Can you go from warmbloods and tb's to something quieter?

Gingerwitch

Gingerwitch

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I have always had big horses, always very very quirky, and as we all know we lost the big lad.... i have been set to wondering what to look for next?

I am thinking something quiet, something young and something about 15hh to 16 hh- my friends all say that its totally the wrong thing for me, as i am so used to quirky, high spirited animals that you have to ride - tbh i even get fed up of the tb sometimes as he is "so easy"

what do you guys think
 
A fun horse to ride doesn't necessarily have to be boring. Quirky doesn't always mean absolute looney.

I think a horse that makes you smile when you ride and makes you want to ride them whatever the weather is the right one for you.

Tbh I find that whatever you decide that you want and start looking for then you end up with almost the opposite.

Have fun looking! :)
 
Well I'd always had TBs and I still have one TB mare, but when I lost Rebel last October I didn't want another TB - despite the fact that I had always said I would never have anything other than a TB - but I wanted something totally different. So I got a NF X coloured 2 year old (now 3). She won't be broken in until next year, but even without being broken in, I can really see the temperament difference between her and the TB mare that I have. I'n looking forward to breaking her in and getting her out and about next year. I will never fall out of love with TBs, but maybe I've just got a bit too lacking in confidence now more of them.

Put it like this......if I lost the TB mare - I wouldn't get another TB - I would go and get something different. So yes I think you can go to something different, but it depends on what you want to do - if you want to event/SJ then the blood horses are the ones to have, but for me who wants to do a bit of dressage and hacking out, then I can do that with something else.
 
:D just to say i am so pleased you are thinking forward and are not giving up due to losing your big lad.... i have always said my next horse will be nice and quiet as my current one ,although 21, is still a loony, and my friends have said oh no you will be bored, you always have nutty horses!!! i think it depends on your age i am rather mature now and dont think i could cope with another nutter.....i dont bounce now!!!!!!
 
It is doable. :)
I always liked the fiery and difficult horses in my younger days...forward going and quirky. I worked with horses for years and would get on absolutely anything, including new youngsters straight off the lorry into dealers yards.
My first mare was a TB cross and was as nutty as you could ever imagine. An angel to handle on the ground and hack on the roads, but on grass she would fly leap, buck and bolt given half a chance. She had a good jump, but an even better seriously dirty stop.
Went from her to a full TB and he was as quiet and lazy as a riding school plod.
After him I had a 3 year old ID x TB, but had to sell him due to unforseen circumstances.
I had a break from owning horses for a while, but one day saw this 2 year old cob advertised for £400. I decided to buy him on the basis that if he wasn't my type once I backed him, I'd sell him on. He in fact turned out to be the best one I've ever owned !
He was a 14.2hh Welsh Cob type. A keen and lively ride but always safe. I broke him to ride then drive at 3 1/2, and never looked back. He was fun to ride, went in the heaviest of traffic both ridden and driven. He won or was placed every single time I took him out, whether it was showing, dressage, showjumping or cross country. We even got placed in a mini club one day driving event, and in winter, I used to harness him up and play in the field on a sledge in the snow. I could drive him for 20 - 30 miles in a day and he would still be pulling into his collar at the end. I often hacked him around the fields in just a headcollar, but he was also scopey enough to jump open unaffiliated XC and show jumping. The one time I did dressage to music on him, I could only practise my full test in full twice to get the timing fitted with my music because he "learned" the test himself and was anticipating the next movement. On the day, he heard the music change and knew he was to canter there. He had the audience, judge and myself all in stitches when he leapt into canter with a buck and a squeal. We were 3rd, much to the disgust of my friend with her TB who didn't get placed.
He is still going strong at 17 yo.
I had to downsize to a pony though due to being diagnosed with arthritis of my spine and both SI joints. I bought a New Forest, mainly because the size, width, length of stride and temperament suits me best with regards to my back problem, but also because they are very versatile and can compete (and win) against horses at a fairly high level.
How about something like a NF x TB or Connie x TB ? That would give you the cheeky/quirky pony character with the speed and athleticism of the Thoroughbred. Something around 15.2 - 16hh height wise depending on the mix of pony to TB blood. :)
 
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I wouldn't look at breed per say. I think you can easily find what you want in any breed including TB's and warmbloods. But I'd say you're a bit like me, you want to know that engine is there even if you're not using it most of the time. Best of luck.

