The perfect name for Larry Thornton’s obsession is found at the top of his monthly column in Working Horse magazine, “The Working Lines.” Devoted to the research and documentation of equine pedigree lines in the world of quarter horses since his first column printed in 1984, Thornton is widely considered an expert in his field.
First enamored with the bloodlines of race horses as a teenager in Nebraska, Thornton’s curiosity was piqued by a story he read which shed light on the racing industry’s use of pedigree as a selection tool in building superior horses. He made it a point to get to know a local Quarter Horse named Smutty Bill and later 1962 NCHA (National Cutting Horse Association) World Champion horse and full brother to Smutty, Cutter Bill.
“Back then, only racehorse people were concentrating on working pedigree lines,” he said. Thornton educated himself and gives credit to great breeders he’s met and interviewed along the way.
As word spread of his thoroughness and vast knowledge, Thornton began answering queries from breeders. “People call me to verify pedigrees. They ask me what they’d get if they cross this with that, and I tell them it’s up to nature. There are some things you just can’t guarantee,” he said.
At an American Quarter Horse Association convention in Seattle a 90-plus-year-old breeder approached him after a presentation and told him he’d done a good job.
“That just thrilled me,” Thornton said, adding that his career highlight was being interviewed for the Cowboy Hall of Fame video library.
Thornton admits pedigree analysis is time consuming, but with each call for assistance he finds the thrill of the hunt intoxicating.
After a lengthy illness in which his breeding expansion was put on the backburner, Thornton has great plans for spring including a new barn, more prodigious breeding and flirting with the horse racing industry.
Currently, he gives the horses sweet feed and puts hay out to supplement during the winter, but during performance training he uses a higher level of nutrition, he said, and something with more protein.
A lifetime fascination with Smutty Bill has led Thornton to carry on that legacy with a breeding program built around his stallion Triple Cutter Bill, who has three crosses to Cutter Bill.
Thornton, who dreamed of becoming a Quarter Horse breeder, has become that and so much more. The author, columnist and pedigree expert has been married to his wife Judy for 41 years, is father to two children and grandfather to five and has taught agri-business for 34 years on the high school level.
But tracing pedigree lines was his first love.
