Pictures Introducing - Captain Grant!

Its no wonder hes gorgeous, his dam is stunning . Good luck with him

Yes this is what I thought too. I love horses like this - proper chunky ones with a beautiful head and a lovely shape. I have to admit to much preferring them to all the spindly looking (to my eye) TB crosses that seem to be around now. He has to be one of the most beautiful horses I've seen for ages! Please do let us know how you get on, more pictures very welcome!
 
Phwoar he is gorgeous, I think I'm in love. His dam as well, an absolute beauty. My pupils are dilating and I'm getting the giggles.
 
Thanks, all! I'm honestly and positively overwhelmed by all this lovely response. :) I'll get to visit him on Thursday (he's on full grass livery, so he's in good hands!), but meanwhile I thought you might enjoy seeing Captains' sire. This is Capitano, a Saxon-Thuringian Heavy Warmblood from the Moritzburg State Stud in Germany, and I confess that I didn't exactly know anything about Captains' sire when I understood that I'm looking at my second horse. The dam was inseminated via AI and, if Captain had not been gelded (unfortunately, I could not find quality facilities that would agree on holding a stud....and, by 8mo, he already had realized how...ahem, blessed he is in certain aspects), he'd qualify for the official breeding program of the Latvian breed, as the Saxon-Thuringian breed is accepted as a gene-pool cleanser for Latvians.

Captains' dam, in turn, is a purebred Latvian Heavy/Carriage warmblood, and they're an extremely versatile breed. My big lad also is one. They are maybe not the best for competitive jumping, however, they're extremely intelligent, have good endurance, are often good movers, suitable for dressage, driving, hacking and general hobby riding needs. A characteristic for this breed is also a level head and boldness, so they're great when it comes to sudden surprises and spooks - of course, as long as they trust the person on board, for, as I said - they are EXTREMELY intelligent, and won't bother if they feel that their human is below their league. :D For this, they have been deemed as "stubborn" by some, but it's all about understanding the individual horse.

capitano.jpg

 
Oh my flippin' goodness. Drool all over my keyboard. Shame you had to have Captain gelded, but I look forward to hearing more about him.
 
His dad is grand, but the gene combination between dad and mum has produced something absolutely fabulous. I'm looking forward to future updates.

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Thanks, all! I'm honestly and positively overwhelmed by all this lovely response. :) I'll get to visit him on Thursday (he's on full grass livery, so he's in good hands!), but meanwhile I thought you might enjoy seeing Captains' sire. This is Capitano, a Saxon-Thuringian Heavy Warmblood from the Moritzburg State Stud in Germany, and I confess that I didn't exactly know anything about Captains' sire when I understood that I'm looking at my second horse. The dam was inseminated via AI and, if Captain had not been gelded (unfortunately, I could not find quality facilities that would agree on holding a stud....and, by 8mo, he already had realized how...ahem, blessed he is in certain aspects), he'd qualify for the official breeding program of the Latvian breed, as the Saxon-Thuringian breed is accepted as a gene-pool cleanser for Latvians.

Captains' dam, in turn, is a purebred Latvian Heavy/Carriage warmblood, and they're an extremely versatile breed. My big lad also is one. They are maybe not the best for competitive jumping, however, they're extremely intelligent, have good endurance, are often good movers, suitable for dressage, driving, hacking and general hobby riding needs. A characteristic for this breed is also a level head and boldness, so they're great when it comes to sudden surprises and spooks - of course, as long as they trust the person on board, for, as I said - they are EXTREMELY intelligent, and won't bother if they feel that their human is below their league. :D For this, they have been deemed as "stubborn" by some, but it's all about understanding the individual horse.

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He looks lovely- if he had that fourth white sock he would be perfect! I agree that the combination with the dam has produced something special, though.

The Latvian Warmbloods sound really interesting as a breed- similar to Iberians perhaps? Does anyone import them to the UK? Although I can see why you'd want to keep them all for yourselves!
 
I know for a fact that there ought to be several Latvian Warmbloods in the UK, but I don't know how good they are and how well they are faring. Most of the exported Latvians go to Finland, Sweden and Russia, as far as I know, however, one of ours, Rusty, was even an Olympic horse for the USA team a few decades ago. :) Not too similar to Iberians, however - Latvians have the oomph, but they don't carry the Iberian flair, if you know what I mean.

From Wiki - "(Ulla) Salzgeber rode the same horse to all of her Olympic, World Equestrian Games and European Championship medals. Rusty 47, nicknamed Rusty, was a Latvian warmblood gelding who was named Rotors when he was purchased by Salzgeber from a German show jumping barn.[3][4] The pair came to international attention at the 1997 European Championships, with a sixth place individual finish and a team gold. They repeated team gold at the 1998 World Equestrian Games, while also taking a bronze medal in individual competition. The German team, with Salzgeber, rode to another team gold at the 1999 European Championships, and Salzgeber and Rusty also took individual silver"
 
I love the stallion! As a rider, I'd like to see him under saddle not just in harness as I think he has quality movement, but thats me being selfish. I'm ashamed to say that Rusty is all I know of Latvian warmbloods, I always loved Rusty, so I really should have learnt more about the breed.
 
He is absolutely gorgeous! You've made me realise how much I need to up my groundwork game with my boy though - very impressive, and looks to be the perfect start for a young horse.
 
Thanks a lot! And, meanwhile, this was him the very next day - throwing a proper 2yo tantrum for having to spend 5 minutes ALONE in the arena - the audacity of me! ? Be sure to watch with sound on! I never used any tools to move him, just voice/smooching to prevent him from divi g under/jumping over the fence.
 
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