msscamp - thanks for pointing out my mistake.
I should have said "Horses 3, 4 years or older do not need a LARGE AMOUNT of protein... " that's why I stated 10% - 15% is adequate (your 12%).
The information that is available about horse pasture and hay is very hard to find. Many research studies have been done on improving grasses and hay for cows and similar livestock - but not much has been done in the research area for horses. There are many horses that suffere laminitis and founder from eating grass / pasture that is too rich for their systems. So I hope that what I offer can encourage others to do their research too.
http://www.safergrass.org is a good starting point.
So far as breeds go ... an 8 - 12 year old QH is a good place to start - you might also want to research Missouri Fox Trotters (easy ride, sturdy, good quiet minds, can work cows), Rocky Mountain horses - again, easy ride, small but sturdy, I don't know about the cow-work thing. And... in case anyone is allergic to horse hair/dander, there's always the Bashkir Curly horses with their own distinctive mind and appearance.
There's 3 of them at a friend's training/boarding barn - learning how to work cows and do reining maneuvers. :cboy:
And... just some random info... Palomino is a beautiful color - it's available in several different breeds (Morgan, QH, TWH, to name a few). A Paint horse is a QH with color; a Pinto is any horse with color. I have a friend who had a beautiful palomino paint. Appaloosa can be spotted, have the spotted blanket, or be a solid color (called a Breeding Stock appaloosa). QH, Paint, Appy are the 3 primary "stock" horse breeds.
P.S. Alan...Thanks for the "Dale Carnegie" words, I'm a pretty tough old bird and I've been doing bulletin boards since the early days of html. ;-) There's quite a bit of info here about cows and such too... something I don't know much at all about.