Is the average warmblood sluggish?

B

bluewhippet

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 February 2011
Messages
536
Visit site
Not insulting anyone. Genuine question after reading the post where an owner is longing for a tb.

I have an Arab who is just speedy and hot - and is kept out and not fed hard feed. I just sort of take that for granted.

I have never ridden a Warmblood as far as I know - do they have a definite type of personality?
 
i only really know two and one is very hot headed, bolshy and just quite a madam while the other is very pleasent but can throw a fit, they are both very strong
i do know warmbloods are not sluggish at all they are generally used for showjumping and dressage with a lot now mixing into eventing, they are truly a wonderful breed but fom what i understand they can be hot headed and aren't as 'wise' as other breeds, the bolshy madam was really quite stupid sometimes but i do think that was just her she was quite unique and i don't believe she can represent all 'warmbloods'
 
It totally depends on the bloodlines. There are many WB registries and some are similar and have bloodlines intertwined and some are almost closed books on registration. Some allow TB blood, some only allow a limited amount of TB blood, some no more TB blood is allowed at present. All these factors have a play in what type of WB you have, and whether it will be quieter or hotter.
 
My warmblood is certainly not sluggish, quite the opposite. Talented SJ and dressage but is spooky and sharp. Fantastic temperament with people and other horses but she always has lots of opinions when schooling.

Most of the time we have a fantastic horse but we live with the quirky side, wouldn't have her any other way. You may have guessed I love my WB. :D
 
A lot of people say they are a bit erm, slow, lacking in brains? Pretty sure I've seen the phrase 'dumblood' used on here which I assume refers to the same thing, I don't know how this can be true since the majority of top comp horses are warmbloods but there we go!

I can only remember one really that I rode for a while, definitely not slow that one and not for the faint hearted (ah, teenage vigour...).
 
My Belgian Warmblood is anything but stupid however he likes to conserve his energy is a bit backward thinking (spooky) and can be hard work. He is an absolute sweetie on the ground and 90% of the time you are riding him. However overheat his brain and then he changes personality and turns into a complete tit - probably what people would say is WB quirkiness.
 
I have two warmblood a both very clever one is very highly strung and forward going to the point of being buzzy! My other warmblood is a bit more sensible but is plenty forward going enough! Wouldn't have any other breed if I'm honest.
 
I have an Arab he can be hot but on the whole in general his a calm horse most of the time, I also have a Warmblood (Oldenburg) she is much hotter and can be quite a stress head for schooling not for a novice and can be a bit of a strop,yet hacking she is totally different like she switches off, she is the easiest horse to handle on the ground and is the sweetest mare in the stable you can do anything with her.
 
Thanks for all your answers.

That is what confused me: they are top performance horses so I wouldn't have thought as a breed, they would have to be coaxed too much.
 
Warmblood is a bit misleading as it's not a breed as such but a mixture. There is a lot of crossing between different stud books so you could have a KPWN who has SF on one side and German horses on the other. Some may well have alot of tb in them, others less so they will vary widely in build, type and temperament.

I don't think they are necessary more sluggish and certainly no less sharp than your average tb but the influence of heavier breeds has an influence. I find the same thing seems to happen quicker with my tb than the warmblood. My tb will have seen something, spooked, decided it's nothing and carried on as normal in the time my warmblood is still deciding whether to react. Then he'll spook.
 
I don't think they are sluggish at all. They couldn't be top competition horses if they were. Mine are definitely not stupid.
 
You could call a ID x TB a warmblood... but it doesn't have a registry as such so officially it's just a "sports horse" or unofficially a bloody good hunter, eventer, dressage etc etc...

I'm a fan, can you tell?
 
My current Oldenburg is defo a bit slow, quite lazy at times too , but makes a nice change to my last KWPN mate who constantly had a rocket up her bum.
 
My warmblood needs to be encouraged to think forward and is then amazing, his sire was apparently the same. He is also not the brightest button in the box but he learns, it just takes longer, but it does mean that he is very trainable and he wants to learn (once it has gone in it is there for good). He is not as nice to handle on the ground but that is more likely due to his anxiety, and his witch of a mother, rather than anything else.
 
Spring Feather said:
It totally depends on the bloodlines. There are many WB registries and some are similar and have bloodlines intertwined and some are almost closed books on registration. Some allow TB blood, some only allow a limited amount of TB blood, some no more TB blood is allowed at present. All these factors have a play in what type of WB you have, and whether it will be quieter or hotter.
Click to expand...

agreed.

ive owned some that are built like irish draughts, and some that you would assume are a TB.

most ive had are lazy, brainy, loving, very talented..... but I also know ones you would expect to be a cob and others that are nuts. typical horses I guess
 
HBM1 said:
I don't think they are sluggish at all. They couldn't be top competition horses if they were. Mine are definitely not stupid.
Click to expand...

But there's two ways of looking at it, what people might interpret as 'sluggish' or 'slow' could also be looked at as trainability and having a temperament that can cope with competition environments without it blowing their brains.
 
Neither of mine are in the least bit sluggish .... Quite the opposite in fact, especially my gelding when he's jumping :) neither are either of mine at all stupid. Both pick things up very quickly and are very independent thinking, smart horses. But then they know their jobs very well. My gelding I have to be careful with because he learns patterns in the school very quickly and can be a little too quick to anticipate what to do. I've handled warmbloods for many years in my job on a busy competition yard and now owning my two, I've yet to meet a sluggish, dumb warmblood and am a bit perplexed where this stereotype came from :confused: maybe it is certain bloodlines and I've just been lucky to deal with sharp, clever bred horses haha!
 
Agree with spring feather. You can't generalise with warmbloods as their breeding is so different from one to the other. My three are all sharp but bred very differently.
 
I've had 2 that are passported as WB's and a WC x TB who is Technically WB
All very very different. The WC was Very typically WC rather than TB
WB one was a czech WB amazing temperament but easily fizzed up, while never actually doing anything wrong under saddle could be a handful on the ground under certain circumstances

New guy is Swedish WB x ISH and is super laid back, loving. Will be sluggish if you want/allow him to be. But if you ask will be forward and full of energy when you want too. Jump anything (so far).
As far as 'clever' goes he picks up things real fast but worries if he gets it wrong and can get tense then as well as if someone else rides him
SJ he 'can' get himself out of trouble but only if you 'allow' him to. What I mean by that is if you leave him to it he will sort it out very nicely but at the same time if you tell him to 'go' he will whether it's a good idea or not. So I mostly leave him too it :)
Having had a variety of horses I would never have anything else now :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top