Are T'breds really as bad as their rep?

[kgj66]

I am currently looking at a 4yr old t'bred mare to buy.
I am an experienced rider with fizzy horses and youngsters, so that's not what bothers me.
My last mare was an Irish sport horse so 1/2 t'bred but she just looked much more solid that this mare I'm trying!

From anyone's experience-are they more fragile and more likely to hurt themselves, a lot harder to keep weight on and generally just silly?

I plan to event(am I right in saying a lot of the big eventers are thoroughbreds-so hopefully suited to the job?

Reall I think I'm just looking for a few positives to back up that they are not all fragile skinny nutters as I have heard !

 

[Merry Crisis]

Your post suggests that you have no idea. No I dont think that they would be for you, frankly.

 

[Lolo]

Our ex-rcaer isn't a skinny, fragile nutter!

He has his moments of being extremely 'speshul', but it's all quite friendly. He eats a lot, but equally he's a big horse in hard work during the summer so it's expected really- about 2 full buckets every day, with endless hay and good grass.

Touching wood, the other part of your post regarding injuroes has yet to properly plague him- a hoof abscess, seedy toe and slightly puffy legs once after a run on hard ground which went down quickly... He needs shoeing every 5 weeks or so.

Lovely horse, makes it all look very easy and is a pleasure to own. He can be a stress-head, but that's something that appears to be fairly characteristic of horses from his sire. He also lives out 24/7 regardless of weather- he prefers it!

 

[debsg]

Like all breeds, they have their good and bad. You can get quite substantial TB's and some that look as if a puff of wind will blow them over.
We used to have an ex chaser who was utterly neurotic and so ticklish he would fall on the floor if you brushed him with anything other than a soft body brush , Ive also known TB's that would hack out and be handled by a young child.
My TB filly is 4, super sensible and lives out 24/7/365, is barefoot and, atm, still naked!!
So it's just a question of looking around til you find the right one! Good luck xx

 

[Oberon]

My two penneth....

TB's do not have to have crap feet just because they are TB's

And they are much more sensitive to sugar than people realise too.....

 

[Lolo]

Your post suggests that you have no idea. No I dont think that they would be for you, frankly.

This is very harsh. Owning a entirely new breed for the first time can be daunting. Our first horse (previously, we'd only had ponies who were native breeds) was a 22yo TB. We genuinely didn't have a clue what sort of effort would be required to keep our old boy looking fantastic, but we managed very well and he had a lovely 5 years with us until he was 27 when he was PTS. It was a steep learning curve, but with help and guidance it all worked out nicely. As a second horse (for my sister this time) we got a 16.3hh gangly ex-racer who was totally untouched. He's also turned out to be rather fab despite no experience or knowledge about ex-racers just lots of help and regular lessons.

 

[Sparkles]

Mine sure isn't!

Well, nightmare to keep weight on in winter sometimes...but perfect in every other way!

Teaching the kids to ride....

 

[beehorses]

fragile skinny nutters!

Nope you definatly have them all wrong. I have a 7/8 TB and a 1/2 TB and my 7/8 TB is well built would event lovely great sence of calmness to him and is the most well behaved horse in the world. He is even a good doer!!! The other one is only a baby so will let you know in a few years what she turns out like but is def not a nutter.

 

[FanyDuChamp]

what about a NH bred one, they aren't skinny legged at all. We have one on our yard, he never ran but was NH bred and he is gorgeous! He is a total sweetheart, not bright but a lovely horse.
FDC

 

[mulledwhine]

In a word NO . Try are just horses, yes a little harder sometimes to keep weight on,,

However I owned one for 25 years ( lost him a year on Saturday ) he was an ex racer and to be fair his only ' vice' was he hated being stabled so he lived out till the end of his days.

I never had a vet bill, he kept weight too well, yes, he had quirks but don't they all?

Good luck, don't worry, treat it like a horse... They only thing that may be different , that have found, is that they are no push over , so you have to take time to learn what makes them tick, they are not a Yes horse, more a 'why ' horse which is why I love em

 

[weesophz]

youd never be able to tell my tb used to race! hes one of the most chilled out horses on my yard (im not just saying this, he genuinely is so mellow!) and a novice could ride him. he is very accident prone though, in the past 3 years hes had 3 degloving injuries and one bad fracture. tbs can be quite stubborn too, but if you ask them to do something the right way they tend to oblige

i went from a 12.2 connemarra to a 15.3 tb, so dont worry i know how daunting it can be!

if you get her i hope it goes well!

