Are T'breds really as bad as their rep?

Merry Crisis said:
Your post suggests that you have no idea. No I dont think that they would be for you, frankly.
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not nice!

I own a TB x Welsh my TB got PTS in May and I now own a TB/ID. My TB was the most relaxed on our entire yard. Handled correctly, TB's are just brilliant to own. They are like most other breeds good one's and bad one's so choose carefully!
 
I haven't ever had anything else since I went on to horses, BH is my first half bred but I have Nits to keep the full TB quota up!

Mine have been nice quiet people (which I hope is down at least in part to me as I've had them all from very young) although Nitty is a terrorist when it comes to injuring herself. She is constantly in a scrape and costs a fortune to keep in vet's bills. The one I had before uni had a lot of foot problems but I was no way as savvy as I am now about foot health in those days and I could, in hindsight, have managed him a lot better.

I've worked with flat horses too. They were obviously a mix of characters, just like you'd expect. But on the whole, no, I don't think they're any nuttier and he ones I've known have held weight better than BH does.
 
Kgjj66 my one (the first chestnut one) did look very weedy when I got him and he was 4. He just needed lots of little and often work to build him up with slow hacks up hills that sort of thing.

None of ours have ever really been fizzy, the grey was probably the most 'twitchy' of them all. Then again I think once they get a one to one (they thrive with one to one), decent fibre feed, routine, teeth done ect, regular work their temprements level out.

What I would say is that there are 100's of TB's out there so choose a nice one!! Pick one that isn't too downhill and one that moves athletically pushing from behind. Lots of them can be downhill, herring gutted daisy cutters and these are the ones to avoid. Equally there are lots of really sporty, well put together, athletic classy ones. Choose a good one and go for one with a laid back temperament as it's easier to soup a TB up then calm one down.

Also don't get one with flat feet, crumbly feet. All ours have had nice feet as well which helps :).
 
cuppatea said:
lunatics, the lot of them.
Dont touch em with a bargepole.
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so untrue. mines is as laid back as you could get. and ex racers come with lots of positives! they load well and are used to travelling, broken early so no issues there and are very well handled!

theres a cob at my yard whos a loony, barges, nips, bolts.

its the horse not the breed and unless youve owned a tb its not fair at all to make a snap judgement like that! :mad:
 
I have two, one is an ex racer and she can be hard to keep weight on in winter, she has the nice skinny legs lol. My gelding was nh and is big and chunkyish.. I love the intelligence of the breed.. Would never have any other breed!

Btw, firewall- the chestnut in your first pic u posted is absolutely stunning!
 
weesophz said:
so untrue. mines is as laid back as you could get. and ex racers come with lots of positives! they load well and are used to travelling, broken early so no issues there and are very well handled!

theres a cob at my yard whos a loony, barges, nips, bolts.

its the horse not the breed and unless youve owned a tb its not fair at all to make a snap judgement like that! :mad:
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umm, I think she was joking. Cuppatea has about, at last count, 2 millions TBs at hers! She is go to person for TB breeding questions too. I get the impression she might quite like them!
 
It's definitely rewarding! I got my boy given to me, got a bit of a sad history, had a few lameness issues too! You wouldn't know it now.. He's full of life and is the best horse I've ever had!
 
I haven't read the whole thread so apologies if this doesn't follow.

OP, a couple of years ago I moved to a new area and was looking for a horse to ride. I found a man with some point to pointers who needed help exercising them. Now previously I'd ridden for friends, at riding schools and for a friend of mine who showed and bought and sold - so a wide-ish range. I knew I preferred cobby types, ISHs and natives. But the opportunity to ride these pointers came up and I decided to give it a go. I rode a range of different tbs from a lightweight ex racer who was a bundle of nerves, dropped weight, couldn't stand still but would canter at the back and pull up beautifully (still fell off her twice hunting), I rode 3 yo just backed chaser-types and everything in between (including a hilarious 14.3hh tb who fell off the back of a lorry from Ireland!). They were all really different in terms of shape, feet, feeding etc. Now I am a wimp, I'm not the best rider but I had great fun, I mainly hacked them and galloped them on the flat, I never schooled them over fences (I would have just fallen off!). As someone who always said I'd never get on with senstive LW horses I really liked them, my favourite mare was only 3-4 yo and a proper tank like chaser build - they learn fast and they feel magic to ride. I have my fell now and I love him to bits but if I won the lottery tomorrow I'd go and make a silly offer on that mare! I don't think you can really beat a really good tb! :)
 
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Mine's sharp and sensitive but safe as houses :D not to mention he's blurry stunning, he's the sort of horse I used to watch going round Badminton as a kid! :D

Although he was a hat rack out of racing once he'd put the weight on I've had no problems maintaining it on minimal hard feed and ad-lib forage (costs me about £5-10 a month in hard feed).

His feet are fine and he was barefoot for two years and has just had front shoes put back on.

I do wish he was a little more laid back travelling as we never really go anywhere but actually when we do go out he's fine and it's probably more my issue than his and to be honest he does well coping with me as a bag of nerves!

