Shire x TB...tell me about them!

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After the Shire x thread on here recently I've become rather smitten with the look of Shire x TB's!! I'm in the very early stages of buying myself a youngster to bring on to replace my boy in 5 years of so when he starts to wind down towards retirement (he's only 10 now but I'm preparing myself). Anyway I've always dreamed of having a full shire or Cydesdale but now I'm finding myself doing more jumping and XC and the thought of a shire x tb really appeals to me, they have the looks and size I want but with an added bonus of being zingy!!!

So if anyone has one please do tell me the pro's and con's!!! :D
 
Pro's:
Make nice hunters/weight carriers
Seen a few succesfully eventing
Combines the laid back temprament with agility of a TB.
Tend to be steady footed with a "safe" feel about them.

Con's:
sometimes the mix can end up looking very wrong IMO. Obviously as you arent breeding themself this shouldnt be a problem for you.
 
My friend has a lovely Shire x TB, although I suspect he has slightly more shire in him. He's a lovely lad, but at times he lacks a little stamina...eg she took him twice round a clear round jumping course, and although he enjoyed it, he found it hard work to get off the ground so many times! (they were only doing 2ft 3"). Hes fab at hacking and hes also great at the dressage too. I think it depends on what you would like to do long term with them, and also the amount of TB in them too...she wouldn't change him for the world though. He scrubs up well too!
 
My friend used to ride a TBxShire and he won the British Dressage National Junior talent Spotting competition, was 10th in the JRN 1* Championships at Weston Park and he won the RC Open Horse Trials championships. He went on and evented up to 2* and did a lot of BSJA very successfully.

If you get a good one they're as bold as brass, could jump the moon and have a lovely temperament. :)
 
Mines shire x tb and the yard where I keep her bred her and they bred my last one too the pics in my sig are all shire x tb as you can see very versatile
 
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I have a Shire mare and bred 4 foals from her, all have a TB sire. Sadly the mare is now 23 and too old to breed another so I've just bought a TB x Shire/Clydesdale foal from Skelton stud which looks lovely. In fact they have a nice TB x Shire yearling for sale which would be worth a look at.
My mare is 18hh and all my foals have grown to over 17hh, the biggest being 17:3hh

Pros:
- All can jump big!
- very comfortable and safe
- make fantastic hunters / show-jumpers
- all have easy to do nature, can live out if they had to

Cons:
- Tend to be big, I always use a mounting block!
- Big feet, thus need big shoes!
- Depending on breeding, not always the fastest; My 17:3hh gelding thinks he is very fast, but definitely isn't. Having said that the youngest of mine has a flat racing sire and is fast, it just depends.

I have done Riding club eventing, show-jumping, hunting and TREC, the Shire x TB does it all! Look at Carol Parsons, hers do Grand Prix dressage!
 
Our neighbour gave us a Shire/Thoroughbred called Dorothy. She had been used as a brood mare by our neighbour and had not been while they owned her.

I started riding her and getting her used to traffic etc. and she was fantastic to plod about on. Because she was so large the traffic always slowed down for her!

Proved to be a very easy to do, reliable and safe horse.

The speed of a thoroughbred and stamina of a shire.
 
Two of my friends had shirexTBs. They were both very lovely horses, both of them did fantastically well at dressage (one got over 100 points very quickly) and jumped wonderfully. Both did RC team level (BE90) and always went clear round the XC, but both never go anywhere near the time... Both were stroppy youngsters, but lovely once over 8! Both were well over 17h, along the lines of a ISH, but taller and a little slower. Both had navicular problems later in life (tends to crop up a lot in heavier horses) but on the plus side, were very sound throughout their youth and middle ages, when those with TBs had more tendon/lameness issues etc...
 
:D Thanks guys. More I hear the more I'm liking!!! I don't need speed or a massive jump, it's all about character and temperament to me, anything else is a bonus! As long as they enjoy a bit of everything I'll be happy. :D

I've been told Alex if you can confirm it's always best that its Shire mare to TB stallion? I'm hoping to buy as young as possible, want to do all the handling myself. I've heard of a local fella who breeds his shires and I've got a TB stallion I know of who's a fab boy so I'm going to chat to him about it. Want something nearby so I can be part of the foals life from the start.
 
my 7yr shire X tb isnt normal then! hes currently eventing at BE novice level (won one and placed in the others) and hoping to move up to intermediate next season. Hes big, 17.1hh, but very leggy. Doesnt hunt, gets too fizzy! He is very fast, never had time faults for going too slow. He will jump whatever you put in front of him and is very easy to handle. He is very trusting and is like a big baby! He seems to have the body of the tb but he nature (an feet!) of a shire. hes the horse in my signature.
 
