They Breed Percherons Don't They... The Story of Joe Hancock

The Hancock line are cow eating machines but where did it all start?

[@c.l.sherman211]

I have as APHA filly - ‘Hancocks Jazzy Angel’, her grandfather is Hancocks Blue Boy. She Is a gorgeous bay/white/black/blue tobiano and is sweet as the day is long. When I bought her she was a fearful yearling. I hung ropes, tarps, plastic buckets, a human sized dummy and boxes on her. Then I ground drove her 3 to 5 miles a day under saddle. We went along the road, me giving her a hay-pellet for using the thinking side of her brain while exposing her to new things away from home. Now she is a confident, curious horse. When she turned three and had good muscling I got on and have ridden her for 30 rides and she is loving it. So fun!

[@Riendadora]

Nice to see a story about a typey old-time quarter hose. I'd like to mention though, that it's kind of a modern idea that there was no Percheron in the QH. I'm 72, and I remember lots of conversations about how the QH mixed TB (and Arab, from Old Janus), some later TB, and a dash of Barb for early foot and cow sense. Probably got a little Andalusian in there, too. All in all, like many great Americans, a bit of a chopped salad of a bunch of good ancestors.

[@nosillalaluna7078]

My last horse , I traded a J. M. Capriola , roping saddle for a , coming 3 ,15.3 hand , seal bay roan filly . She'd never been handled except , run through the shoot for shots and what ever else needed to be done . Took 3hours to load her into a 6 horse , stock trailer ! We were together for almost 25 years. She was a presents to be reckoned with and didn't have a mean bone in her body . I miss her every day .

[@bluebird6300]

I had a Hancock bred QH, Honeybar Hancock. Difficult to break but She was an amazing workhorse that would give her life for me 💕

[@Alberta1stPodcast]

​@@jesusfreaksdoitdeeper3640😂

[@erinmuetz8771]

One of our first horses was a king Hancock cross. Kind of squirrelly, but a good horse.

[@Ashestoashespetcrematory]

Very interesting thank you for sharing

[@bevdavis4148]

When I contacted King Ranch, they mentioned the Percheron blood.

[@impunitythebagpuss]

Liked and subbed. Like the narration and the historical facts of the breed! Thanks!

[@terryfoley9122]

Excellent

[@zszs123]

Some lines have a little Belgium and Suffolk blood also..Excellent video thanks for the vdeo and time..

[@HorseyGal4ever]

just sub'd after viewing what you tube thought I'd like to see!

[@Jeni-ow1kl]

THANK YOU for this U-tube video!;)) EXCELLENT INFO! Subscription added!:)⭐️👍

[@kenmorris2290]

It's astounding the size of the feet and the substantial bone on Joe Hancock. Do Hancock bred horses still have that today?

[@klauskarbaumer6302]

A lot of Percherons, especially for show-hitches, sell for a lot more than $ 20,000 nowadays.

[@PolyComments]

Very interesting........

[@AndersonCattleCo]

You can't beat a Hancock. You have to to get them broke , but damn when you do they are the best horses.

[@bluebird6300]

No doubt, mine was tough as heck to get broke and then she was a doll

[@tomcooley3778]

Hancock s can be a little cold backed !

[@chetkendell1611]

@@tomcooley3778 You have obviously been on top. They all have a little bit of buck in them first thing in the morning.

[@SG-ju2uz]

Ive ridden a hancock horse. They are made of steel! They can go all day working and not break a sweat. Tough working horses, with that being said. I don’t think they can be fully broke, If I pissed him off or tried to make him do something new he would always question it, and when in doubt, he would buck!!!! Even agter hours of work. Hard to explain, because I would still consider that horse reliable and kid safe

[@user-bv7dr2fy3q]

Joe Hancock was not by a Percheron stallion. He was by the horse John Wilkins and out of the Mundell mare, making him 1/4 Percheron. John Wilkins was by Peter McCue.

[@aldonelson5757]

The quarter horse is mostly Thoroughbred & Choctaw/Chicishaw/Criollo

[@lynnehuff9659]

One thing to be noted, is that the Percheron which sired the Mundell mare (Joe Hancock's grand dam) was a small-boned horse standing around 14:3 and weighing around 1,100 pounds. He wasn't a draft horse type that people think about when they think of Percherons. He was a black, registered Percheron. This is paraphrased from Tom Hancock, grandson of Joe Hancock the man. He said that the stallion was Ralph Wilson's personal saddle horse that he would ride to town, gather cattle with, or run a race. Joe Hancock's dam, merely called the Hancock mare was out of this 1/2 Percheron brown mare . Tom Hancock states that his Grandad bred five or six mares to the Percheron that year.

[@ffyfy1]

Thanks for the backstory information. I think the real story here is that those old timers didn’t buy, ride, use, or breed, a horse or mare by what it said on the paperwork.

[@lynnehuff9659]

@@ffyfy1 That's the truth, and they sure enough used them!

[@lynnehuff9659]

@@ffyfy1 I actually wrote it incorrectly. Not sure how to correct it, now. The Percheron was bred to the Mundell mare which produced the Hancock mare, Joe Hancock's dam. The Mundell mare was called such because a traveling race horse man named Mundell dropped her off.

