Are Horses Hot or Cold Blooded?

Horses are technically warm blooded. However, horses are also termed as hot or cold blooded. This doesn't have anything to do with the scientific definition of warm blooded. Scientifically, a warm blooded animal is an animal that has a warm internal body temperature it keeps, such as a human or a dog. Cold blooded animals are animals that have body temperatures that change depending on the external temperature around them, such as snakes or lizards.

When a horse is called cold blooded, people are not referring to the scientific definition of cold blooded, they are referring to the horses' body type. Typically they are referring to draft horses. They are usually strong and dependable horses. This term came about due to the fact many of these horses were bred in cold regions. These horses include breeds such as Shires and the Black Forest Horse.

On the contrary, hot blooded horses were bred in hot regions. These are typically leaner breeds and are often used for racing. The only two recognized hot blood breeds are Arabians and Thoroughbreds, however, other breeds often grouped into the category include horses such as the Akhal Teke and Barb.  

There are also warm blooded horses which are somewhere in between. These horses include horses such as the Andalusians, Lipizzaners, or American Saddlebred. Warm blooded horses are typically fast riding or sport horses with calmer temperaments than hot blooded horses, though not often as calm as many draft horses.

(*Please note, the individual photos are not mine.)


For more info on some of the horse breeds mentioned please check out these links to previous blog posts:
Akhal Teke Post
American Saddlebred
Andalusians
Arabians
Black Forest Horse
Shires