The Canadian Sport Horse (formerly known as 'Canadian Hunter') is a sport warmblood breed, which is bred to excel in Olympic disciplines.

The Canadian Hunter:
At the beginning of the 20th century, Canadian-bred horses were famous in the USA for their natural talent as show-jumpers and hunters. Unfortunately, in 1914 World War I erupted, and thousands of Canadian horses, including those who excelled in jumping, were sent to the front lines to serve as cavalry mounts and to haul artillery. Most of the horses who survived the war were sold in Europe, and never returned to Canada or to the USA. As a result, Canadian breeders faced with a shortage of Canadian horses who excel at jumping.

In order to re-establish the Canadian Hunter, breeders imported sixteen Thoroughbred stallions, and crossed them with Canadian mares. Breeding became organized in 1926, when the Canadian Hunter and Light Horse Improvement Society, was founded, with the goal of producing a native Canadian breed that excels in Olympic disciplines.

The Canadian Sport Horse today:
Over the next 50 years, Canadian Hunters competed not only in eventing, but also in show-jumping and dressage. Therefore, in the 1980s, in order to better describe the breed, its name was officially changed from "Canadian Hunter" to "Canadian Sport Horse," and the breeding association was renamed to Canadian Sport Horse Association.

Today, the Canadian Sport Horse is a popular breed in Canada, and is used for all Olympic disciplines.

Breeding:
The Canadian Sport Horse has an open book policy, which allows Canadian Sport Horses to be crossed with Thoroughbreds and with sport warmbloods of approved registries, given that these horses passed the annual inspections of the Canadian Sport Horse Association. This policy is in place in order to ensure the constant improvement of the Canadian Sport Horse.

Conformation:
Because of the open studbook policy of this breed, the conformation of Canadian Sport Horses can vary from one horse to another. That said, they all have long necks, prominent withers, and long legs.

Performance metrics:
The following are the: range, average, (SD), and MOE of performance metrics of ordered Canadian Sport 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: 16.6-17.8, 17.2 (0.3), 0.05.
Sprint: 56-69, 61 (3), 0.51.

Accel: 0.91-1.11, 1.00 (0.05), 0.01.
Decel: 0.94-1.11, 1.02 (0.03), 0.01.

Jump: 5.31-5.55, 5.43 (0.04), 0.01.
Pull: 2.24-2.88, 2.52 (0.13), 0.02.

Turning: 50.27-63.05, 56.26 (2.90), 0.57.
Reverse: 2.3-3.1, 2.7 (0.1), 0.03.

Stamina: 45.45-49.53, 47.58 (0.89), 0.17.
Reaction: 0.81-0.90, 0.85 (0.02), 0.00.

Coats & Height:
Colors: bay, brown, black, chestnut, gray, cream-dilutes, and dominant white.
Breeding notes: dun and dominant black don't naturally exist in this breed, but can be bred into it.

Additionals: flaxen, rabicano, sooty, frame-overo, splashed-white, white-spotted sabino, tobiano, and all rare patterns.
Breeding notes: linebacked, roan, leopard, and manchado don't naturally exist in this breed, but can be bred into it.

Height: 16hh to 17hh*.
* While some horses are below or above this range, 16hh to 17hh is considered to be the ideal range.