Section D’s

[McFluff]

I’ve ridden lots of WelshD over the years and always like their positive can do approach. If schooled consistently they have always been safe but with a bit of spark (at least they tell you they’re going to spook!).
I got my own WelshD last year and I am totally in love. He’s sensitive, intelligent, easy to train and tries his heart out. He also enjoys making me laugh and does test that I’m in the zone. His spooks are just testing that I’m paying attention, they are never at anything actually Dangerous and not intended to unseat me. More to make me laugh.
I have seen them go wrong in the hands of nervous or novice people. But if you are calm and confident and have a sense of humour they have that perfect balance of energy and safety.

 

[BeckyFlowers]

I've had my 16hh Welsh D for 11 years and I absolutely adore him. He's calmed down a bit now he's 20, but when he was younger he certainly pushed the boundaries, a bit like a small child. Firm and consistent handling was the key for me, and then boom, the partnership. He is brave, powerful, adaptable, good natured, sensible, stays sound and in good health, excellent in traffic, doesn't spook and spin and chuck me out the side door (he spooks and slams all four feet on the floor, thinks about it for a bit, then spins, by which time I have done what I need to do to prevent the spin!), loving, and so honest - he has never put in a cheeky stop or run-out at a jump even when I have accidentally set him up for failure, he will try his best to get over that jump. However, he will have a meltdown at the most ridiculous thing, like the time when I was carrying a map (horror of horrors). But when it counts he is always there, and is safe as houses and will get us out of trouble.

As other posters have mentioned, don't indulge a Welsh cob. Sometimes mine will forget his manners, but once I have reminded him where he is and who he's with he shuts up. When I first had him he would try and use his size and strength against me, and he would sometimes win, but now we are a partnership I think he takes his confidence from me and respects my space - until he momentarily forgets his manners and I have to remind him of them!

I would get another one once he's shuffled off this mortal coil. If you can deal with 95% wonderful horse 5% hysterical moron then Welsh cobs are for you.

 

[ester]

Frankly I think mine has put up with me being idiotic quite a lot of the time.

 

[ChiffChaff]

I had an older section D on full loan and I adored him. I was fairly novicey and a little nervous and he looked after me always. (By that I mean - has been riding a loooonnggg time at a very good riding school but never my own)

He was a bit bonkers, and more nervous/novice friends were a bit intimidated by him. He was SO forward but he just wanted to have fun! Fabulous jumper. He was 14hh and would jump 1m20 for fun in his youth. Alway had to go first, loved hacking and jumping and going FAST, but hated schooling, taught me SO much and I miss him terribly.

He was also absolutely beautiful to look at (a gorgeous golden palomino) and the sweetest kindest pony in the stable who loved cuddles and fuss. My friends who had never been on a horse before all sat on him and groomed him and cuddled him and he just followed me around the school/field and wouldn’t leave my side when they were on his back.

Riding hasn’t been the same since I lost him and I don’t think I’ll ever have another like him. He was the best pony ever. I’d never hesitate to recommend a D if you just want to have fun!! But I don’t think I’d fancy a green baby one ?

 

[eahotson]

They vary like any breed.I once had a Highland that was very sharp and reactive and I am told that that is not that uncommon.I sold him because I couldn't cope with him and when I told people I was buying a section D.I didn't go out looking for a D, he just came up for sale and I and my instructor thought he was right for me so I bought him, Everyone thought I was mad.He has been a total pleasure and very sane and sensible.

 

[Orangehorse]

I have never owned one, but from what I have observed of others - can be really good or can be so crazy as to put themselves and rider in danger.

However, I do think that sometimes people buy them thinking "cob" = "quiet plod." I think they need plenty of work. I have always said that they are fine when you have a convenient Welsh mountain to ride them up!

I remember reading in H&H about a successful Welsh driving cob, it won lots and was out and about all over the country every week. Its workload was massive and its feed virtually nothing. It was driving, drag hunting, rounding up sheep on the farm, busy all the time and had grass to eat and a handful of something in the winter.

 

[alexomahony]

I LOVE my sec D, Maldwyn <3 I've had him since he was just turned three and pretty much unhandled - we've done everything and me and him are like peas in a pod (see my avatar photo!).

He makes me laugh everyday with him antics... he likes to bounce and everytime we canter out hacking he will do a few strides on the spot before actually going anywhere. He is a real charmer and everyone who meets him adores him - he is just a lovely horse and lovely person.

