The Canadian Cutting Horse is not a breed per se but rather a type of horse that was developed in Canada for practicing cutting. It should not be confused with Canadian-bred cutting horses, which is any cutting horse that was bred in Canada.

It all began from a bit of gold:
The 1850s and onwards were exciting years in Canada's history. The "Land of Maple Syrup" experienced its first ever Gold Rush (Fraser River Gold) which was followed by one Rush after another. In parallel, the booming economy fueled a significant boost in cattle ranching.

Ranches became a common sight, first British Columbia but later on in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Many new cattle breeds were imported from both the United Kingdom and the USA to further develop the raising of cattle.

A breed born from need:
Ranchers raised their cattle in expansive grazing areas to ensure that their herds had sufficient food and space. This meant that treating individual cows became difficult, as it required chasing them down while separating them from their herd.

Since this task was impractical for humans, ranchers turned to the only possible solution: developing a horse breed that will fit the bill.

Developing a Canadian Cutter:
It is unclear exactly which breeds were mixed to create the Canadian Cutting Horse, except that it involved American Quarter Horses, native Canadian breeds, and possibly Spanish breeds.

Regardless of how it was created, the result was an agile horse capable of predicting the movement that a cow is about to make -- a trait known as 'cow sense' -- and acting accordingly, be it by blocking her or chasing her. These abilities enabled the Canadian Cutting Horse to separate ('cut') cows from their herd and keep them separated from it for as long as required by their rider.

To ensure consistent breeding of good cutters, it was vital to test the abilities of sires and mares. This gave rise to local cutting competitions, which eventually led to the arrival of an American rival.

Diverting from the Canadian Cutting Horse:
In 1954, the Canadian Cutting Horse Association (CCHA) was established. Its aim was to transform cutting from a niche sport to an official sport at a national scale in Canada.

To ensure the constant progression of the sport, the association promoted the breeding and showing of the best cutting horses in general rather than focusing on native breeds.

The best cutting breed was (and still is) the American Quarter Horse, with which the Canadian Cutting Horse couldn't compete. The American rival quickly overtook the stage that the Canadian Cutting Horse has held for almost a century, and became a definite favorite among Canadian competitors.

From the Canadian ring to Windsor Castle:
It is important to highlight that the CCHA excelled in its mission to turn cutting into a national sport. They succeeded so much, that in the summer of 1963 Prince Phillip himself (then the Duke of Edinburgh and husband to Queen Elizabeth II) invited members of the association to show their horses across the pond.

The spectacular feat took place in 1964. It lasted three months, and was the debut of cutting in England. They showed in seventeen horse shows, including the prestigious Royal Windsor Horse Show in Windsor Castle. The horses that were chosen were those who ranked the highest in cutting shows in Canada, and were all American Quarter Horses.

The Canadian Cutting Horse today:
There is no official association for Canadian Cutting Horses as a breed. All of the cutting associations in Canada cater to the cutting sport in general, and welcome all cutting horses regardless of breed. Today, most of these horses are American Quarter Horses.

It is unclear to which extent the Canadian Cutting Horse exists today in its original form. However, since any Canadian-bred non-fully-purebred American Quarter Horse fits the bill for a Canadian Cutting Horse, then we decided to include this horse in Horse Isle.

Meeting the standard - breeding guidelines:
The Canadian Cutting Horse doesn't have a conformation standard, but it does need to have the qualities that turn it into a cutting horse.

In Horse Isle, this means that Canadian Cutting Horses must be social and on the energetic side, in addition to having the necessary agility and speed. Individuals who lack any of these qualities will be penalized.

Conformation:
There isn't an official 'breed standard' for the Canadian Cutting Horse, but there are a few descriptions of what the Canadian Cutting Horse looks like -- or at least used to look like.

Its overall appearance is similar to that of the American Quarter Horse, which is to be expected as it was heavily influenced by the American Quarter Horse. Still, the Canadian Cutting Horse has a convex profile, a 'flatter' (rather than arched) neck, low withers, a longer back, a rounder croup, and an overall taller structure.

The mane is short or medium in length, but the tail can grow long.

Performance metrics:
The following are the: range, average, (SD), and MOE of performance metrics of ordered Canadian Cutting Horses in Horse Isle (not bred ones). In rare cases, horses might have metrics outside of the range. Breeders can produce horses that are beyond this range.

Speed: 16.3-17.6, 17.0 (0.3), 0.05.
Sprint: 67-86, 79 (3), 0.61.

Accel: 1.04-1.33, 1.24 (0.04), 0.01.
Decel: 1.03-1.17, 1.10 (0.03), 0.01.

Jump: 5.20-5.44, 5.31 (0.05), 0.01.
Pull: 2.54-3.02, 2.77 (0.12), 0.02.

Turning: 58.45-78.71, 72.14 (2.92), 0.57.
Reverse: 2.8-3.8, 3.4 (0.1), 0.03.

Stamina: 47.89-59.28, 56.54 (1.25), 0.25.
Reaction: 0.70-0.87, 0.76 (0.03), 0.01.

Coats & Height:
Colors: all colors except for dominant black (in other words: all of the colors exist in the American Quarter Horse).

Additionals: flaxen, linebacked, minimal-mealy, rabicano, roan, sooty, all rare patterns. The coat is always solid.

Height: 14.3hh to 15.3hh.
* while American Quarter Horses can be 16hh and taller, they can also be as short as 14hh. Canadian Cutting Horses start at 14.3hh, which is why they are regarded as taller on average.