Canadian Pacer

Infobox Horse
name= Canadian Pacer


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country= Canada
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The Canadian Pacer is a horse breed of which only small numbers remain.

History

In the Canadian Provinces, French mares were crossed with Dutch and English stock. The bloodlines of the Canadian Pacer are not exactly known, but are thought to be descended from the French Norman horse and a strain of pacers (possibly Narragansett or an English pacer) bred in the 1820s. The Canadian Horse was extremely hardy and possessed much endurance, but did not have natural pacing ability, so it was necessary to import the Narragansett to breed it in.

The resulting Canadian Pacer was small, although larger than the Narragansett. They were described as having heads too large for their fine, lean body, and had small eyes. The Canadian Pacer influenced the Tennessee Walker, the American Saddlebred and the Standardbred.

The most notable Canadian Pacer sire was the blue roan Tom Hal, who was foaled in Canada in 1806 and then taken to Kentucky. He had a heavy influence on the three aforementioned breeds. Another influential sire was Old Pacer Pilot, foaled in 1826, who was important in the lineages of many Gaited horses.