 

[flirtygerty]

We have had 2 TB ex racers one was like a large friendly dog, his one fault was he had mild spooks in the wind, our current lad is so laid back he's comatose, but can still move when you wake him up, both lived out and both are quite chunky, my boy is no particular breed and can be a handful, it's not the breed that counts it's the horse itself

 

[Firewell]

yes, their awful, heres mine :sigh::-

My last TB:-

My mums old TB:-

My mums new TB:-

Terrible horses. Only get one if you can handle something sensitive, brave and willing who will wear it's heart on it's sleeve and give you the shirt off its back!

 

[kgj66]

Thanks guys for you're (mostly) nice replies!
They are along the lines of what I thought-a horse is a horse and they all have their issues! I just wanted to hear a few positives to back it all up!
She is definately a 'why' horse, but that's what I like in a horse. My other mare was exactly the same-you had to ask and never tell!

 

[Wagtail]

I have never had trouble keeping weight on a Tb and I have owned or cared for many. But I usually feed them ad lib haylage and that seems to do the trick. I have also not found them to be any fizzier than other breeds. I find warmbloods far more quirky and fizzy. In particular, ex racehorses are an excellent choice so long as they are sound and don't have too many miles on the clock, as they are used to travelling, hacking out and busy events.

 

[Tnavas]

There are some that are fragile, skinny nutters but there are far far more that are tough, porky sane athletes.

TB's are great - ask any Kiwi about a TB and the majority will have ridden them at some time or other.

I had 10 in the riding school who taught beginners to ride - they all lived out on grass were totally sane and really kind horses.

Like any horse they need to be fed according to their work load.

 

[Shantara]

The 3 I've known are all completely different.

Dancer (r.i.p): Good, steady, friendly, could remain at the back of the ride, whilst others gallop past/infront of him and not bat an eyelid. Sadly, he died of a twisted gut, so I didn't know him for long. He was extremely honest too! I accidently gave him the wrong signals once and he leapt a 5ft 2 fence from 2 paces away and cleared it. I however, fell off

Viking: Skinny, frisky, doesn't jump well (was a flat racer) but is pretty dead to any traffic He's so friendly and kind, too.

Louie: Extremely strong and spirited, a complete grump too! However, he makes friends with certain people and enjoys their company, anyone he doesn't like...ears back, teeth bared. Currently lame and has been out of work for months, we're unsure if he'll ever work again, but atleast he has a forever home

What I've learnt: They're all different!


EDIT: Here's Louie and Viking

Louie

Viking

 

[kgj66]

Firewell-they are all gorgeous! I think I'm just finding it hard to picture what she will look like when matured!
She is fizzy and hot headed, but seems extremely brave and very sweet tempered- the fizzyness does not bother me as I said, my last three horses have been youngsters who weren't exactly laid back so I much prefer something with a bit of spark!

 

[oscarwild]

Well my tb looks like she would snap in the wind but is far from it. She is very sensitive and you need to treat her as such. She never had a proper friendship with previous owner so was a nightmare but she is fantastic with me. She taught me to be chilled if she has a moment which are few and far between. Can be ridden every day or have a 3 month holiday and is just the same. Her feet are getting much better than they used to be. She will have a moment when its windy but so would my past horse who was a wb and my welsh was the same.
I love mine to bits and I did the I'd NEVER have a TB and she's the best horse I have had in a long time.

 

[pinklilly]

I have trouble keeping the weight off mine!

 

[Tnavas]

Missed the edit - here are some of the TB's I've owned
My lovely boy with a student - this horse declined to race and would drop the jockey any chance he got - his neck was out of alignment and he was in pain. Neck fixed = amazing horse
[Image removed]

A school horse - won many races before retiring as a hack aged 13yrs

And another with a pupil - another race winner

 

[Holly Hocks]

Tbs vary as much as any other breed. I would only ever have a NH horse, not a flat horse, mainly because they're generally broken later and are more sane.
My elderly TB who I lost recently was the most laid back horse ever to ride. He would hack anywhere and was even known to have almost walked into a moving milk tanker he was so traffic proof. However his feet were crap - we tried everything, including barefoot, but they were beyond redemption! He had the worst conformation of any horse known to man, but was never lame until near the end - even with a fractured leg he was only slightly lame! He was always, always overweight.

My mare on the other hand can be a little highly strung but has great feet and is currently barefoot. She has fab conformation but has bilateral spavin, navicular and an "irregular" suspensory ligament. She has hardly been in work since I got her. She is also overweight and quite a bit!
I've never had a problem getting weight on TBs - that's a complete myth.
They are great horses in the right hands and to be honest I don't like riding anything else!

