modern event horses?

Personally, ISH (ID x TB but about 1/4 ID and 3/4 TB) with leggy athletic build, fairly high head carriage (naturally light on the forehand) and short coupled through the back. Yum
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...that I bought a Danish Warmblood x Cob is besides the point
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I think its a very personal thing, the only thing I specify is good leg conformation and good movement, as the Dr phase is getting more and more competitive and important!
 
good quantity breedwise of blood, good head on neck/shoulders, good feet, short cannon, deep body, good second thigh, not too long in the back and not too short,good sloping shoulder, big eye/nice outlook, not too narrow in the chest, rump to hock well aligned, good distance from hip to hock, straight movement no abnormalities in limbs, light on feet, errm cant think of anything else at the mo, !
 
good basic conformation, good strong legs with strong forearm and short cannon bones. Strong 2nd thigh and sloping shoulder, good size feet.

preferably part tb, prefer irish bred. not really any preference on pedigree, but just with part tb and other half connie/irish mix.
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not very fussy tbh!

good attitude to work, correct movement and decent jump.

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Good feet. Fairly correct limbs esp in front, certainly not toe out or back at the knee. "fit in the box" ie square-shaped not rectangular iyswim
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Good front. The rest is down to quality of jump, whether I like their attitude and whether they can move a bit (doesn't need to be amazing). Oh yes, and I'm a sucker for a pretty face
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as TD, but i'd add that I like 7/8 tb with a dash of Irish, it must snap up knees in front (dangly legs is a total no-no, esp if it is dangly knees, dangly forearms i can just about tolerate for a few months!), really good attitude to work i'd put above WOW factor. i'm not a sucker for a pretty face, but i do like either little pony ears or big lop ears...!
 
I think this is incredibly interesting really as you see so much variety of horses especially at lower levels. For example the horse i have at the minute is ID x TB, but i believe he has a fair bit of ID in him. I bough him cheap, but he does the job! He has short cannon bones, very deep chest, and snaps his legs up nicely, decent paces etc but he is long in the back. Now this dosent seem to cause any of the drawbacks that a long back should do apart from it making it harder for him to come back onto his haunches quickly, however schooling has improved this greatly. Also because of his lack of breeding, he will struggle with speed at higher levels which is why I am looking for a newbie, but for now he is teaching me more than I can comprehend at every event we go to and like I said, he is more than capable of PN/N. It totally depends on personal preference and requirements!
 
Very interesting,
1 of my horses is bred to event, a preci spark horse by Double Trigger out of Welton Lady (by Welton Crackerjack) 15/16th TB, not that she acts or looks like it, she has done well enough won at PN and Novice but i doubt will go past intermediate, partly due to her poor sjing.
The other mare has nothing going for her, foreign, small, not the best mover, but an incredible jumper and a heart of gold, thats what i look for.
 
I would say that a lot depends on what level you want to get to.

We have a 3/4 ID who is fantastic at PN/N but wouldn't go any higher due to scope/ability to make the time, but at 'her' level is very careful, scopy and will 'get her rider out of jail'.

In saying that however, I know of a fabulous purebred ID staillion who completed Punchestown 2* clear within the time a couple of times.

Other horse is a small TB who has definitely had to be taught to 'think', the other mare did this naturally.

At intro/PN I would suggest that any sort of breeding could be acceptable ie my 14.3 welsh sec D was never unplaced at intro, and again looked after his rider 100%. He lacked scope for anything higher though.

Sorry - just some random musings.

Fiona
 
I dont have an ideal type in mind since my current eventer is a Lusitano x TB so not exactly your usual type. Sadly I think his high knee action really lets us down in the dressage but otherwise he's the most honest, fantastic jumper I've ever had! He gets me out of ANY sticky situation, he'll jump a 4ft brush from a stand still if I ask him! So I think temperament and attitude is everything. If you can get that AND a horse with nice paces and who's built well then great!
 
My baby is a dutch warmblood of the modern, lighter variety. He looks quite thoroughbreddy....I know there are a few warmblood crosses competing at top level (Ben Along Time, Imperial Cavalier etc), but are you aware of any full dutch warmbloods competing at top level eventing? Not that I am aspiring to such levels, don't think I have the balls!!!!
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Intermediate at a stretch!
 
Full TB or as near as poss. Good feet, good conformation, good attitude to work. For preference, I like Irish bred horses but have been very impressed with a couple of smart Selle Francais horses as well.
 
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My baby is a dutch warmblood of the modern, lighter variety. He looks quite thoroughbreddy....I know there are a few warmblood crosses competing at top level (Ben Along Time, Imperial Cavalier etc), but are you aware of any full dutch warmbloods competing at top level eventing? Not that I am aspiring to such levels, don't think I have the balls!!!!
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Intermediate at a stretch!

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I had a full KWPN who went to Advanced, he was the older type, quite chunky. He was quite simply the best horse I have ever sat on: moved, enough jump for GP SJ (or so Rowland Fernyhough told me), brave as a lion if rather strong
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and plenty of speed - at his last CCI2* he was the fastest round of the day, 30 seconds under the time which I worked out afterwards (saddo that I am) would have meant he was inside the time at Badminton. Was without any shadow of a doubt not just a 4* horse but potentially a 4* winner - leaving the numpty jockey out of the equation
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BUT, and it's the biggest but in the world, I could not keep him sound and apparently pure-bred KWPN's are renowned for this at the highest level of eventing. In the Kreuth prize-giving Madeline Brugman (top Dutch rider) turned round and said to me "I'm surprised you can keep him sound", I just smiled nervously: little did she know he'd broken down twice previously (different problems) and we'd been up half the night to get him through the trot-up that time (he was lying second). Turned out to be his last ever event, despite our best efforts
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Herbie in action:

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So I think this is why you don't see many/any pure-bred KWPNs at top level - soundness. My current up-and-coming horse is again registered KWPN, but is actually 1/4 Selle Francais and far lighter in build. I'm hoping this will make all the difference
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He is lovely - my boy's finer and I won't be going to Advanced, so hopefullly soundness won't be an issue. My other horse was extremely big moving and I'm convinced this is what contributed to his soundness issues. In some cases soundness issues are just pure bad luck and not down to build, movement etc, but if you get something that has decent conformation, as described in many of the posts on here, you have a better chance perhaps...
 
Perfect feet, good limbs, quality, athleticism, sharp foreleg jumping technique, open hindleg jumping technique (without being over extravagent) and a positive, forward thinking, trainable attitude.
 
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