Sadly he does suffer with a bit of arthritis but he doesn't let it hold him back - I'm just bringing him back into work after a year off and he is refusing to walk normally, he jogs everywhere to show me just how happy he is to have been 'remembered'. He suffers from serious FOMO (fear of missing out) and god forbid someone puts a trailer or lorry ramp down whilst he is walking by - he will charge up it an wait to be taken somewhere fun! A real character and makes everyone laugh.

I could write all day about him - I'm his number one fan and a proud cheerleader for all things Maldwyn! He reminds me why I love horses and i pinch myself everytime I see him.

On a more serious note - he is also very very trainable, super sensitive to ride, learns something before you have even taught him, eager to please and although not at all athletic or fast, or talented at jumping he will try his absolute hardest to answer any question you ask. He is, in a word, wonderful.

 

[HashRouge]

We have one, a 17 year old gelding. Very pretty, and a very sane and sensible ride when he was in work (been retired for years due to navicular). But he is an extremely odd character - very difficult to catch, very nervy and twitchy about life in general. He needs a lot of babying as he can be a real panicker. I'd think twice before getting another, although it has to be said as a ridden horse you really couldn't fault him. You could have put your gran on him and he'd have looked after her.

 

[DirectorFury]

We have one, a 17 year old gelding. Very pretty, and a very sane and sensible ride when he was in work (been retired for years due to navicular). But he is an extremely odd character - very difficult to catch, very nervy and twitchy about life in general. He needs a lot of babying as he can be a real panicker. I'd think twice before getting another, although it has to be said as a ridden horse you really couldn't fault him. You could have put your gran on him and he'd have looked after her.

This is mine to a T, though this winter she reversed and was great on the ground but a tit to ride! Even when she's being a tit she's very careful to stop me falling off, she deliberately tries to scoop you back into the saddle if you get unseated.
She'd walk through fire for you as long as you're riding her, no chance of getting her to do it without freaking out on the ground. She's very safe when she panics though and is very careful to not barge into her handler or pull/spin away. I never feel unsafe with her.

I love her to bits, I'll never ever manage to replace her. If you get the 'right' D you'll understand.

 

[fusspot]

I lost my Sec D last year and miss him so much.I got him as a virtually untouched 3 year old.He was always a bit nervy and was very good at teaching people how to stay calm around horses.He was definetly a 1 person horse but had a memory like an elephant especially if something had upset him,funnily enough he was the least spooky horse I have owned or been around!He didn’t have a horrible bone in his body but liked his routine.I originally bought him to do County Showing,but he just could not deal with the clapping and the excitement around the rings which goes with the Welshies at County shows.I always did dressage with him but switched him to this entirely as the calmness of the discipline totally suited him more.He was 15hh, only liked a Wintec GP saddle but he was never out of the top 3,consistently beating lovely warmbloods.He wasn’t outside the top 10 at strong regionals 4 years running and always tried his hardest.He got more relaxed with age and was my horse of a lifetime and actually won’t get another as feel I cannot replace him.The only thing I would say is it seems to be becoming more apparent now that with the changes in seasons and climate,the Welshies are a breed that are not adjusting as well.They are good doers generally but after speaking to a number of vets,even with owners looking after them as they should,it seems that the Welsh Breed types are the ones that the vets seem to be seeing more and that seem to be more prone to Laminitis/EMS.Good luck with your search.

 

[milliepops]

the contradictions again, mine will go anywhere with me on the ground but is the spookiest spookpot under saddle.
Here she is being frightened of the video camera yesterday. Idiotic, or just switched on?! She doesn't miss a thing.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

Was riding in the school and bathing mine over bank holiday, some idiots on dirt bikes roar down the road on very noisy bikes while I was doing these activities. He doesnt bat an eyelid

During the bath he then resumed snorting loudly at the bubbles on the floor that were trickling towards him

So in Welsh brains bubbles are scary and going to eat him but loudly revving dirt bikes not a problem!!!

 

[DirectorFury]

They are good doers generally but after speaking to a number of vets,even with owners looking after them as they should,it seems that the Welsh Breed types are the ones that the vets seem to be seeing more and that seem to be more prone to Laminitis/EMS.

This is a good point. Anecdotally it seems that some bloodlines have a higher incidences of metabolic problems - I wonder if there’s a genetic problem (because they’re all pretty inbred!) related to this.

 

[ester]

The best conversation I ever had with him went:
don't spook at the plastic bag in the hedge.
*spooks, reverses drops one leg into the ditch up to his stifle, thankfully not both, panics shoots back towards plastic bag.

So do you think just maybe that I am occasionally right Frank? and that listening to me might just sometimes be the better option ?

 

[NiceNeverNaughty]

I have had 2 and I now have a Sec C.