Terri
 
30 years ago I was in a similar position. I had owned thorougbreds from my early teens to mid twenties. I wanted something tougher as I was sick of the down time and vets bills. I bought a young cob and can honestly say he scared me to death. The sheer strength and fact that when he wanted to go there wasn't a lot you could do about it. Add to that a temperament which would put most warmbloods to shame and it was a real challenge.

31 years later and I dont regret buying him. He's 36 now and finally showing his age. But he is still the one prancing round the field, snorting, prancing and side stepping because he's not allowed to gallop.

In all those years the one thing I have never been is bored, of course we have aged together :D :D He's got for more go than me now :D
 
I have four horses a Tb a KWPN and a Clydesdale / welsh sectonD and a RID
Yesterday I did one of those ten mile rides with a friend who has a new horses I took my OH's ID he never put a foot wrong looked at people cantering past with no warning ( and some people on these rides seriously lack any horse sense ) with a look of bored calm don't get me wrong he cantered on happily when asked he was Lovely like a big black arm chair could I have that as my only horse never I would be so bored.
The clydie cross is hotter and I do train him ( the ID is my OH's) and he's fun but his reaction times are way slower than I am accustomed to and if he was my only horse I would be bored.
But these horses have so much to recommend them they are total stars in their own way.
But for me at the moment the KKPN and the TB are just so much more fun.
Perhaps I am just not quite old enough yet
 
Broke_But_Happy said:
Get a native x - they can be challenging but in a different way!
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Yes - indeed!! I used to have a TB in my teens, and when I came back to horseownership some years later, I was looking at TBs as I felt they were brilliant to ride - even in walk they felt so lovely. However, tried a couple out and they scared me (I remembered the very very scary fast gallops and being totally out of control and nearly getting killed several times on my insane ex racer). Anyway, eventually started looking at Section Ds and got one. Never looked back!
 
I've always had either WB's or TB x's until may last WB mare reallylost me my confidence as she was way more than just quirky. I wasn't sure what to go for as my next horse til someone suggested Irish Draughts. I'd never thought about having one before as they seemed so boring and ploddy but my boy is nothing like that. He has a tiny touch of TB from way back in his lines and though tall, is nowhere near as chunky as some of the hunter type ID's. He's got quite a bit of cadence in his stride and the most important thing is he's great fun!
 
Just to warn you I have a 16hh 3/4 Conne x 1/4 TB - a chocolate dun - he is xxxxdy hard work - a horse who thinks he's a pony! He has the most amazing character, I love him to bits, he would get in the car to come home and have a kip on the sofa if he could, he loves people so much, but I was warned about Connie's and about Dun's and perhaps I should have listened!

As a horse, he is wonderfully forward going and enthused by life, but he is stubborn, wilful and has a complete refusal to let a rider take complete charge, he always has to have a chat about every stride he takes and is as sharp as they come. On a good day I truly believe he is a very talented all rounder, its just we don't have that many of them! Felt I had to warn you but if you go that route you will laugh a lot, but mainly in utter frustration!

He doesn't understand the word obedient at all, it is underlined evey time we do a dressage test. Not sure if the loony bit is the tB or the native but it is one hell of a combination on a bad day!
 
I have a TBxSection D (aka a Welsh Sports Horse :D), she's amazing fun, all the spark of a TB with common sense of the Section D. She moves beautifully and has an great jump. I would throughly recommend her type to someone who wants a quiter but not dull ride.
 
I went off ponies and onto horses at 18. I've since had two Irish x tbs (fab) and two Irish X WBs (one good, one disaster) but all but one struggled with soundness and all could be a handful in certain situations. By the time I reached my thirties I was feeling a bit worn down already by challenge after challenge, don't have the bottle I used to and I don't think my body will take many more injuries.

I decided to get an arab. I got "why do you want an arab :confused: ?" and "I can't see you with anything other than sports horses", but I don't need a sports horse, I never really did thinking about it. All the things I've done I could have done just as happily on an arab or a section D or something and they probably would have been sound enough to do it more often! Plus an arab is perfect for the different aims I have now.

I know I need forward thinking horses, I don't enjoy riding steadier horses half as much, but sound, easy, willing and not likely to land me in hospital when upset far, far beats having a bigger performance horse for me.
 
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