Charlotte125 said:
my 7yr shire X tb isnt normal then! hes currently eventing at BE novice level (won one and placed in the others) and hoping to move up to intermediate next season. Hes big, 17.1hh, but very leggy. Doesnt hunt, gets too fizzy! He is very fast, never had time faults for going too slow. He will jump whatever you put in front of him and is very easy to handle. He is very trusting and is like a big baby! He seems to have the body of the tb but he nature (an feet!) of a shire. hes the horse in my signature.
Click to expand...

Oh he's normal alright and special at that. The Shire X TB I knew was exactly like this :)
 
I LOVE MY GIRL!!!!

This is Barbara
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Her mum was Shire and dad TB. She's 16.3 and I got her when I was a gangley little 15yo coming off of a 14.2. I competed her up to newcomers, she was never the fastest but she sure covers the ground well. When she was younger and still fit enough (and me brave enough) we competed at open level hunter trials. She's an absolute star and worth her weight in gold.
At 18 she's now semi retired but still enjoys hacking and the odd gallop on the stubbles :)
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I had a Shire X TB for 24 years! He passed away in May this year at the age of 33. He was fabulous, and I'd love to have another like him. Sane, but spirited. In his day he was the perfect hunter and he cleared 5 bar gates! He also never needed the vet until he got really old.

Just to note, having a cross of 2 such different types, you will have a lot of variation in all horses that are shire x TB

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was just about to post to say my friend has an amazing one, but charlie beat me to it! siren is amazing so if they are all like him go for it! (bit big for me but i am a wimp!)
 
Mines 3/4 TB 1/4 Shire and sadly she's one of the dodgy looking ones, however it hasn't affected her performance. She'll easily get the time Novice - but is a little too aware of her rider's nerves and will stop at that level if she feels uncertain and the rider isn't committed. She's never stopped at Intro or PN. She's done rather well in RC dressage, SJ and XC - both juniors and senior! and done all PC teams.

She's a sweetie to do in all ways and has a gentle sense of humour that is most captivating. However apparently her full brother is a complete git.

Mine has some rather smart breeding on her TB side but you wouldn't look think it to look at her - still, handsome is as handsome does and to us she is beautiful because her personality shines through.
 
They are stunning!!!!! I need to be sensible now cos you've all got me very giddy...even started looking if I can find any for sale!!:rolleyes: Want to get some land sorted out first before I start being serious about buying a baby, don't want to keep one at livery at my yard because the grazing is awful and I want baby out eating good grass.
 
All of mine are Shire mum, TB dad; The Shire crosses I've seen where the mum is TB don't seem to be so well proportioned, not sure if the foal is hindered in growth when developing due to size of mum?
BTW apparently the heavy horse plough muscles are the same muscles used to jump, hence why heavy horse crosses can jump a decent height!
 
Mine's a Clydesdale x WB (mum was the Clydesdale). He's the best natured and most loved horse on the yard! Wonderful temperament with the zing, bounce and energy of the WB - makes for a wonderful combination! Jumps well, hacks very safely and qualified for regionals at BD!
 
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this is my shire x tb, shes working elementary/medium and competing elementary . she has to be the best horse we've owned- had her 12 years (: theyre wonderful horses and i would happily go into breeding them! (if i had the funds!!!) shes out of a shire mare and by heighten - a tb stallion. (:
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Quite a few years ago, H&H did a piece on this specific cross. Perhaps an archive search could bring it to the fore. If I'm not mistaken, several very high-profile riders/producers sung the praises of this cross in the article.
 
I have a shire x to mare she was competing elementary now had a year off, I hope to bring her back into work does anyone have experience teaching them the flying changes? She found it really dificault!
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You might also want to consider Hanoverian x shire like Tim Stockdales wonderful Hickstead derby specialist Wiston Bridget, worth googling or you tubing her!! That's a proper horse!

I also saw a wonderful Suffolk Punch x TB youngster.
 
I am a complete convert! My lovely Alf is a Shire/TB, bred originally to showjump, but decided dressage was more his cup of tea. He has 226 BD points, has wins and placings at PSG/Inter1, and has all the GP buttons installed. He isn't the flashiest mover, but is very accurate and trainable, with a lovely willing temperament. He is a sensitive, hot horse (quite common in Shires) and can get his knickers in a twist about silly things, but he's an absolute darling and I worship the ground he walks on.
He went through the selection process to be a squad horse for the Beijing Paralympics, including having a severely disabled rider winched onto him, and would have gone, if he hadn't failed the vet. Luckily for me, as he would have stayed in Hong Kong if he'd gone.
He's very special - my horse of a lifetime!

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