[@lynnehuff9659]

@@ffyfy1 I found this treasure last night, and want to share it. A film entitled "1941 Quarter Horse Film narrated by B.F Yeates"on KZbin. I don't want to spoil it for you. I can't stop thinking about it.

[@ffyfy1]

Thank you Lynne,I will definitely Watch that.

[@bradflaten1633]

Breeders often lament the lack of bonafide outcross stallions for their contemporarily bred mares. We really need a horse like Joe Hancock today. Jack Brainard once said the best horse he rode or looked at was George Hancock...a grandson of Joe...back in the 1940's. I take him at his word and value his learned opinions.

[@-qj6ps]

Did George sire any

[@Commonmomhomeschooler]

The draft background explains why Hancocks are known to be rank. They probably if tested the hard ones would have pssm!

[@penelopelopez8296]

I like the Hancock bloodline. It represents everything a quarter horse is supposed to be….versatile. I don’t like what I see today at these quarter horse shows. All the quarter horses in the English events look like thoroughbreds and their pedigree has a lot of thoroughbred influence….more than what they should have to be a real quarter horse IMO.. I find these old bloodlines to be more desirable. The quarter horse is a great breed. I owned one for many years and hope some day to get another one. Great video about a great horse….very interesting.

[@CL-ve2cm]

I would say a real Quarter Horse is the one that can excel at the job it's expected to do. Don't forget that the QH started as a racehorse. The versatility and variety of Quarter Horse lines is what makes the breed great. If you want your Quarters to look like Hancock horses, buy Hancock horses. The thoroughbred-looking horses aren't worse Quarter Horses. They're just bred for a different job and have different confirmation for that purpose. I promise you they're quite versatile as individuals as well. If we're going to hate on types, can we at least look at situations like halter horses and pleasure horses where temperament and conformation do actually limit their ability to do other work? A horse looking more like a thoroughbred makes them harder to get on and off of and maybe they're not a good bet for stopping a cow, but they're plenty versatile.

[@jryanchastain]

Well the breed was founded to be race horses with heavy TB influence. The TB is where the versatility comes from. The great thing about the AQHA is there’s a flavor for everyone. I also have to add the Joe Hancock would look like an appendix today and not the barrel chested horses the line would turn into.

[@penelopelopez8296]

They don’t have to be barrel chested to look like an American quarter horse…..mine was because he came from the Skipper W line. My point is that all the specialization killed the breed for me. If I want a thoroughbred….I’ll buy one. I liked when you could bring one horse to the show for each class you competed in. I believe the breed is headed in the wrong direction but the almighty dollar comes first so the industry has no choice if it wants to keep the English competitors coming back to the world show and congress each year.

[@blackberrythorns]

@@jryanchastain the canadian river, french voyageurs, new france... the oldest horse breed in north america - le cheval canadien. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6LEnWVnntSNfbc

[@sanniepstein4835]

@@penelopelopez8296 All that TB blood contributes to navicular disease as well.

[@ktgodwin100]

Every other story I've read says the mare was the Percheron.

[@jryanchastain]

Half

[@penelopelopez8296]

The American quarter horse inherited their big butts from somewhere. The Percheron seems like the obvious choice to provide all that muscle in the hind quarters. I analyze a lot of breeds and find that many of them don’t have that big muscled butt , except for the draft breeds.

[@blackberrythorns]

@@penelopelopez8296 i'd bet it was a canadian horse. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6LEnWVnntSNfbc

[@JavierBonillaC]

Quarter horses are nice but I wonder why they breed them so small. My horse is 17’2”. I get on a quarter horse and I feel I’m in a pony. But Imdomlike QH. Just wish they made them bigger.

[@jryanchastain]

Compact for their intended purpose. The racing QHs are larger, ranch ponies are smaller. There’s a line and size for everyone

[@lazygardens]

A cowboy is constantly getting on and off the horse, often jumping off and on. And the agility of a shorter horse is helped by its lower center of gravity.

[@JavierBonillaC]

@@lazygardens True.

[@sanniepstein4835]

@@lazygardens And when you have a fall, height does make a difference. I like those classes at small rodeos where the riders jump off and on their horses at a gallop.

[@deanfirnatine7814]

Not #1?

[@BarnMouse]

I don't think they have very pretty heads though.

[@ffyfy1]

I like how mildly put you said that! That’s like saying she has a good personality. So true, so true About many Hancock Bred horses. Thank God we don’t ride the head.

[@paulinarapicka]

@@ffyfy1 Workhorses don't need to be pretty, if they are, it's a fine bonus ;) The same goes for any working animal. That is something that people forget nowadays, and are focusing on looks, not ability, saddly.

[@frederickbooth7970]

@@ffyfy1 Good one! Were thoroughbred breeders but appreciate all breeds & types of horses! We have seen & ridden several horses of other farms that we would also say" thank goodness we don`t ride the head".

[@mikehokberns676]

Fair story but get a good narrarator.

[@jebediahnightlinger6357]

You having a bad day fella?

[@loriannehancock6364]

He did a fine job narrating.