quarter Horse. This shows in his thick mane and tail, excellent bone and large feet, high weight-for-height ratio and lightly feathered legs. This image of Colonel (P-8) in his prime shows that the stallion had a longer and less sloping pelvis than the color portrait suggests. This photo also highlights his long, somewhat heavy but attractively arched neck.

One must be surprised at the degree to which draft influence shows in Colonel’s conformation, given that he is 7/8ths Thoroughbred. It has been impossible to find photos of Colonel get, but grand-get tend to throw back more to this Thoroughbred heritage. I want to emphasize again that outcrossing is a very wise strategy, especially in a breed with as large a broodmare base as the Quarter Horse had in the western United States during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. The deep Billy and Rondo pedigrees of thousands of broodmares were well served by stallions with Thoroughbred and/or draft in their background, and it has been by the judicious use of these crosses that the size and weight of the Quarter Horse were increased beginning in these decades, usually without loss of the desired type or athletic capabilities. (Analysis of Colonel’s conformation continues on page 100)