 

[youngfarmer]

It depends on the individual horse-same with any breed.

I have worked in racing and the majority of those (even when just backed) were very willing and although sharp, weren't stupid with it.
Yet when I rode a TB earlier this year who had been out of racing for years and 'schooled' (use that term for this horse lightly!) it bolted with me, became unresponsive and I ended up with a broken back. Yet in all my years of racing I never once had an injury or a fall-even on the 2 year olds who buggered off with me all the time lol.

They're very switched on horses, aware of what's going on around them and pick up on peoples feelings very easily I have always found. They try their best for you and are probably the biggest athletes out of all breeds of horses-they really do turn their hoof to anything and everything. I would own a TB as long as it suited what I wanted to do, and if you are eventing then 1 should suit you down to a T.

Saying that though-they do have their bad points. I have found them very accident prone (could cut themselves on bubble wrap and cotton wool!), feeding with some of them has to be very precise, some don't keep weight on well and are absolute fairies in the winter, some can be dangerous in the wrong hands, a lot of work, blood, sweat and tears will go into having 1 straight off the track and unfortunately it can be hard to find 1 with suitable bone, build, feet and mentality to go eventing and to cope well with it. Farriers, and some owners, seem to get feet wrong quite a lot as well. TB's are slightly naturally flat footed, and unfortunately some farriers can cause that to be worse. No reason why a TB can't have more upright feet-but I've always found it normal to see farriers (even for NR tb's) to shoe/trim very flat.

If you are looking for a TB specifically for eventing, I suggest finding a stud who breed them specifically for that. These are the 'sporty' TB's and generally have under gone some form of training already. You can also almost guarantee that part of their parentage have evented or been NH.

A badly trained TB is very easy to come by unfortunately. They're cheap-so a lot of beginners buy them and then realise a TB is too much for them. That said, there are a few TB's who novices can ride and have competed successfully.

 

[Mlini]

I have a TB He is wonderful.. I really don't know why TB's have a bad reputation - everyone on my yard thinks my horse is crazy! So I stuck a complete novice on his back to prove them wrong

He is really willing and will try anything. Hasn't got a bad bone in his body. The only issue I think he will have is keeping the weight on in the winter. He currently has two full buckets of feed a day and ad lib haylage - he is quite high maintainance! Has very sensitive skin, probably more due to having lots of white on him rather than being a TB! He also has great feet and has quite a lot of bone to him for a TB (hes Irish) - the physio actually thought he was ID x!!

My friend also has a TB, he is VERY accident prone - likes jumping in the path of lorrys and impaling himself on the fencing! But other than that, he's a great horse too.

There is one other TB on the yard who is completely different - very athletic and can be quite quirky!


I think it just depends on the particular horse in question, rather than labelling the breed as a whole. I used to work in racing and there wasn't a bad horse in the whole yard

 

[dressagelove]

Oof Annielusian, Viking is abs GORGEOUS, how come I've not seen him yet?!

I have two, one is a bleedin demic, always lame, terrible feet, pretty fizzy and forward going, but has a temperment of gold, he's such a sweetheart

Other one is hard as nails, a right tough cookie.

I think it depends on the individual horse tbh

 

[starbar]

Yes...get a cob

 

[Shantara]

Oof Annielusian, Viking is abs GORGEOUS, how come I've not seen him yet?!

He is, isn't he? He's got SUCH a pretty face! He went a bit ugly when an old skull fracture flared up again (looked like a baby unicorn) but he got an op and is now back to his beautiful self
I should show off more of the horses at the yard! They're all wonderful in their own way, Neddy just has a special place in my heart


Another of Viking..this is the first photo I got of him.

I'll stop rambling now

 

[bumblelion]

My tb is my horse of a lifetime! He has his moments (see my thread from this am!) but on the whole I love him to bits!! He's an exracer, flat and NH. Iv owned him now almost 5 years. The early days were tricky, he had his issues, however now we've got such a strong bond! He's the chunkier type and a good doer. I love the fact they're so responsive, intelligent and willing to please.

 

[Warrier_Prince]

My 11 year old 17hh TB gelding is excellent - sturdy and great feet - I don't think you'll have any issues - its like any horse, you'll just need to get to know it.

 

[Welshie Squisher]

I've met a few TB's in the past 5 years, some ex racers and some not.
I've yet to meet a mad one, in fact I've met far nuttier cobs!
There is a filly at my yard, an ex racer and she's the lovliest girl, so nice I'd have her in a flash, yet TB's aren't my thing.

I do wonder where all these mad TB's are, they sure aren't round my way