The International Museum of the Horse in Lexington is truly one-of-a-kind. It’s rooms are packed with priceless equine art, artifacts, and historic and educational resources. To name just a few of its exhibits: Horseshoe Hall, Horse Breeds of the World, the Legacy of the Horse, Horses in Sport, the Draft Horse in America… The museum is also home to the Mary Jane Gallaher Memorial Library, an equine-focused research center available as a resource to the public.
The museum is currently undergoing some renovations to be completed this Spring 2010 in order to house the new Arabian Horse galleries and prepare for the “Gift from the Desert” exhibit, the first major exhibition to explore the dynamic impact of the horse on Near Eastern civilization. Also included in this 8,000 square foot section will be some fun, interactive activities and features. While these are exciting new additions, don’t let a little construction deter you from visiting before they are complete.

From the pages of A Horse Lover’s Guide to Kentucky: “Located on the grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park, this affiliate of the Smithsonian is the largest equestrian museum in the world. Within its 38,000 square feet of space are exhibitions and displays featuring some 100 different breeds. The museum’s central exhibition, “The Legacy of the Horse,” documents man’s more than 50-million-year relationship with the horse.
Other attractions include the Calumet Farm Collection, which serves as a showcase for the fabled farm’s impressive array of racing trophies, and the newest exhibit, “Affirmed: The Making of a Champion,” which opened in 2007. Over the years, the museum has also hosted temporary international exhibitions, most notably “Imperial China: The Art of the Horse in Chinese History,” and “All the Queen’s Horses: The Role of the Horse in British History,” which drew no less a personage to its opening than Great Britain’s Princess Anne, who, like her mother, is a keen equestrian.”
4089 Iron Works Pkwy., Lexington. (859) 233-4303. www.imh.org