America’s Horse magazine recently reported that the American Quarter Horse joined the bluebird as a Texas icon.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a declaration making the Quarter Horse the Official Horse of Texas on Aug. 20 in Austin.

“This is a great way for the American Quarter Horse to be recognized,” said AQHA Executive Vice President Don Treadway Jr. “We need to give credit to the Texas Quarter Horse Association, Rep. Larry Phillips and 10-year-old Logan Head, who got the ball rolling on this by writing to Rep. Phillips with the idea of making the American Quarter Horse the state’s official horse.”

The state’s history is intertwined with Quarter Horses—the horses were first used to settle the territory and later were instrumental in its largely ranching-focused economy.

The American Quarter Horse Association, the breed’s registry that was started in 1940 at a meeting of ranchers and horsemen at the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show, is headquartered in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle

The Governor also signed House Bill 1881, which establishes a voluntary monetary incentive program to keep Quarter, Paint and Appaloosa horses breeding, showing and racing in Texas.