Tiger Horse basic information

A colorful gaited light horse breed that is well balanced and sturdy with no extreme muscling.

Head: Ears of medium length, generally curved and notched, mobile and alert. Eyes, large and prominent with white sclera surrounding the iris which can give a surprised expression. Viewed from the front, the head should look lean, with no cheekiness. A broad flat forehead between widely spaced eyes should taper to a fine muzzle with large sensitive nostrils. Profile can be straight to slightly convex. The ideal profile should be an undulating Nato profile, in which the convex curve does not extend up between the eyes. Concave or dish profile is not typical or desirable, nor is an extremely Roman nose.

Neck: Should be set high, moderate to long, well balanced and blending smoothly into the wither. The neck of both sexes should be well arched with a clean throatlatch. Ewe neck, short straight neck or a neck set or carried too low to be properly raised and arched are serious faults. A jowly throatlatch is to be faulted.

Forehand: Withers should be well defined with a sloping shoulder. The ideal shoulder angle is 45 degrees. There should be a good depth of heartgirth and legs should be straight with a long, strong upper arm. The knees, set low, should be large, flat and shield shaped. Cannons should be short and dense. Viewed from the front, the chest is of medium width, frequently with a well defined V between the forelegs. Muscling of the forehand should be long and flat. Heavy, bunchy muscling of the chest, shoulder and upper arm is not acceptable. Extremely wide or narrow chest, "A frame" front, upright shoulder, buck or calf knees and toeing in or out are serious faults. Long cannons should be faulted.

Back: Short coupled and strong with a well muscled loin. Long weak back, insufficient muscling to the loin or any crookedness of the back are serious faults.

Hindquarters: Sloping croup should be level with the withers and the tail set low. Thigh is medium to long, with a well developed stifle, and gaskin of equal length. Hocks should be well let down with short dense cannons. Hocks in some individuals will have slightly more angle, and some will have a slight tendency to toe out in the rear. Extreme sickle hocks or cow hocks are serious faults. Viewed from behind, the horse's thighs should be fairly flat and the hips should tend toward the "rafter" build. The hindquarters should be strongly muscled but it should be long, flat muscle. Heavy, bunchy muscling giving the appearance of the "apple" or "heart shaped" rear is not acceptable. Croup higher than withers, poorly muscled rear, weak stifles or hocks are serious faults. Long cannons should be faulted.

Legs: should be sturdy with dense substantial bone, clean with strong dry tendons and moderate, strong, flexible pasterns. Hooves dense, resilient, substantial and usually striped. Front hooves should roundish, rear ones are slightly smaller and more oval. Neither toes nor heels should be particularly long. Legs and hooves should not appear clumsy or drafty. Very fine or fragile legs and feet are not desirable. Extremely long and low pasterns or extremely short and upright pasterns are a serious fault.

Size: Ranges from 13 to 16 hands with 14 to 15.2 being most typical and desirable.

Weight: Can range from 700 to 1500 pounds.

Mane & Tail: Hair can range from nearly non-existent to extremely long and full, but should always be completely natural. Any artificial or surgical methods used to alter the natural set, carriage or movement of the tail is strictly forbidden. Tail docking is forbidden. While braiding, roaching, pulling and trimming of mane and tail hair is tolerated in horses which are being actively exhibited indisciplines which require such alterations, the practices are NOT encouraged, and will not be called for in Tiger Horse showing, including Model Category. Gait: The Tiger Horse is primarily a gaited, working saddle horse which in addition to a walk and canter, must perform an even, natural intermediate four-beat gait. Evenness of gait and the ability to hold gait are very important. The athleticism, soundness and smoothness of the gaits are or great importance. All gaits should have good fluid movement with excellent reach and drive. Termino, while allowed, is not a sought-after characteristic, and when present must be carefully evaluated for soundness. All gaits must be totally natural. Any attempt to alter the horse's natural way of going by altering the length and angles of the hooves, padding the hooves, weighting the feet in any manner, or inflicting deliberate pain on the horse is strictly forbidden. A horse which can only perform a trot or two-beat pace is not acceptable for registration.

Color: The Tiger Horse is a gaited breed with a color preference. Any base coat color (black, bay etc.) is acceptable. In the ideal Tiger Horse visible Tiger characteristics and coat pattern should be present. Characteristics include prominent white sclera around the iris of the eye, striped hooves, and parti-colored, or mottled skin. Common coat patterns include Leopard, Blanket, with or without spots, Roan, with or without spots, and Snowflake. A horse which does not exhibit any of the Tiger characteristics is not acceptable for foundation registration. No horse with the graying gene or pintado markings is acceptable for registration. Offspring of registered Tiger Horses which do not exhibit any of the Tiger characteristics, while fully registered for any performance or breeding purposes, are to be disqualified from the Model Categories