Being 'breedist'

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ClaireP

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I am currently looking for a horse, and I have had so many conflicting opinions on specific breeds. TB's are this, WB's are that etc.

Has anyone owned a horse that has been the complete opposite of the breed stereotype? Or a horse that has been the exact stereotype of the breed?
 
I will be riding a 6yo ex racer.
He is the complete oppsite of a tb stereotype, very chilled out, good feet, a good doer, etc
Infact the ex racer and my 5yo tb cross are used to baby sit the older cobs out on hacks.
I don't believe in breed sterotypes ;)
 
Thanks monkeybum.

As this will be my first horse and I am a novice rider (although not complete beginner) I have found myself dismissing horses entirely on their breed, which seems quite unfair. But never having owned a horse before, perhaps its reasonable to dismiss a breed..........oh i don't know! lol
 
You need to go into your horse search with an open mind on breeds.

Everyone has their own opinions on specific breeds, some will be positive and others will be negative. Don't let this put you off!

My cob is really forward going and far from a plod. My shetland pony can be a little terror but 80% of the time he's brilliant.

Good luck in your search :)
 
All horses are individuals no matter what breed they are.I can only give examples of what we have bred I suppose and the feedback their new owners have given us.I will take as examples the only 2 4yr olds we have this year.
We have a 4yr old By Vdl Douglas who are supposed to be quite hot and stubborn and his new rider has had 4 double clears in 4 shows and he said he is great.His breeding is KWPN x Kwpn.
Another 4 yr old is currently in his first few months of training for BYEH.He is KWPN x Tb which if you listened to some people would be a recipe for disaster.His owner said he has not put a foot wrong.No plunging,bucking etc.Has taken it all in his stride.He is an ISH although his breeding says otherwise so I definately think it is up to the individual horse and not necessarily his breeding although you may hear differently.:)
 
Herbie is a forest bred.


The New Forest Pony is considered to have a gentle temperament, and the ponies are noted for their intelligence, strength and versatility. They are noted for friendliness, intelligence, strength, versatility and are nearly always willing-to-please. New Foresters are amongst the most approachable of all the native British pony breeds, perhaps because of their history of frequent contact with man.

Urm someone better tell Herbie all this. He is a little sod. He will bite and kick you as soon as look at you (so not that friendly) and i love the bit where it says they are nearly always willing to please LOL Herbie is never willing to please. He will do anything to get out of work. He'll leap, rear or buck. I also read somewhere that foresters make excellent childrens ponies. ( maybe if you hated the child you'd let it near Herbie)
I guess what i'm trying to say is there are exceptions to every breed some are good and some are bad. If you like the look of a horse go and have a look and see what it's like.
Good luck with your search.
 
Exactly, all horses are individuals, I once had a 4 year old tb mare (northern dancer lines) come into my hands for schooling, she was soooo laid back she was pretty much horizontal!! A friend of a friend mentioned they were looking for a horse for their sister who had had an accident and needed something to gain her confidence back. I told them to come and have a look at this mare, they almost refused to even come and see her because of her age and breed! But I insisted that I was not gaining anything from the sale, and would never lie or knowingly mismatch a horse to rider. They did in the end come and see her, after having several tries, they agreed to buy her. After a few months I heard that not only had her sister gotten her confidence back but they were going out on the hunt field together too!!

What I will say is ensure you have someone with you know knows what sort of horse is going to be best for you. In the above circumstances there was myself, my friend, the sister and the person who the horse was for, all of whom knew horses and were able to look at it from different angles/perspectives!!
 
I agree that horses are individuals, however since you do not have the time to meet them all in person, narrowing it down a bit by breed may in some circumstances be efficient :-)

It depends on what you wish to use the horse for and how old it is. If you are looking for a potential GP dressage horse, chances are you would be wasting your time if you went to see certain breeds. However, if you are looking for a horse that is already proven at whatever job/level you wish it to do, its record speaks for itself.

Some people want specific characteristics, "type" or even colouring, which may be more prevalent in certain breeds... Or they may wish to avoid a certain characteristic. Or they may be looking for a certain bloodline for their breeding programme...

If you are looking for a nice allrounder/general riding horse and don't intend to compete at a high level in any particular discipline, I don't see why the breed would matter.
 
