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Cardinal Farms is an American Saddlebred training and breeding facility located in Bonnieville, Kentucky (sixty miles south of Louisville). Please feel free to look around the site and if you have any questions give us a call or send an e-mail. Also, there are several links to other sites dealing with Saddlebreds at the bottom of this page.

The following is a brief introduction to the American Saddlebred: The American Saddlebred horse has been hailed by a host of admirers as the world’s most beautiful horse and also one of the most versatile. Developed in colonial America by horse breeders seeking a utility horse of beauty, easy gaits, good disposition, intelligence, substance, and endurance, the growth of the American Saddlebred paralleled the growth of America.   The ancestors of the Saddle bred were easy-gaited Galloways and Hobbies. Brought to North America from the British Isles and bred selectively, they evolved into Naragansett Pacers which were crossed with Thoroughbred imports, resulting in the early Saddlebreds, known then as “Saddle Horses” or as “Kentucky Saddlers”.

The epitome of a show horse, the Saddlebred has a carriage and attitude elusive of description - some call it class, presence, quality, style or charm. A superior air distinguishes every movement.

The ideal Saddlebred is well-proportioned, with a well-shaped, finely chiseled head and large expressive eyes. The back should be short and level, the legs clean and straight with long, sloping pasterns and well-formed feet. Masculinity in stallions and femininity in mares are important. The average height is from 15 - 16 hands (60 - 64 inches at the withers) and the weight 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. Any color is acceptable; the most prominent: chestnut, bay, brown and black, with some gray, roan, golden and pinto.

Saddlebreds are shown in several major divisions: Show and Pleasure Five-Gaited, Three-Gaited, Fine Harness/Driving, In-Hand and Equitation. A variety of classes within these divisions is offered based on factors such as age and sex of the horse and or age, sex and amateur status of the rider.

On the other hand, American Saddlebreds have been successful in most equine disciplines from cow horses to jumpers, dressage to carriage horses. If conditioned and trained properly, Saddlebreds are capable of almost any task they are asked to perform...and they do it with style.

The American Saddlebred Horse is truly "The Horse America Made."

American-Saddlebred.com
Trot.org
The Bluegrass Horseman
Saddlehorse Report
American Saddlebred Horse Association