Do you think mongrel horses are like mongrel dogs?

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Lill

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In that they are less likely to be 'sick or sorry' than the purebreeds?





Or do you think it is down to the individual horse and nothing to do with its breeding?

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Down to the individual horse! I don't think having mixed breeding or unknown breeding, makes a horse less likely to get ill. I do realise that, with dogs, there are lots of problems among some pure-breeds, with hips and eyes, due to inbreeding.
 
I think it depends on the horse. T is a well bred ISH (3.4 TB) and very tough, sound and never been sick or sorry really (touch flippin wood!!!). we've got a cobby type on the yard, know one know much about his background and looks a total misture. He is the most accident prone horse ever, always getting cuts andgrazes etc plus got colic and a virus in the last year, for no apparent reason.
 
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In that they are less likely to be 'sick or sorry' than the purebreeds?


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I certainly hope not - most people have a heinz 57 variety......
 
I think it depends on the horse and the managment of the horse. Obviously if the horse has been badly bred then that could affect them. I've always thought that hardy breeds like natives are less likely to have problems - not sure how true that is though
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If there is a big enough gene pool then pure bred should be just as healthy, esp if used for purposes its confirmation was designed for.

And generally soundness is so critical to horses that a poor outlook in that department would prevent it being used for breeding. So from that perspective I dont think there is as much abuse as there is with dogs where appearance appears to be everything pretty much.

If not then there can be inherited problems. But often with horses these problems are ones which prove fatal at an early age, so those horses dont go on to breed. Sometimes they can cause probs tho eg Fell pony syndrome, and theres not much money to research causes.

Cross breeds can work very well when they are combining two desirable individuals or breeds with good history of successful cross breeding eg IDxTB normally gives something thats a good all rounder more than the parent breeds.

But you can end up with something very odd if you go for esoteric combinations. Ive seen beautiful Suffolk xTB horses but I can imagine if the foal inherited Suffolk head and TB body it might not work so well......:-P

Some breeds characteristics are only maintained by pure breeding eg I have a Haflinger and the genes that cause the chestnut coat and flaxen mane and tail are recessive, so its only by breeding Haffie to Haffie that you can be sure to keep them.
 
Its a very good question, I don't think medically but I do think sometimes they have their advantages mentally and physically, having said that, I'd rather have a part TB than a full and that is medically thinking (re soundness and various other reasons) but then the TB can throw some excellent advantages when mixed into other breeds, so perhaps to some degree it could be similar with dogs and yes I've have found that lots of Heinz 57 type of horses live very healthily compared to a part and full bred horses etc, really interesting post actually.
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I dont think so as dogs are bred for looks. horses are bred for being healthy and sound. thats why the pure bred (mothers are also sisters) dogs have so many things wrong with them. x for ex you dont get horses that have brains that are to big for the skull.
 
Controversial! But I find it interesting that the All Breeds Pedigree website makes it easy to tell at a glance the level of in-breeding on a horse's pedigree. They do this by marking an ancestor with a colour if it appears more than once. So I take that as indicaing the fewer colour markers the better. Some charts, especially Arabian, look like a patchwork quilt
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But on the other hand you could argue that breeding pure breeds is more high end and particular attention will be given to choosing conformation quality in the parents. Whereas Heinz 57 varieties will often be the result of haphazard or even accidental breeding.
 
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you dont get horses that have brains that are to big for the skull.

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No, thats never been a problem with my horse. Her little pea-brain rattles around very happily inside her huge skull....

An increasing number of horses ARE bred purely for looks thoguh - think of the market for coloureds. You see some really manky looking horses around, with very average conformation and minimal competition / show records, that have ridiculous price tags jsut because they are coloured. Arabs are also starting to look very extreme, especially at the showing end, although again, normal Arabs still look nice and not like scary sea horses.
 
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you dont get horses that have brains that are to big for the skull.

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No, thats never been a problem with my horse. Her little pea-brain rattles around very happily inside her huge skull....

An increasing number of horses ARE bred purely for looks thoguh - think of the market for coloureds. You see some really manky looking horses around, with very average conformation and minimal competition / show records, that have ridiculous price tags jsut because they are coloured. Arabs are also starting to look very extreme, especially at the showing end, although again, normal Arabs still look nice and not like scary sea horses.

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i do see your point. but i would not go as far as comparing horses and dogs. as 2 diff.
 
I mean like, mongrel cross breed dogs tend to have less wrong with them and live for longer - generally, than the purebreeds. Can the same be said for 'mongrel' horses?

I didn't intend for the post to go straight to brains to big for heads!!
 
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I mean like, mongrel cross breed dogs tend to have less wrong with them and live for longer - generally, than the purebreeds. Can the same be said for 'mongrel' horses?

I didn't intend for the post to go straight to brains to big for heads!!

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sorry dont understand that last 1.
 
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normal Arabs still look nice and not like scary sea horses.

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ROFL I just about choked on my coffee when I read that! I have never considered quite how closley certain types of Arabs do resemble sea horses! I'm not going to be able to look at my friends Arab in the same way anymore
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gladly my Arab has very little dish in her face and she doesn't have much of a shield either...yes we would get laughed out the show ring but she has amazing bloodline's from horse's that actually proved themselves to be able to do more than snort and prance!

I think cross breeding of horse's can improve conformation and versatility (I wouldn't want to take a pure bred Arab round a grade A track but I'd take an Arab x ID anyday!) but I don't think pure breeding (if done carefully) would produce any weaker an animal.
 
I think there's a huge difference in that horses are still often bred for purpose whereas dogs are increasingly less used as working animals and bred for purposes of fashion instead.

My Welsh Cob is a pure bred and one of the hardiest horses I know - aside from being kicked by another horse, which can hardly be avoided, she has not a days illness or lameness in her life. She has been bred from generation after generation of horses who proved themselves to be hardy, able to subsist on poor pasture and to trot out all day doing anything from draught work to hunting with a big fat farmer on top. I prefer to think of such horses as the 'cream of the crop' rather than inbred weaklings!

It goes without saying that poor breeding practices negate this, unfortunately. This is where crossbreds come into their own, as they help bring together the best characteristics of different breeds into one animal.
 
I agree with Blackcob. All of my purebred QHs are bred for a job; they are bred to work. I've had most of mine for years now and none of them have ever been sickly or poorly. The horses I buy do not have close interbreeding and I think it is this which can cause problems hence I steer well clear of this.

The crossbreds I own are also healthy though, so not sure whether it is much to do with pedigreed animals versus Heinz57s, more to do with their lifestyle I'd imagine. My lot have a pretty easy time with life.
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