Breeding for hunter?

Shnoonie

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I am interested in breeding a hunter type from a very leggy mostly TB proven Eventing mare... does anyone have any stallion suggestions to breed in some bone while keeping the 'class' factor?
 

Maesfen

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Irish Draught all the way! Can recommend two cracking stallions, one does AI, one is normally natural although they can do AI if you don't want to travel your mare.
The first (AI) is Avanti Amorous Archie based on the Essex border, Rita Jennings, his owner comes on here http://www.avantistud.com/
The other is Maurice Minor (ID) by Colman (RID) who is near Stafford at the Embla Stud. He's produced numerous Grade As, advanced dressage horses and eventers let alone many county show hunters/workers and proper hunters. I've had three by him out of different TB mares and they are all very classy with good bone and lovely temperaments; the eldest has won championships in hunter and worker classes and is now hunting with his elderly owner over a big country.
This is Maurice a few years ago
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This is last year's foal out of a 3/4 mare -
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elijahasgal

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Why not have a look at the welton horses?
Or an eventing Warmblood
Or yes a good solid IDx can be super
Or cross to a generally good sports horse
Primitave star, at Louella, IDx, so you would be 3/4 TB should work well as well
 

Clodagh

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Has to be an ID. I just don't like warmbloods for hunting, they are lovely trotting around an arena but IMO don't have the temperament or brains to think outside the box and self preserve like you want on the hunting field. There my prejudice is showing!
Embla horses are lovely I've never met one yet with a bad temperament, didn't an Embla stallion hunt hounds in Hampshire for years? Archie looks gorgeous too. And both not grey - for a hunter, what more could you ask!

ETA but if you want to hunt in Leicestershire might a half bred not have enough blood? I hunt in Essex so it hasn't been a problem.
 
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AdorableAlice

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Has to be an ID. I just don't like warmbloods for hunting, they are lovely trotting around an arena but IMO don't have the temperament or brains to think outside the box and self preserve like you want on the hunting field. There my prejudice is showing!
Embla horses are lovely I've never met one yet with a bad temperament, didn't an Embla stallion hunt hounds in Hampshire for years? Archie looks gorgeous too. And both not grey - for a hunter, what more could you ask!

ETA but if you want to hunt in Leicestershire might a half bred not have enough blood? I hunt in Essex so it hasn't been a problem.

Yes, Embla George hunted hounds and if you search the yearbooks on the Irish Draught GB site there is a fabulous picture of him on the front cover. I had a George Colt out of Embla Daisy (Colman) who was a star in the HW show ring and would have made an awesome hunter had he not been lost too early. I met Maurice as a young horse and was very taken with him both conformation and temperament.

Here is my Amorous Archie filly foal. Fab temperament and has remained correct in conformation, rising 2 now.
Alice019.jpg


I have a very old fashioned view on breeding hunters and would only consider Irish Draught or TB crosses dependant on the weight type required. If you stand ringside at county level there are very few if any, warmbloods at the top of the line. Plus when it comes to the hunting field it is the warmbloods that are wimping it out at the back, trotting along the lanes and having a fit of the vapours at the prospect of getting their feet wet.

Obviously there will be exceptions and it is just my thoughts, I have to ride a horse that I can put both hands in his mane and say "over to you mate" so it is Irish for me without a doubt.
 

CBFan

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How about a Cleveland Bay? Very similar to the ID and they make a brilliant cross with the TB. Great all round, hard working fun horses to own...

This is my Purebred who is built more like a partbred (quite light) to give you an idea of what you could get. He is only 5 so still has a fair bit of filling out to do... The more traditional types are much chunkier...

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ets... heres a link to a photo of a hunt field full of CB's... ;)

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=543441
 
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CBFan

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Yes, I think I will try him as a mediumweight... He's certainly not a lightweight but I'm not sure he's got enough bone to be a heavyweight... TBH I'm not that experienced in the whole showing thing so we're kinda working it out as we go along ;) He's a big lad though at aboutt 17.2hh at present...
 

AdorableAlice

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The judges will always tell you if they think you are in the wrong weight division.

Good luck, remember to school him to allow anyone to ride him. Some ride judges are better than others.
 

CBFan

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The judges will always tell you if they think you are in the wrong weight division.

Good luck, remember to school him to allow anyone to ride him. Some ride judges are better than others.

Ahh Thank you! Yes, He is getting quite used to a variety of people riding him - both male and female and most are better riders than myself. If he can cope with me, he can cope with anyone ;)
 

cptrayes

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I have warmbloods and I hunt :D .........

But I don't hunt the warmbloods if I can help it, it's Irish all the way for me too, though I do love a bit of Shire in the mix :D
 

hippomaniac

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We hunt our warmblood Stallion, he will go all day, and very clever in difficult country and has the power to jump out of a small space, infact my daughter calls him her quad-bike.
 

