Appaloosa, Belgian Draft, Holsteiner, Quarter Horse … These are just a few of the over 200 different horse breeds living around the world today.

Although breeds can look wildly different, they all belong to a single species: Equus caballus.

Over thousands of years, people created different breeds by mating horses that have desirable traits. That’s why the look of a breed is often related to what it’s used for. When these traits get passed down over many generations, a new breed is produced.

For example, about 200 years ago, English horse breeders mated light, swift Arabians with local riding horses. This created the Thoroughbred–a lean, leggy, super-speedy breed used in horse racing.