Learning the lines requires looking at lots of pedigrees, and identifying the names. For example, Quarter Horse names include Doc, Poco, Bar, Zip, Peppy, and Leo. A few stallions that established the type as a recognized breed include Joe Bailey, King, and Peter McCue. Breeders in subsequent generations might build on a parent's name. The Quarter Horse names carry down through decades, incorporated into the names of generations of foals.
Most registries limit the number of characters.
In others, such as France's Selle Francais, all horses born in a certain year use the same initial. Learn the jargon of pedigrees. In tracing ancestry, pedigree researchers advise studying the closest generations. Peter Birdsall, DVM, specializes in tracing sport horses of Thoroughbred and warmblood breeding. All the genes don't come from the mother or father.