There are many breeds of horses, one of them being a Quarter Horse (the first all-American breed). The English brought the Thoroughbred from England and the Spanards brought to America their Spanish blood horses. These two combined with the native horses already in existance here created a quick, compact, massively muscled horse we now call the Quarter Horse. 
Because of their sprinting ability, the English settlers liked to race them in quarter mile stretches, thus their name. But their ability became truly known in the "West" as cow ponies, due to their speed, their balance and agility, and their instinct to work cattle.
This is the horse I write about in my books. If you have more questions about the Quarter Horse, let me know. I'll try to cover the various colors of a horse in a future post.