Toast

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Archie all the way!! He's on my list of stallions to use when I have my herd of impeccable broodies on my big yard with miles and miles of land...............I can dream can't I? *sigh*
 

leflynn

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Yes, I think I will try him as a mediumweight... He's certainly not a lightweight but I'm not sure he's got enough bone to be a heavyweight... TBH I'm not that experienced in the whole showing thing so we're kinda working it out as we go along ;) He's a big lad though at aboutt 17.2hh at present...

He is lovely! Rare too, my stable neighbour is a clevand bay, the chunky type and now retired at 27, such a chararcter with it too :)
 

Rollin

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I am another to say send your mare to a CB stallion. In the days of the HIS CB yearlings fetched top prices.

CB fans in the USA organise an annual hunt in Virginia with all mounted on pure and part bred Cleveland Bays. I have posted the photo on the hunting forum.

The Cleveland will give you bone, terrific stamina (two CB mares in the UK have competed in endurance to 100km with times as good as Arabians. Winning horse on a Florida long distance trail ride last year was CBxTB).

During the 18th Century a CBxTB was placed in the first three of the Grand National, three times. The year he was second, his jockey (an amateur) was unseated and he was remounted.

Very powerful hindquarters enable them to jump out of deep ground ... ask Harvey Smith about the Cleveland Bay one of his Olympic showjumpers was a TBxCB. Madison Time
 

Lilyhead

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I am another to say send your mare to a CB stallion. In the days of the HIS CB yearlings fetched top prices.

CB fans in the USA organise an annual hunt in Virginia with all mounted on pure and part bred Cleveland Bays. I have posted the photo on the hunting forum.

The Cleveland will give you bone, terrific stamina (two CB mares in the UK have competed in endurance to 100km with times as good as Arabians. Winning horse on a Florida long distance trail ride last year was CBxTB).

During the 18th Century a CBxTB was placed in the first three of the Grand National, three times. The year he was second, his jockey (an amateur) was unseated and he was remounted.

Very powerful hindquarters enable them to jump out of deep ground ... ask Harvey Smith about the Cleveland Bay one of his Olympic showjumpers was a TBxCB. Madison Time

And another vote for a CB!

I've got a CB x TB - perfect weightwise in my opinion, honest as they come and very brave - he'd jump anything I asked him to and do it with a smile! He is a strong willed character but I wouldn't change him for the world.

He's successfully competed as a MW Hunter on the County circuit over the years with some odd working hunter classes thrown in as well!
 

Clodagh

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I have warmbloods and I hunt :D .........

But I don't hunt the warmbloods if I can help it, it's Irish all the way for me too, though I do love a bit of Shire in the mix :D

But to be awkward I think you drag hunt, which is going over a prepared run, surely, so no unexpected encounters with bogs or horrible trappy places!? Sorry, couldn't help that, and you endorsed Irish anyway!!
 

JanetGeorge

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Archie all the way!! He's on my list of stallions to use when I have my herd of impeccable broodies on my big yard with miles and miles of land...............I can dream can't I? *sigh*

He's a cracking stallion - I know because I have a lot of Archie babies - the oldest are 4 and we've jut backed the first one - she is to DIE for, temperament, conformation, movement, and bone! And he stamps his stock consistently and very well indeed!
 

cptrayes

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But to be awkward I think you drag hunt, which is going over a prepared run, surely, so no unexpected encounters with bogs or horrible trappy places!? Sorry, couldn't help that, and you endorsed Irish anyway!!

Plenty of surprises for the horse with my drag pack. Do you think we just go out for a hack? The horse doesn't walk the lines and neither do I!
 

Clodagh

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Fair enough, but presumably the trail is laid from a quad or horse so it has to be somewhere they can easily get to? Bearing in mind I haven't hunted much since the ban, in my day foxes went where they chose.
Anyway...that is a bit off topic...sorry x
 

cptrayes

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Fair enough, but presumably the trail is laid from a quad or horse so it has to be somewhere they can easily get to? Bearing in mind I haven't hunted much since the ban, in my day foxes went where they chose.
Anyway...that is a bit off topic...sorry x

With one it is laid by a man, with the other by horse. So it is as difficult as anywhere that a man or a horse can get to. It is deliberately laid to give the followers a varied, challenging and fun experience. We cross rivers, go through woodland, bogs, jumpable and non-jumpable ditches/gullies. I have read that drags cover a much larger area than fox packs, so the likelihood of a seasoned hunter coming across something neither you or the horse have ever seen before would be greater with a drag pack than a fox pack.

To get back to the topic though, I still don't think you can beat an ID/TB/Shire to do it on. Mine is a fab boy! I'm sure that there are good hunting warmbloods, but my experience of them is that the proportion of them that will make good hunters is far lower than the proportion of IDx's that will make good hunters.

The CB's above are fantastic though, aren't they?
 

Clodagh

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The CBs are stunning, my husbands first wife hunted a CB x tb, he was a superb horse across any country.
A friend hunts a clyde x tb who is very hot but brave as a lion.
 

jdrewery

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Have a look at Skip and Sea. class 1 irish draught. very tough and lots of stamina so his foals will hunt all day long and are very tough! also might event as his sire and dam sire have both produced 4* event horses
 
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