My tbs are pretty good - the older one is still a bit on his nerves but he will do things like walk past a jcb in full work mode and then **** himself at a crisp packet on the floor :) He also doesn't fizz up( is on 3kg of comp mix and 2kg of barley a day and I still have to ride with spurs and a schooling whip :) ) and is a bit of a plod if given half the chance :) My 3 year old ex racer also seems to be a bit of anovelty (to me anyway) as he only has 2 shoes (shock horror!) and is sooooo chilled out . My fave horse of all time is a highland(3/4) x tb(1/4) who is an absolute nut job :) love her to bits - I take her out as a ride leader and she squeals like a pig the whole way up our canter paths and just generally bulldozes everything out of her way at high speed :)
 
All I'm looking for is a general riding horse.

Something I can continue to learn on, and that won't get too confused if I give slightly the wrong aid.

I'm not fussed on age (although would like something confident so probs 10+), colour or sex.

All I need is something 16hh+ as I'm 6ft!
 
LauraWheeler said:
Herbie is a forest bred.


The New Forest Pony is considered to have a gentle temperament, and the ponies are noted for their intelligence, strength and versatility. They are noted for friendliness, intelligence, strength, versatility and are nearly always willing-to-please. New Foresters are amongst the most approachable of all the native British pony breeds, perhaps because of their history of frequent contact with man.

Urm someone better tell Herbie all this. He is a little sod. He will bite and kick you as soon as look at you (so not that friendly) and i love the bit where it says they are nearly always willing to please LOL Herbie is never willing to please. He will do anything to get out of work. He'll leap, rear or buck. I also read somewhere that foresters make excellent childrens ponies. ( maybe if you hated the child you'd let it near Herbie)
I guess what i'm trying to say is there are exceptions to every breed some are good and some are bad. If you like the look of a horse go and have a look and see what it's like.
Good luck with your search.
Click to expand...

PMSL.

We have two NF's and next to us are another two. They have four completely different personalities and although they all show some of the NF traits, they are all different.

If I were looking for my ideal horse, as a relative beginner, I would look at height, capability, colour, gender and pretty much last would come breed.

All of that said, I would love to own a chestnut Arab gelding, although I'd settle for a TB (sometimes you just have to rough it) :D
 
Thanks for your help guys!

I'm off to see a TB on Thursday which will be the 2nd horse I'm viewing. (The first was just completely the wrong match and threw me off twice!!! lol) This TB is supposed to be very laid back and calm, so will just have to keep my fingers crossed!
 
No more than £3k. The cheaper the better though!!!

I don't want a superstar, just something that will give me confidence and that I can have fun with.

Also, within an hours drive of Bath:)
 
my TB is a 'typical' TB.... :eek: but he did race for 5 years so i think that has something to do with it. i'm personally not a big fan of pure 'warmbloods' (i'm thinking dutch etc here...am aware that 'warmblood' is a mass generalisation) as i've known quite a few who were nappy and backwards thinking (but certainly not stupid which is what a lot of people say about WBs)...i know there are loads of WBs that aren't like this but the minority have spoilt it for me :rolleyes:
so i guess yes i am 'breedist'...i wouldn't ever ring up about a pure WB for example...but i like mishmashed breeds with quite a bit of TB and some pony thrown in for good measure....:rolleyes:
good luck in your search :)
 
Agree with everyone else.Down to the individual horse not the breed.Had a Highland.Ploddy safe and sensible right?? No actually.Sharp reactive and spooky.I had many years ago a near TB who was genuinely anyones ride and have a Welsh Cob (sharp,spooky bolshy, mad etc????) No actually a total sweetheart.
 
When I was younger and dad talked about buying me a horse, we were agreed on not getting a TB.

We ended up with Dylan, who is a TBX and as mad as a box of frogs, doesn't look particularly TBish, but it's definitely all there in his head!
 
Thanks for the links guys.

I'm off to see a 7yr old TB tomorrow who is supposed to be really quiet, laid back and well schooled. If that doesn't go well I'll give one of the links a call!!
 
Like I always say, never judge on breed.

I was one told the shire side in my boy (shire x tb) will be nutty and I'll have to watch out for him........yeah right lol
 
quietest horse I ever owned was a TB who didn't make it in a national hunt yard. Ended up being sold to a very novice friend for hacking and basic RC stuff and they were brilliant together. Most firey horse I ever had was a ISH! However I think she was a one off as I have stuck to similiar breeding lines and ISH's ever since..!
 
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