What they have all had in common: they have times when their brains just goes 'welsh' - you can't seem to get through to them and it can be as if you aren't there, snorting, firebreathing etc... nothing dangerous, you just leave them be and come back to whatever you were doing when they are back in the room!

Other than that, my first was a mare and very very forward and prancy/spooky but totally safe and although she did scare some people with how fast and forward she was. The most recent one, a gelding, was so quiet, bombproof and bone idle that I sold him, he is a wonderful happy hacker/confidence giver. My Sec C is still fairly young and is forward but it depends what you want from her - we have been producing her to show and she can also be lazy when you really want her to move properly. She will hack all day and is pretty bombproof but can spook and throw some shapes when she is fit and going. Equally however you can dial her down and Id stick my child on her but only in the school.

 

[Wannabedressagequeen]

I have a PB D x TB. I have owned him for 10 years, since he was 7. He is also a mass of contradictions and is a huge character. We do dressage as that was the only thing out of everything we tried that didn't fry his (very special) brain. We train at Medium and compete at Ele and have done BD teams. My daughter has also ridden him at national comps since she was 15. He can be incredible and has a real wow factor. But he can also be spooky one day and lazy the next. He really does have my back and tries so hard and constantly makes me smile. His biggest fault is that he has horrendous separation anxiety if you take his mates away BUT he is perfectly fine to leave them and he has always coped well at stay-away champs. I dread being told to "box-rest" him as I just cannot do it at his yard and he HAS to go elsewhere - he's fine at another yard. Like I said - a mass of contradictions! Would I have another - absolutely.

 

[milliepops]

I have a PB D x TB. I have owned him for 10 years, since he was 7. He is also a mass of contradictions and is a huge character. We do dressage as that was the only thing out of everything we tried that didn't fry his (very special) brain. We train at Medium and compete at Ele and have done BD teams. My daughter has also ridden him at national comps since she was 15. He can be incredible and has a real wow factor. But he can also be spooky one day and lazy the next. He really does have my back and tries so hard and constantly makes me smile. His biggest fault is that he has horrendous separation anxiety if you take his mates away BUT he is perfectly fine to leave them and he has always coped well at stay-away champs. I dread being told to "box-rest" him as I just cannot do it at his yard and he HAS to go elsewhere - he's fine at another yard. Like I said - a mass of contradictions! Would I have another - absolutely.

mine is very similar. I had to box rest her last year so I took her to the field where my retirees live and made her a pen there so she thought she was on holiday rather than abandoned, and her 3 friends never left her
She's a dream to take away anywhere but absolutely can't handle being left behind Dressage is her niche too, she gets better the harder it gets.

 

[palo1]

I have a young Section D mare that I adore I had wanted one for a while, having cut my teeth on a variety of fairly sharp, sensitive types. I think that because they are small (usually) for a horse - compared to warmbloods, tbs, tbx etc and pretty strong looking people may assume that they are 'steady' or slow witted and therefore treat them as such. However, under all that considerable bone and feather there lurks not only something with a very sharp pony brain but also considerable athleticism and sensitivity. They are certainly contradictory in that sense!! The Welsh 'fire' is a thing however and for connoiseurs of the breed the combination of strength, physicality and 'switched-on-ness' is what is very much admired. I do think that in both appearance and temperament they are a love it or hate it breed and unless you choose to 'engage' then the often found combination of bravery/dominance and sensitivity could be hugely frustrating!! I like to think of them as the 'home-grown baroque' horse !!

 

[milliepops]

I like to think of them as the 'home-grown baroque' horse !!

very good point

 

[Annagain]

Mine was stubborn, opinionated, bolshy, arrogant, pig-headed and ignorant, infuriating and certifiably excitable at times. He would walk over you rather than around you if you were in his way, he regularly took me concrete skiing and there was no way you could make him do anything he didn't want to do. He was also totally bombproof, brave, bold, utterly dependable, intelligent, talented, honest, would give 100% and made me feel totally safe.

My share horse now is a superstar but he was the only horse I've ever had total faith in getting me to the other side of a fence in one piece. He was never spooky - even after getting hit by a van he was perfect on the roads - but he noticed the tiniest differences in his environment and was very suspicious of anything new until it had been thoroughly investigated. I never had a normal fall off him - they were all freak accidents including being galloped into by my out of control friend, us both falling over and a squirrel jumping out of a tree and landing on his neck!

He was a total marmite horse. My friend hated him. He knew it and played her up terribly. He wouldn't do a thing for her, until she was struggling with depression. He picked up on it and was so gentle and sweet with her - far more than her own mare. As soon as she was better he went back to his usual self with her - which she appreciated- she'd have been worried if he was nice to her all the time!

