Definition of AQPS Horse

A horse type that not many horse experts might have heard of is the "Autre Que Pur-Sang" or "Other than Thoroughbred". Commonly referred to as AQPS horses, these are horses that are not actually Thoroughbreds, but are going to be trained to race anyway. In English, they are sometimes referred to as "French Chasers".

Classified as an official breed since 2005, the AQPS horse comes from a long tradition of mixing Thoroughbreds and other horse breeds in France. Before their classification in 2006, there were essentially 2 sub-types of the AQPS horse. The Selle francais (SF), which has a larger percentage of Thoroughbred blood. Then there is the Anglo-Arab, with less than 12.5% Arabian blood.

An interesting element about these horses is that they aren't technically that much of a breed. Instead they are more classified based on their training philosophy and the pattern in which they are raised. Therefore you won't find the standard list of appearances and patterns that you might for other horses like the Appaloosa.

The type of racing that these horses do is different from the standard Thoroughbred. They are typically more common in obstacle racing (hurdles) against both AQPS horses and other breeds. Because of the breeding that they had gone through, they were still strong and enduring, but slower than the traditional Thoroughbred. This has made them extremely specialized for obstacle and jump racing. You are highly unlikely to see these horses at the regular race tracks.

The AQPS horses are made to jump. If you are at a race of jumping over hurdles and there are options other than the AQPS horse, it seems like a bad idea to bet on them.