ETA: He also doesn't get silly or het up in open spaces or on grass, he can be interesting to stop from gallop but won't gallop unless asked and always stops at the end of the field, cantering he pulls up on voice commands.
 
kgj66 said:
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 !
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In general, they do need more food, pound for pound, than a crossbred.

They aren't more likely to hurt themselves as such, but if the thin leg ones nick themselves they blow up like their leg is going to fall off. This is just normal :)

There is research that thin legs are extremely dense bone and therefore as strong as thicker legs. Since most top eventers are still TBs I believe this.

The speed and acceleration of a good one is exhilarating!
 
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weesophz said:
so untrue. mines is as laid back as you could get. and ex racers come with lots of positives! they load well and are used to travelling, broken early so no issues there and are very well handled!

theres a cob at my yard whos a loony, barges, nips, bolts.

its the horse not the breed and unless youve owned a tb its not fair at all to make a snap judgement like that! :mad:
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ooh, we have a bite!! :D:D:D

jesstinsel said:
umm, I think she was joking. Cuppatea has about, at last count, 2 millions TBs at hers! She is go to person for TB breeding questions too. I get the impression she might quite like them!
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Would just like to agree with the majority of posters on here and say that TBs are great. Mine actually flat raced in Hong Kong and hurdled here, far better travelled than me! He doesn't need much hard feed at all - he's on a handful of alpha a and a cup of spillers hi fibre cubes + pink powder twice a day with adlib hay and haylage. And dare I say, not accident prone either. Go for it!!!!
 
I rode numerous TB's when I was learning to ride - all ex racers. They were all fantastic, although did struggle to keep weight on in winter from what I recall. My horse is a warmblood/hunter type and she is much more sharp than any of the TB's I have come across. Having said that, I think it's very much an individual thing, rather than breed specific, same with cobs I suppose!
 
Blooming dreadful! Wouldn't touch one with a barge-pole...






oops! :D
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Seriously though my TB is so laid back she is horizontal! Went 12 weeks between shoeing when she had fronts on, now unshod. And doesn't cost me a fortune in feed either.
 
Loads of info guys thanks so much. I'm going to try her tomorrow for a final time but am pretty sure I'm going to make an offer! *excited!*
 
PapaFrita said:
I'm afraid that I sort of agree with Merry Crisis. If you were as experienced as you say you are, you wouldn't be asking that question.
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^^ this

if you can get along with them, they are the most wonderful horses you could wish for, who'll throw their hearts into anything you ask of them (no matter how unreasonable they feel it) , BUT you have to know how to ask them
 
No, they are amazing! I just love mine. He is the first horse that I have owned since I was 16 ( a few years ago). He has a blog on http://www.wonder-horse.co.uk and is just the most handsome little beast. Yes, he has tiny feet, and he does look like a puff of wind can blow him over. He gets fed 3 times a day in the winter to keep the weight on.
He jumps, can play polo and hacks out beautifully. He's not the bravest little button in the box, but he is fab! I agree with the sugar comment, I once tried him on apple cider vinegar and he turned into a complete beast, I might as well have given him 10 pints of Stella! Never again. :D
 
I bought one in August it's 20 years since I had a TB.
They come in all shapes and sizes mine is 16.3 and people keep thinking he is a warm blood ( perhaps because they are used to me with warmbloods) I was prepared for a bigger feed bill but in fact he's the same as the others eats add lib haylage and a balancer works six days a week the last one I had did have hollow legs you just feed and feed it.
It's really the same as any horse it needs to have a good nature the only thing with them I would say if it has bad feet leave it look for another.
 
I don't think that buying a YOUNG Tb is something someone inexperienced should do, but if it's a schoolmaster and it's been trained, taken to shows and is use to what you plan on using it for. Go for it :). They are wonderfully athletic and can make the most amazing all rounders. But then again, I guess it's a rule of thumb that inexperienced riders shouldn't have young/green/unschooled horses - it makes life harder for all.

All the "horrible" TBs I've ever met seem to be slightly misunderstood. However, I will say that TBs need to be worked often (like all sporthorses), they need to eat the correct diet (as they can just as easily become obese and pick up laminitis from this as they can become boney and malnourished), they need calm and knowledgable owners that are willing to be patient (they dont learn like WBs do) but in the end the right amount of persistance will pay off :).

Here's a picture of my riding instructor and her old TB (though he passed away awhile ago). This was taken in 1998 and he is doing Intermediate I :). His name was Armagnac and he was truly an amazing example of what TBs can be like

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With every breed there are good and bad.

I knew an ex racer name Otto. He was lovely! He was part of my old RS. Anyones ride. Would happily plod along with a complete beginner on his back or step it up for the more experienced rider. There were far more nutty Horses there then him! They did stuggle to keep weight on him though. He was PTS 2 years ago :(

My Horse is part TB. She is also very laid back, willing and eager to learn. Although seems to be a bit like Jesstinsels Horse Nitty, and constantly injure herself! :rolleyes: I've put a 1 and half YO on her before and she didn't bat an eyelid. Safe as houses!
 
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