If you get the relationship right with them, you'll never find a better horse. Get it wrong and you'll struggle. He's been gone 15 years and I miss him so much. I well up more thinking about him than I do with my grandparents!

 

[OldNag]

I have a young Section D mare that I adore I had wanted one for a while, having cut my teeth on a variety of fairly sharp, sensitive types. I think that because they are small (usually) for a horse - compared to warmbloods, tbs, tbx etc and pretty strong looking people may assume that they are 'steady' or slow witted and therefore treat them as such. However, under all that considerable bone and feather there lurks not only something with a very sharp pony brain but also considerable athleticism and sensitivity. They are certainly contradictory in that sense!! The Welsh 'fire' is a thing however and for connoiseurs of the breed the combination of strength, physicality and 'switched-on-ness' is what is very much admired. I do think that in both appearance and temperament they are a love it or hate it breed and unless you choose to 'engage' then the often found combination of bravery/dominance and sensitivity could be hugely frustrating!! I like to think of them as the 'home-grown baroque' horse !!

They are definitely pony brain in a horse body. More specifically, a Section B
As everyone knows, ponies are much more fun so it's win-win

 

[fusspot]

This is a good point. Anecdotally it seems that some bloodlines have a higher incidences of metabolic problems - I wonder if there’s a genetic problem (because they’re all pretty inbred!) related to this.

Definetly does seem this way.

 

[Annagain]

Mine had sweet itch, which a lot seem prone to, but it was fairly mild. He was pretty inbred. The same three stallions appear 3 times each in 5 generations of his pedigree. His grandsires were half brothers and his grand-dams half sisters. Athough not directly related, his sire and his dam only had two different grandsires between them. They were amazing stallions, Pentre Eiddwen Comet and Llanarth Braint, but even so

 

[Baroque]

If you can deal with 95% wonderful horse 5% hysterical moron then Welsh cobs are for you.

I just snorted coffee all over my keyboard. This is it!

I just realised why her antics don't worry me and it is to do with the fact that;

1) She sends a telegram when she's going to spook. I once had an oldenburg who would levitate 15' sideways with absolutely no warning. And no concern what she was levitating in to. Ditches were a favourite. But my little welsh mare starts about 200 yds out with a flick of her tippy ears. Then the next few yards will be about lifting her head until self-same ears are up your nose. A few more yards are about getting 2 hands taller and the next about shortening stride, lifting knees but maintaining speed. No hint of saying 'no'. Just making it clear there is danger ahead. At this point she is in full welsh dragon mode especially if she deems us in real peril and is snorting too.

If there really is terrible peril and she deems it necessary 2) Her spooks are hilarious. She just drops. About 2 feet. Like Bambi. But as fast as she's done that she's back up and on her way. If I'm driving her at the time she has been known to almost completely disappear in front of me. She has never once offered to cart or spin and I can almost always change her mind about the spook anyway by laughing at her. Though that is pretty rude of me given that all she's doing is alerting me to some terrible danger. Like dandelions in the verge that weren't there yesterday. She's special in every sense of the word.

 

[milliepops]

Though that is pretty rude of me given that all she's doing is alerting me to some terrible danger. Like dandelions in the verge that weren't there yesterday.

haha! this is what I mean about they think they are in the right. They really do. With all seriousness

Mine also does the "drop" manoeuvre (but she also does squat, wheelspin with the front legs and whip round). but the warning comes from about 200 yards out, you're right. I much prefer riding her to the TB - dozing along nicely and then suddenly violently out of nowhere spooking at a dust atom.

 

[BeckyFlowers]

Yeah mine does the drop 'n' slam as well, never any danger of becoming unseated because it's a pretty stationary manoeuvre

 

[Annagain]

haha! this is what I mean about they think they are in the right. They really do. With all seriousness

Eb didn't think he was right, he knew!

 

[DirectorFury]

Mine also does the drop and stop and prefers it over any other form of spooking! Clearly a Welsh thing .

 

[milliepops]

Mine also does the drop and stop and prefers it over any other form of spooking! Clearly a Welsh thing .

It's quite a lazy way of being dramatic, which fits well,I think.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

Yep mine also does the drop and stop, he did it on the lunge the other day at who knows what. He can spin but the slamming to a halt often due to poo or mud (!!!) On the road is a common one. Yet goes albeit snortily fairly nicely past fly tipping!!!!

Hes not allowed to be tied on the yard if the rs I keep him at has lessons as his classic move is for the front legs to stick forward, he will rock back, start snorting then break the string. A fellow livery watched him do it while we were drinking tea once and said its almost like hes looking for something to be scared of and scaring himself