Colorado Ranger

Colorado Ranger Horse
Other names	Colorado Rangerbred
Country of origin	United States
Traits
Distinguishing features	Endurance, 'cow sense' and athletic ability, some horses have spotted coats
Breed standards
	Colorado Ranger Horse Association;
	Equus ferus caballus;

The Colorado Ranger is a horse breed from the Colorado High Plains in the United States. The breed is descended from two stallions imported from Turkey to the US state of Virginia in the late 1800s. These stallions were then bred to ranch horses in Nebraska and Colorado, and in the early 1900s the two stallions who every registered Colorado Ranger traces to, Patches #1 and Max #2, were foaled. The breed was championed by rancher Mike Ruby, who founded the Colorado Ranger Horse Association in 1935. Original registry membership limits resulted in many Colorado Ranger horses being registered instead as Appaloosas, but pedigree research is ongoing to discover additional horses who trace their ancestry back to the original stallions.

By 2005, more than 6,000 Colorado Ranger horses had been registered. Colorado Rangers may be any solid color or carry leopard spotting patterns. Pinto coloration and American Paint Horse breeding are not allowed, nor are draft horse and pony breeding. Colorado Ranger horses may be dual registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club, and approximately 90 percent are.